At the regular meeting on March 11, 2025, Asheville City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager to allocate $200,000 in public art funds to ArtsAVL. This funding will support arts businesses in Asheville affected by Tropical Storm Helene. Specifically, $150,000 will be used for Arts Business Relief Grants, and $50,000 will support a campaign designed to bring attention to local arts areas.
The reallocation of public art funds is a short-term recommendation and is one step in the broader Asheville Recovers initiative. Arts and culture are a significant portion of Asheville’s economy, generating $1.1 billion in sales and 9,000 local jobs in 2023. Respondents to the 2025 Helene Recovery Priorities Survey indicated strong support for business recovery and arts funding. This investment is also aligned with input the City has received to date as part of the CDBG-DR Draft Action Plan as well as Council’s identified Helene Recovery priority areas of Economy and People.
Public Art Fund dollars come from 1% of qualified funding for capital improvement projects and are typically designated for new public art projects. However, $200,000 in existing funds are currently unassigned, outside of already planned/contracted projects and maintenance. Additionally, new public art projects are currently paused as the City focuses on the immediate needs of disaster recovery. Using these funds for Helene recovery will not negatively impact the long-term management of the Public Art Program.
ArtsAVL’s Arts Business Relief Grants are for arts businesses within Western North Carolina physically located in one of the counties eligible for federal Helene disaster assistance. Funds may be used to pay salaries, fees, production, promotion, programming, supplies and operation. See the FAQ for a full list of qualifications and grant guidelines. Funds from the City of Asheville will solely be granted to Asheville-based businesses and arts organizations.
ArtsAVL’s Connections Campaign aims to boost foot traffic and create cohesive programming and messaging for the area’s arts districts through a memorable campaign that includes: an updated art guide and website, promotional kits and targeted advertising/PR, wayfinding, and themed events that tie-in with regional anchors like Biltmore and the NC Arboretum. City of Asheville Public Art Funds would primarily support wayfinding/signage, events, and printed materials for Asheville’s arts districts.
ArtsAVL is leading Western North Carolina’s Arts Relief Recovery Plan and has done extensive surveying and engagement to determine what artists and the creative industry need post-Helene. ArtsAVL is uniquely positioned to administer City funds to support the arts in Asheville post-Helene as it already facilitates the City of Asheville’s Event Support Grant and has successfully delivered thousands of dollars in relief grants to WNC artists. It is also Buncombe County’s official, designated arts agency that receives and manages funding from the NC Arts Council.