Hedy Fischer is a collector, traveler, curator and all around cultural pollinator who resides in Asheville, North Carolina and Merida, Mexico. She is committed to art with a social advocacy, that is courageous and not afraid to confront contemporary issues and injustices.

Hedy’s contributions to the vitality of Asheville have been numerous including the revitalization of Asheville’s River Arts District by co-founding Pink Dog Creative, a former textile warehouse in a blighted neighborhood now a vibrant mixed-use artist’s studio complex with 27 working artists, a gallery, two restaurants and retail shops.

Along with her partner, artist Randy Shull, she co-curates annual exhibitions at their 9,000 sf warehouse space, 22 London, including ¡Viva! in 2017, an international exhibition of Latin American art that included work by Jose’ Davila, Rafael Lozano Hemmer, Allora & Calzadilla and Say It Loud, an exhibition of African American art, in 2018, that included such well known artists as Kehinde Wiley, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas and Betye Saar.

Hedy curates monthly art exhibitions at the Pink Dog Gallery by regional and local artists. Recent exhibitions include Trigger Warning, a traveling exhibit on the topic of gun violence in 2018–2019 and In Times Like These, a collaboration with poet Laurie Wilcox-Meyer and community art supporter and collector Cherry Saenger, which pairs poetry and visual art with a political message, May 10–June 9, 2019.

A believer in bridge-building through art, she collaborated with LEAF’s Easel Rider and the Southside community’s Edington Center, to bring children from the nearby public housing neighborhood to Pink Dog Creative to paint a mural as part of the Container Project. One child was chosen and her painting will be the mural in 2018-2019.

Living part of the year in Merida, Mexico led to her collecting Latin American art. The Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh presented Limited Visibility, an exhibition of Latin American art from Hedy & Randy’s personal collection, curated by Patricia Garcia-Velez Hanna and Natalia Zuluaga, in the fall of 2014.

In 1978 Hedy chose Asheville to be her home and has contributed in a variety of ways to the evolution of the city over the decades, from working for the county as a health educator to being a full time poetry performer to chairing the city’s planning and zoning commission. She has served on numerous boards and committees over the years, including the Art 21 Board of Trustees and the board of the Diana Wortham Theatre where she supports their contemporary dance programming. Additionally, she and her partner Randy Shull, have spent over 20 years revitalizing communities in Asheville. She holds a masters degree from the University of Hawaii.