Author: Andie Freeman
Western North Carolina was forever changed by Hurricane Helene. The floodwater, high winds, and mudslides caused widespread devastation across 26 counties, covering more than 10,000 square miles of the North Carolina mountains and foothills. Once the waters receded, the storm’s impact on the region’s infrastructure and economy was clearly historic. The arts, a key industry in the highlands, felt the brunt of this disruption.
Within 48 hours of the storm, leaders from the North Carolina Arts Council, Arts NC, and the North Carolina Arts Foundation met to plan their response. By the end of the business day on Monday, September 30, we launched the N.C. Arts Disaster Relief Fund. The primary goal in those early days was immediate relief for individual artists, and Arts AVL played a crucial role in distributing much-needed funds to 1,500 individual artists in the 26-county region. A second round of grants, aimed at traditional artists, was distributed through the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. Now, our focus has shifted to nonprofit arts organizations, and this week, the North Carolina Arts Council awarded crucial relief funds to 69 arts organizations throughout the impacted region.
Full list of Hurricane Helene Relief grant recipients.
These grants are supported by funding from the North Carolina Arts Foundation's N.C. Arts Disaster Relief Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, and South Art's Southern Arts Relief and Recovery Fund.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, the N.C. Arts Disaster Relief Fund has raised nearly $1 million to date. The money came together from donations by individuals, grants from private foundations, and proceeds earned from benefit concerts and events. The fund will remain open for the foreseeable future, collecting and distributing resources to the arts in western North Carolina.