As North Carolina creatives, Ben Nabors, Whitney Parris-Lamb, Chris Parris-Lamb and Stacy Wall are grateful for the efforts of arts organizations such as ArtsAVL to ensure the livelihoods of Western North Carolina's artists and artisans. They are the heart of what makes WNC vibrant and unique. Your support will go directly to ArtsAVL's Emergency Relief Grant Fund that meets the immediate needs of artists impacted by Hurricane Helene.

ArtsAVL's grants provide $500 relief stipends to arts professionals living in the 25 counties of Western NC impacted by Hurricane Helene and is intended for individual artists working in craft, literary, media, performing, visual, and interdisciplinary arts. The most pressing need is for immediate funding to help pay for basic living expenses and bills due to a total loss of income. The vast majority of the region’s arts organizations are currently closed and most arts professionals are out of work. October is a pivotal month for artists in the Asheville area which relies heavily on fall tourism, with sales made this month helping many creatives make it through to February.

ArtsAVL is the designated arts agency for Buncombe County, directly serving artists and arts organizations in Buncombe County. In this effort, ArtsAVL is working closely with the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans for the Arts, SouthArts, the North Carolina Arts Council, Arts NC, WNC Arts, and many others.

According to a recent study by Americans for the Arts, Buncombe County, NC was home to 483 establishments in the arts and culture sector during 2022, and ranked #1 out of all 100 NC counties for arts and culture establishments per 10,000 residents. By this same measure, Buncombe County ranked 47th out of all 3,144 U.S. counties. Asheville’s River Arts District is, rightly, making national headlines as an estimated 80% of the district is destroyed – it previously included 26 warehouses and was home to 300 artists. Additional damage includes Highwater Clays, Southern Highlands Craft Guild, New Morning Gallery, Flood Gallery, and many others.

While these numbers paint a picture of Buncombe County’s creative loss, and ArtsAVL’s usual service area, the damage from Hurricane Helene goes far beyond. Smaller communities in the region are as artistically rich and suffering – Spruce Pine, Burnsville, Marshall, and many others. This relief effort will cover 25 counties in the region, supporting the arts that are such a significant part of Western North Carolina’s culture and economy.