Black Mountain College Yearbook

Unearthing the Stories of Black Mountain College: Introducing the BMC Yearbook

What started as a creative experiment in the North Carolina mountains became one of the most quietly influential colleges of the 20th century. Black Mountain College (BMC) was never your typical school—and that’s exactly what made it special.

We’re excited to share the Black Mountain College Yearbook, a digital collection built as a digital archive to hold collection material from multiple institutions. This project is all about opening up access to the people and stories that shaped this remarkable place.

A Quick Look at BMC

Nestled in the town of Black Mountain, NC, the college ran from 1933 to 1957 and offered a radical take on higher education. Art wasn’t just part of the curriculum—it was the foundation. BMC blurred the lines between learning, creating, and living, and became a haven for artists, musicians, thinkers, and those who didn’t quite fit into traditional academia.

You’ve probably heard of some of the big names associated with the college—like Josef Albers, Merce Cunningham, or Buckminster Fuller—but BMC was also home to countless others who helped shape its legacy: students, staff, faculty, and visiting artists who made the college tick. Until now, many of their stories have remained in the background.

What Is the BMC Yearbook?

Think of it as a digital tribute to everyone who was part of the BMC story—not just the famous few, but the entire community that made it what it was. Built with the modern web tools Remix.run and Sanity CMS, the BMC Yearbook is designed to be fast, intuitive, and easy to explore.

It’s more than a digital archive. It’s a space where the overlooked and the legendary stand side by side—a place where you can learn about the people who brought BMC to life, whether they were teaching classes, sweeping floors, composing music, or attending summer workshops.

Why We Built It

Our goal was simple: make BMC’s history more accessible. We wanted to create something useful for researchers and scholars, yes—but also inviting for curious minds of all kinds. There’s so much to discover in the lives and work of the people connected to this one-of-a-kind school, and we hope the Yearbook helps surface those stories.

How It Works

We chose Remix.run to power the site for its performance and flexibility—so you can browse without friction. Sanity CMS gives us the tools to manage a growing archive of people, photos, and stories, and keep things fresh as more content is added.

Come Explore

The BMC Yearbook is our way of shining a light on a fascinating chapter in educational and artistic history. Whether you’re a historian, a designer, an artist, or just someone who loves good stories, we hope you’ll find something meaningful here.

Take a look around. See what you find. And maybe get inspired by the bold, unconventional spirit of Black Mountain College. BMC Yearbook is now owned and operated by Black Mountain College Museum and Art Center. Photos shared in this post are courtesy of Western Regional Archives.