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Bender Gallery is “Standing Strong” with Artists Affected by Hurricane Helene

ABOVE: Drone photo by stephan pruitt/fiasco media

We are living in even stranger times. While fires are ravaging Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States, affecting many of our friends and collaborators, the scores of artists in Asheville impacted by Hurricane Helene in September are still reeling from the loss of their homes and studios. To provide support, Bender Gallery has organized an art show with their local artists to support the River Arts District. “The RADA (River Arts District Artists) community is extremely strong, diverse, and inclusive. Artists loved showing their work there and there was a strong sense of a collaborative energy throughout the area… the Asheville art community is resilient, especially the RADA artists,” says Bernadette Bender from the Gallery. More about the exhibition can be found here.

Below are a few recollections of a selection of the artists affected by hurricane and the impact on them personally and as artists, with shots of the havoc which Hurricane Helene caused, followed by a few selections of art work from the showing at Bender gallery.

 Elizabeth Porritt Carrington

I had a beloved studio on the second floor of Riverview Station Studios by the river in the RAD and was represented in the Tyger Tyger gallery on the first floor of Riverview station as well as the Artplay gallery on depot St. All were flooded during Helene. I’ve been displaced and am in a temporary studio in the Phil Mechanic studios in the upper RAD. It’s been a significant loss and a huge experience to navigate as an artist. I’m finding my feet and I know I’ll figure my way through this somehow. I miss my studio, I had a beautiful space, I miss the galleries, and community which was a veritable art village that stretched out through the district, a rare haven of creative art life. The Asheville art community and support in the greater community around us  is pulling together in extraordinary ways. We’ve had a lot to contend with and continue to witness the evidence of that on a daily basis. Some artists have had to leave town already, especially those whose homes and studios were impacted. I feel a part of the rebuild and more committed to the community than ever but it feels as if we are on a wild edge. 

Heather Clements

Helene was my second major Hurricane, after surviving the category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018 that destroyed my home and over 80% of all the trees in millions of acres.  We moved to Asheville to be immersed in nature and art, and away from Hurricanes.  (That didn’t work out well.)  My home was spared this time, but the gallery and teaching space I was a part of was destroyed, along with roughly 40% of my art, and many supplies and materials.  I was fortunate to save a lot of art just before the flood.  The River Arts District was 80% destroyed, yet the art community has been inspiring and tenacious in the face of such horrific devastation.  My art career has persevered through another major hurricane and a pandemic, so especially with the help of RAD and the amazing Asheville community, I know I can make it through this, too.  

The River Arts District was 80% destroyed, yet the art community has been inspiring and tenacious in the face of such horrific devastation.- Heather Clements, RAD artist

Kelcey Loomer

“Until the last moments, artists were helping those on the first floor move belongings to higher ground, certain the second floor—where my 750-square-foot studio was located—would be safe. But the river rose higher than ever recorded, flooding my space and destroying most of my works on paper, family photos, my lifetime portfolio, and nearly all my works in progress, as well as much of my infrastructure. Miraculously, the piece on my easel survived untouched, standing steady amidst chaos. The days that followed were grueling, marked by tough decisions about what to save and the heartbreak of seeing friends discard their life’s work. Despite it all, the experience has brought our arts community closer.”

Daniel McClendon

I didn’t think I would ever be affected by flooding based on how far I was from the French Broad, not to mention being 20′ above average river level. But on Fri 9/27, I walked into knee-deep and rapidly rising flood water pouring in my lower level of my studio. I ended up jumping in and spending 2 hours hauling paintings, lithographs and boxes of my self-published book upstairs to safety. Everything else that was down there was severely damaged or destroyed as the water ultimately rose to 51.” That was followed by 6 weeks of clean up–mostly without power or running water– before being able to get back in to start working again. 

Everything else that was down there was severely damaged or destroyed as the water ultimately rose to 51 inches.- Daniel McClendon, RAD artist

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