Help River Arts District Artists Rebuild After Hurricane
Donation protected
Photo: Flooding of the River Arts District in Asheville, NC on September 28, 2024 from Hurricane Helene, sourced from Discover Asheville's Instagram page. Top left buildings in the photo are Curve Studios, the location of the studio I was scheduled to rent beginning October 28th.
Instagram video with information on this Go Fund Me: https://instagram.com/roserooted.elixirs
Funds from this campaign will be transferred directly to my account and then sent to Angelique Herron who is one of the artists of Curve Studios. She will then disperse the funds to the other artists. I will use 10% of the funds to help cover loss of my personal income and funds put into marketing and preparation of the opening of my elixir bar within Curve Studios.
My name is Michaela Kascak and I am raising funds to support artists from the River Arts District in Asheville, NC after Hurricane Helene flooded the 26 building district, filled with hundreds of artists studios, with reportedly 16-23 ft of water from the French Broad River.
On Thursday, September 26, 2024 Hurricane Helene brought historical flooding to the small mountain city of Asheville, leaving most of the city, specifically one of the cities gems, the River Arts District (RAD) under 16-23 ft of water and cut off from most of the world with no power, no cell service and limited ways out of the city. Landslides have taken out highways, water lines are off, people are out of water and food. As of now, September 27, 2024 6:30 pm EST, 70,000+ people are out of power in Asheville alone. The storm has effected most of Western North Carolina and other states.
My little sister lives in Asheville and although we believe she is safe after hearing from her Friday morning around 12 pm EST we have not been able to get contact for over 24 hours now. Please keep her and everyone else in Asheville in your thoughts and prayers.
I am scheduled to move to Asheville from OR, where I am currently, in 9 days (October 7). I am currently staying with a friend for what was supposed to be my last days in the PNW as my lease in OR ended. I signed a lease for a house in Arden, NC (neighboring Asheville) for which I have no idea the condition of. I also signed a rental agreement and put a deposit down to rent a studio in the River Arts District to offer my small business of a non-alcoholic elixir bar and cafe out of, that is now literally 16-23 ft underwater. I was scheduled to move into the space on October 28th and open on November 9th. I have no idea what my plan will be moving forward as this was my sole source of income.
Thankfully all of my personal belongings are here in the PNW with me, so my loss is limited to my personal income from my business. Unfortunately, most River Arts District artists are not as lucky. They have likely lost everything.
This Go Fund Me is meant to raise funds for those artists. It is difficult at this time to know exactly how or where these funds will be needed but I will start by sharing them with Curve Studio artists (this is the studio building I was meant to rent from), and disperse additional funds if acquired to other artists. At least 90% of these funds will go to RAD artists and, as the situation develops, if needed, I will use a small percentage of these funds to cover my loss of personal income due to no longer being able to open the elixir bar & cafe while I figure out what my options are (no more than $5,000 to cover a percentage of 2 months worth of my income from the elixir bar & cafe). If funds are left over they will go directly to other efforts of support for residents and communities of Asheville.
I will provide updates on the situation and allocation of funds as more information develops. Any support is helpful and greatly appreciated!
UPDATE 9/29 4:00 pm EST
My sister is safe! Thank you to everyone who has checked in. Her home is safe, she has some food and water for now and is trying to figure out how to get gas to get out of Asheville.
River Arts District not much update here. It is still underwater. From social media posts, it seems at least some artists were able to get a good amount of their work out. I have not had any contact with the studio manager yet.
My personal situation The studio I was schedule to rent is on the first floor and has been underwater since at least Friday morning. I am in between housing, staying at a friends in the Pacific Northwest awaiting my move. I still have no idea the state of the house I was supposed to move into on October 10th in Arden, NC. I don't know where I will be living or how I will be making income. If anyone knows of anyone remote job opportunities, as I do not know where I will be located for the next few weeks to months, please let me know.
I am counting my blessings. I was not there. I am safe and belongings are here with me. I pray for everyone who is there. It is a strange and challenging feeling to be effected by this situation from so far. There is a feeling guilt for feeling grief for all of the hard work I have been doing, being literally 16-23 ft underwater and for the fear of not knowing where I will be living or how I will be making money, when I was not there during the storm. Many people are in way worse situations than this and I grieve for them too. I grieve for all of Asheville. For this community that has already held me so well, anticipating and excited for what I was bringing to share with them. Grief that it will never be the same. Hope that they/we will be able to rebuild. Confusion. Fear. Anger. So many feelings and very little answers.
UPDATE 9/30 5:30 PM EST
Photo shows the 3 buildings that make up Curve Studios. Circled shows all but the roof of the building that elixir bar was meant to be in underwater.
Text from my sister talking about RAD.
My sister is still safe, her house is okay she has had enough food and water. She has been trying to figure out how to get out of Asheville to Charlotte, but is unable to gas. She is staying at a friends in another part of Asheville that has electricity and water and will try again tomorrow to get gas. We had a friend stuck in Black Mountain, that as I type, just contacted that they final got out safe and neighbors are being evacuated with the police over the next few days.
River Arts District still no new updates here. I don't think there will be any real updates for weeks until cost of damage is assessed. I still have not been able to get in contact with the studio manager. If you haven't been to a location, I know it can be difficult to understand the severity of a situation from afar. Pictures and videos don't capture the depth of pain and in all honesty, we have become quite numb to these. In the same note, if you have not visited the River Arts District I don't think it is possible to understand the essence of what it was. However, I do hope this video helps to start to paint a picture of what has been lost and to also honor its memory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmuVlrURgWs
My personal situation: still same as yesterday. unsure of my house in Arden, unsure of where I will be in the next weeks to months. Safe and housed for now in the PNW. Trying to find ways to get some personal income flowing in. Grief still hits in waves.
Transparency of allocation of funds: I will not be taking any funds out of this campaign until I have contact with the studio manager and other artists and see where and what is needed. The small percentage of funds I may use (if needed) to cover my loss of income will not be taken out either, until then and I will only be taking out 10% of funds raised to my personal income coverage with no more than $5,000 to cover a portion of two months of income from the loss of the studio space for the elixir bar.
Last update for today, a personal note:
This photo of myself, my sister, my parents and my uncle came up on Instagram yesterday from a visit a couple of months ago in Asheville. Now it’s underwater. Grief is…. Weird to say the least. I have been thinking all day about a video I took earlier this day, walking down River Arts Place, in the River Arts District, the video showing Curve Studios and me saying “this is the building I want to open the elixir bar in” and sending it to friends. Two months later I put down the deposit and signed the contract for a studio in that place. My little sister (who is thankfully safe) was working to find artists to curate an art gallery wall in the elixir bar. I worked my a** for the summer at festivals and other events to save up what I needed to open. Floor plans were done up. I raised money to advertise the space in one of Asheville’s most popular magazines. Marketing flyers and loyalty cards were ordered. The menu was finalized. Grand opening event pages were made. The community was more supportive and excited for me to be there than I could have imagined. Now it’s all gone and with it the work of sooooo many artists and small businesses.
My head has been hurting for 3 days straight. I keep crying. Grief. For everyone in Asheville. For the families who still haven’t heard from their loved ones. For those who never will again.
I’ll will keep sharing this go fund me until until we reach the goal. Please share with everyone you can. Through your social media, text your friends and family, email everyone on your contact list. Please get the word out. It’s artists and small business like those effected by the devastating flooding of the River Arts District that suffer so much. They don’t always have the funds to rebuild. The world we live in doesn’t value the artists and small businesses in ways that set them up to have any sense of stability after even small losses, let alone catastrophic ones like this. It’s heartbreaking. to be impacted by so far away, my belongings not yet moved into the space and safe here with me, I cannot begin to fathom the pain, confusion, grief and fear of those who were there… who still are there and without potable water, food, cell service, power…
UPDATE 9/30 8:40 pm EST
Curve Studios update: here is a video showing damage from one of Curve Studios buildings, the one across from the space the bar was meant to be in. Excepting only a couple feet of flooding, in preparation tables were elevated with cinder blocks with other furniture and equipment on top, artwork stayed hung higher the walls. All that is now lost. No update on structural damage. no update on other RAD buildings. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAj3E3agfwl/?igsh=dDlrZjAwcnE5M2Fz
Thank you for the donations please keep sharing!
Live updates of the situation in Asheville/Buncombe County:
https://wlos.com/news/local/live-updates-saturday-director-of-emergency-services-we-have-had-loss-of-life
Here is some information on the River Arts District:
Buncombe County form to find and connect with local residents:
The River Arts District before the flooding:
I do not own any of these images, they come from various sources.
Organizer and beneficiary
Michaela Kascak
Organizer
Asheville, NC
Angelique Herron
Beneficiary