Local arts leaders share post-Helene highs and lows

“As of an hour ago, I think we’re still employed.”

Nervous laughter from Asheville-area arts leaders and elected officials greeted these words by Michael Orlove, director of state, regional and local partnerships for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), at the Feb. 24 Buncombe County Arts Recovery Update event hosted by ArtsAVL at the Diana Wortham Theatre.

Responding to a question regarding the impact of recent Trump administration executive orders and mass federal worker layoffs on the NEA, Orlove and his colleague Eleanor Billington were upfront that they didn’t know how to answer that query. But they stressed that they would continue to work for artists and arts groups across the county.

“We are a grant-making agency. Our job is to get money out to all of you,” Orlove said. “The answer to this question has already changed multiple times today, and I think it’s going to change multiple times. I can only speak for myself, but I think I speak for Eleanor that we are really proud to be public servants and love the work.”

This commitment to the arts was echoed by peers from the N.C. Arts Council and Arts NC who were in attendance, as well as ArtsAVL Executive Director Katie Cornell, whose introductory report focused on the region’s rebuilding efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

After sharing some troubling statistics — tourism was down 70% during peak season and charitable giving statewide is down 53% to the lowest figures in a decade — Cornell shifted to more positive reports. Among them were 1,500 Emergency Relief Grants awarded in November and an e-commerce partnership with Explore Asheville that allowed would-be tourists and other arts lovers to support local creatives during a time when visiting the Asheville area wasn’t possible or practical.

As state and federal partners extolled the dedication of the ArtsAVL staff in fighting for Asheville-area artists during this difficult time, the message that a long road to true recovery awaits remained at the event’s forefront. In order to better gauge the arts industry’s current status on an organizational level, Xpress checked in with other major local arts groups to learn about their recent success stories and continuing challenges as 2025 rolls into its second quarter.

Weaving support

Similar feelings of post-Helene progress and fatigue are evident at the Center for Craft, where Executive Director Stephanie Moore and her team have been working hard to make up for lost time and resources. In Moore’s words, “[We] are worn thin and are all doing our best to keep up the pace while still recovering ourselves.”

The organization’s most pressing challenge, Moore says, is figuring out what is needed to rebuild the city’s cultural infrastructure. “The devastation has severely impacted artists’ livelihoods, yet they have not been fully recognized or engaged as key stakeholders in shaping the next steps,” she explains. “This extends beyond artists to designers, architects and other creative professionals — individuals whose innovation and visionary thinking can help us build back better. Now is the time to ensure these voices are included and valued as essential contributors.”

She adds that artists and creatives should not be seen solely as producers of goods that drive the economy, but as healers and problem-solvers who can lead community-based projects to help people process the trauma of Helene. Furthermore, she notes, the arts community thrives on in-person collaboration, education and nonprofit support, yet many cultural organizations have faced significant disruptions and financial strains.

“Nonprofits have largely been excluded from local recovery funding, with only an initial grant from Explore Asheville and recent eligibility for a state and local arts council grant,” Moore says. “Without sustained investment, these organizations — many of which provide essential space, resources and programs for artists — will struggle to recover.”

The coming year will be a crucial period, she continues, for finding ways to ensure the long-term resilience of Western North Carolina’s cultural sector. “By recognizing and supporting artists and cultural nonprofits as integral to recovery, we can ensure that creativity survives and plays a leading role in shaping a stronger, more connected community moving forward,” Moore adds.

Doing its part in the immediate wake of Helene, the center relaunched its Craft Futures Fund, which was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its post-Helene revival raised $1,545,650 — including $435,150 from 293 individual contributors, 81% of whom were new supporters. These essential funds provided rapid relief to 820 craft artists in Western North Carolina.

It was followed in February by the naming of the WNC Craft Futures Cohort. Each of this program’s 40 artists will receive $15,000 and join a six-month cohort experience that supports rebuilding through a peer-to-peer network. They will also participate in a group exhibition called WNC Craft Futures: From Here that will open in April, as well as help the center plan where money from an anticipated Phase 3 of the Craft Futures Fund will be directed.

In addition, the center recently launched its Alumni Network, an online platform fostering mentorship, resource sharing and collaboration among grant recipients across the country. Seeing artists connect in this manner gives Moore and her colleagues tremendous optimism, as does witnessing the craft community come together in the wake of a huge disruption like Helene.

“Western North Carolina has long been a hub for craft, and the continued practice in the region fuels our belief that this field will only become stronger in the years ahead,” she says.

‘Agility and swiftness’

Asheville Theater Alliance’s (ATA) official launch in late August may have been inopportune timing in some ways. But it meant the organization was ready to serve its members and the theater community at large when Helene hit less than a month later.

The nonprofit was conceived by Attic Salt Theatre Company artistic director Jeff Catanese and started operating on a grassroots scale in 2015. His goal was to provide a central place for theaters to come together, share knowledge and resources, and combine to create a more consistent patronage.

With local theater companies still struggling financially from the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry was dealt another blow from Helene. Yet when work was disrupted by the storm, the ATA stepped in with a relief fund and improv comedy fundraiser event to help the organizations that were immediately affected. The donations provided income for many ATA members who had work canceled due to damages from the storm.

“Our agility and swiftness were things to be proud of and showcased how we aim to help the theater community — although we hope to never have to go through that kind of disaster again to demonstrate it,” Catanese says.

These results have made him and his fellow board of directors members optimistic about the rest of 2025, during which the ATA is focusing on increased diversity in its membership. Though Catanese says area productions are increasingly showcasing performers of color, equity efforts haven’t translated to comparable numbers among ATA’s ranks. In turn, the organization is offering scholarship memberships to performers and theater creatives of color and will be increasing its outreach to nonwhite communities throughout the year.

Additional offerings have included a March 14 “mix and mingle” event at Attic Salt’s Woodfin space, where members could receive free headshots. And ATA leadership is in the early stages of planning a 2026 regional audition opportunity for individual members and organizations to help local actors land work. But Catanese stresses that one need not be a paid ATA member to make a difference.

“Anyone can help ATA by engaging with our website,” he says. “Even if you’re not a theater professional, we have a volunteer membership tier for those who want to help our membership directly, and we welcome all theater patrons to check in with our comprehensive calendar of shows, classes and events. We’re here to help the community, so all the community has to do to help in return is to love local theater.”

Patience, grasshopper

The ATA’s and Center for Craft’s pragmatic optimism was also at the forefront of Cornell’s Arts Recovery Update. Before sharing news about upcoming grant opportunities for local arts businesses, an update to the 2016 music industry study and the long-in-the-works countywide cultural plan, she showed a pair of slides that urged caution and realistic mindsets for approaching post-Helene life.

The first slide featured the recovery continuum and four phases of activity from the Federal Emergency Management Agency: preparedness (ongoing); short-term (days); intermediate (week-months); and long-term (months-years). And the second was one familiar to many residents who scrolled social media last fall: the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s “Phases of Disaster,” which charts the inherent emotional peaks and valleys of working through a tragedy.

“This is natural after a disaster, and we’re going to be here for a while,” Cornell says. “But what I want you all to understand is there’s a lot of good things happening for arts recovery. We’ve done a lot of good stuff already, and there’s a lot of really good stuff coming.”

Jeff Bell, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council, stressed that his state agency, ArtsAVL and the NEA are “dedicated for the long term” — and that rebuilding will indeed take time. Informing that perspective are ongoing conversations with leaders from the New Orleans arts community, who have made significant gains since Hurricane Katrina, yet continue to struggle.

“They’re still in recovery 20 years later,” Cornell says. “This is a marathon that we’re going to be going through. We’re going to have highs and lows, and it’s going to take a while. So, we need to be careful and pace ourselves.”