ArtsAVL awards $665,000 to 65 Western North Carolina arts groups

ArtsAVL has put $665,000 into the hands of 65 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across Western North Carolina, a round of recovery aid that reaches Buncombe County at a moment when many local groups are still trying to regain audiences, income and operating stability. For Asheville-area residents, the money is expected to show up in smaller but visible ways, from restored performances and exhibitions to repaired facilities, paid staff time and the marketing needed to bring people back through the door.

The awards were the first of two grant cycles in ArtsAVL’s $1.2 million Nonprofit Arts Recovery Grant Program. The effort is funded by $1 million from the North Carolina Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund and $200,000 from Dogwood Health Trust, with a second cycle planned for spring 2027. ArtsAVL said the grants reach organizations in Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Caldwell, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey counties.

The organization said the grants may be used for staff and artist salaries, core operating costs, facility repairs, programming restoration, equipment replacement, and marketing and audience outreach. That matters in Buncombe County, where Hurricane Helene affected more than 570 arts businesses and cultural assets. ArtsAVL said the storm also brought a 70% drop in visitor spending during the fall tourism season and left charitable giving down 53%, a level it described as the lowest in a decade.

Katie Cornell, ArtsAVL’s executive director, said nonprofit arts organizations have often been overlooked in traditional disaster relief and recovery programs. She said that nearly two years after Hurricane Helene, many groups are still rebuilding audiences, restoring programs and dealing with significant financial challenges. Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, president and chief executive of the North Carolina Community Foundation, said the arts are a vital part of Western North Carolina’s culture and economy. Mark Constantine, senior vice president of community investment at Dogwood Health Trust, said arts and cultural organizations help communities heal and move forward.

The new grants build on two earlier Helene-related relief programs that ArtsAVL said delivered more than $1.4 million in direct relief to artists, arts businesses and creative professionals across 26 Western North Carolina counties. ArtsAVL’s broader recovery planning has also been coordinated with the City of Asheville, Buncombe County Government, Explore Asheville and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, signaling that the region’s cultural rebound is being treated as part of the larger post-storm rebuild, not a one-time rescue.