Help Artist Dina D'Argo Recover From Studio Fire

Hi! My name is Patti Mann, and I'm fundraising for my fellow artist Dina D'Argo. In the wee hours of Sunday, July 18, 2021, a professional artist’s worst nightmare happened - Dina's Nashville-area art studio burned to the ground. Nobody was hurt as it was a detached building near the house, but every single painting in Dina’s inventory was totally destroyed. $50,000+ worth of original paintings, now rubble and ashes. Her extensive inventory of professional art supplies was also completely destroyed. The loss is devastating. Dina has lost her entire livelihood in this fire, not to mention the devastating emotional loss and untold amounts of potential income. I've been in touch with Dina for a few days and she is in a state of shock, grieving the loss of her hard work and large inventory of beautiful paintings, and devastated and confused as to how she will make a living now.

How much does Dina need to begin to recover her livelihood as an artist and repair damage? Dina needs our help to purchase professional art supplies so that she can begin painting again. This includes not just paints and brushes (which are incredibly expensive, as an artist I know this!), but also studio furniture, a painting easel, a place to safely store paintings, and all of the peripheral supplies, furniture and equipment needed by a professional artist. She also needs help meeting the insurance deductible on the destroyed building so that she can begin to rebuild her studio (we're waiting to hear that amount).

How did the fire start? Dina had a small shed attached to the back of the art studio where she kept the lawnmower. The firefighters said it is common for grass on the mower to smolder for a long time, overheat, and then spark a fire. There were two small gas cans and some mini propane heater tanks stored near the overheating mower that probably exploded, waking Dina and her husband up in the wee hours in a terrified panic.

Won’t her homeowner’s insurance cover the loss? The insurance company has inspected the property and Dina's waiting for word on exactly what will be covered - it's sound like they'll cover the destroyed building, possibly some contents like furniture & equipment, and the heat damage on the siding and roof of their actual house (the burning studio was close to it). But the insurance will NOT cover the $50k+ of destroyed art inventory, nor the art supplies that were Dina’s tools of the trade (which all of us artists know are incredibly precious and expensive). In an effort to be as transparent as possible, we'll keep you informed of what is covered by insurance as Dina receives that information.

Let's pull together to help our friend Dina recover her career. Dina has helped so many others, supporting many charities over the years both with art and financial donations, and is an intelligent and staunch activist for animal rights, (and she's a kind, wonderful, talented human being).

Dina had just completed about $10k worth of improvements on her art studio this past fall, and, as she says, “It felt like I finally had a lovely space that I really enjoyed. I am now remembering certain pieces of art, favorites, new ones that I was really excited about. All are completely gone. I really wish I had kept a few pieces of art that were very special to me in the house. But I never dreamed this would happen. And the studio was finally nice enough to keep it all dry and clean and "safe" (supposedly). It wasn't only a workspace, it was my sanctuary and where I spent most of my time. I had space for yoga, a sewing area, and kept my good saddles and tack there. There were racks and cabinets for the tons of materials and findings I had collected over the past 10 years. Even my dogs loved  'studio time' and would nap on their beds while I painted or chilled on the new front porch. Now we have to keep them out of the yard until we can hire someone to haul this dangerous pile of broken glass and burned rubble away.”

To see Dina's bio and her (now destroyed) art, visit: https://www.dinadargo.com/about

In addition to donation funds via this GoFundMe, All About Art Gallery in Hendersonville, TN will be collecting art supplies and monetary donations for Dina throughout the entire month of August. Anyone can drop by the Gallery with their donations Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm. For every item or every $10 they donate, their name will go into a drawing for a Gift Certificate to our Gallery, which we will draw for in early September. 

All About Art Gallery
& Custom Framing
260 West Main Street, Suite 209B
Hendersonville, TN 37075
615-826-9880
https://www.allaboutartgallery.com/