New Asheville mural brings hope and healing to River Arts District

A 2,000-square-foot mural took shape on the Aura Arts Building at 375 Depot Street as Asheville’s River Arts District kept rebuilding after Hurricane Helene. Local artist Nicole Leth is painting the work, which is meant to inspire hope and healing through themes of healing the inner child and sending inspirational messages to viewers.

The mural lands in a district where art is tied directly to recovery. Aura Arts is home to Trackside Studios, Jaime Byrd Contemporary Art Gallery and ClayWorks, and the building has been positioned as a revived creative hub on Depot Street. Trackside Studios says it includes more than 60 artists, working studios, gallery space and classes, giving the site a mix of production, exhibition and teaching that keeps people coming through the doors.

That matters in a neighborhood still dealing with the scale of Helene’s damage. Reporting in 2025 said floodwaters devastated up to 80% of the River Arts District, damaged or destroyed more than 300 artist studios and affected more than 750 working artists. In that context, a public mural is more than decoration on a wall. It is part of the neighborhood’s effort to restore visibility, bring people back into the district and signal that the creative economy is still functioning on the banks of the French Broad River.

The Aura Arts building itself has already become part of that comeback. Jaime Byrd Contemporary Art Gallery held a grand opening in 2024 inside the recently renovated blue building, adding another anchor for visitors and artists on Depot Street. The site now layers gallery space, studios and a large exterior mural in one of the district’s most visible corridors.

Depot Street has also become a stage for a broader cultural reset. In June 2026, the “Black Boy Joy” mural was unveiled there as part of the Asheville Black Cultural Trail, adding another public work to a street that increasingly tells the story of Asheville’s recovery through art. The new mural at Aura Arts fits that pattern: a visible sign that the River Arts District is still rebuilding not just its storefronts and studios, but its sense of identity, confidence and daily life.