Art exhibit in Atlanta aids North Carolina artists hit by Hurricane Helene
Atlanta helps rebuild NC art community after Helene
It’s been nearly three months since Hurricane Helene barreled through the Southeast leaving destruction in its path. Now a nonprofit group from one of the hardest hit communities in North Carolina has set up shop here in Atlanta as part of an effort to rebuild its historic arts district and assist the artists who lost everything.
ATLANTA - Nearly three months after Hurricane Helene barreled through the southeast, a North Carolina-based nonprofit has opened an art exhibit in Atlanta to try and help struggling artists recover.
Asheville’s Historic River Arts District was reduced to ruins after Helene came through in September and destroyed 80% of the artist's studio space.
"Art is very important to Asheville and kind of always has been…this was definitely a wonderful gift," RADA Foundation Executive Director Kim Hundertmark told FOX 5.
That gift to Asheville artists came in the form of exposure at Atlanta’s Ponce City Market.
"Ponce City Market donated this space…we don’t really have a lot of gallery space or studio space in the River Arts (District) right now," she explained.
Hundertmark is one of the dozens of artists whose studio spaces were damaged by the hurricane that claimed hundreds of lives and left widespread devastation.
"The River Arts District started as an inexpensive place for artists to find studio space," she said. "We all had to move out…I was in the second floor…and had about a foot and a half of water in my studio."
Hundertmark says even in the cold of this winter season, the response from Metro Atlanta residents has been warm.
"We’ve sold about $20,000 worth of art in the last four weeks," she told FOX 5.
She says that support means everything to the 40 artists featured.
"It means they pay their rent for the next month or two…it means that they’re able to buy supplies that they lost in the flood," Hundertmark said.
The River Arts District pop-up exhibit will be open until Sunday, Dec. 29. The exhibit is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Source: This article is based on original reporting by FOX 5's Joi Dukes.