ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Five months after Hurricane Helene, an artist in western North Carolina is starting a new chapter.
Hannah Rothstein is one of the Asheville artists who lost her studio, art pieces and supplies in the storm.
According to the Asheville Arts Council, the city lost more than 250 studios, galleries and venues in the storm.
Rothstein was at Foundation Studios in the River Arts District for almost a year. The storm left that area unrecognizable with waterlogged buildings collapsing under their own weight.
“This was such a vibrant, happy place. It was one of the things that drew me to the area, and to see it in this state is sad,” Rothstein said.
After the storm, she displayed her art at Eclipse Salon in downtown Asheville.
“It was great to have this show to work toward because I lost a lot of it in the flood,” Rothstein said.
This show includes evocative portraits of outer space and works about climate change.
“As the climate seems to get worse around us, what are we focusing on? I think is what I’m trying to call into question,” she said.
Two art pieces salvaged and transformed after the flood are also part of the display.
“A couple of weeks after, I found them hanging in the rafters,” Rothstein said.
She also does art commissions, including a poster for a Billy Strings show in February.
Her part-time job and a GoFundMe helped her get by. The donations also gave her the chance to lend a hand to other artists.
“I think a lot of us experience in the aftermath of this event wanting to help each other, which is one of the silver linings to a very gray and muddy experience,” Rothstein said. “I think a lot of us experience in the aftermath of this event wanting to help each other, which is one of the silver linings to a very gray and muddy experience,” Rothstein said.
Rothstein is now moving to a new studio called Resurrection Studios Collective in downtown Asheville at the former Moog Music building.
She had a hard time finding a studio.
“Directly after [Helene] a lot of people snapped up the available studios and for me, I was in a space of grieving and just trying to like reground and... I have a cousin in Charlotte actually, so I went to Charlotte after I ran out of water,” Rothstein said. “In that time that I was there, all the available studios got snatched up. And I know there's a lot of people who are out of space.”
Resurrection Studios Collective founder and director Heidi Adams said she’s noticed the demand for space.
“The amount of artists that have contacted me needing spaces is pretty overwhelming — there is a lot,” Adams said. “And there are not a lot of places in downtown Asheville like empty warehouses or places to turn it into spaces.”
Twenty artists will use the new studio and exhibition space.
“We are trying to create this new heartbeat and gather the community together,” Adams said.
The space features the work of western North Carolina artists across different mediums, and Rothstein is happy to be one of them.
“Finding somewhere like this has been absolutely wonderful and everything I needed,” she said.
Resurrection Studios Collective opened Friday with a celebration. Adams is hoping to welcome 50 artists to this new space.
