Artist Karie Reinertson
By Emma Castleberry
The Center for Craft has redirected its resources and energy toward building and distributing funds from the Craft Futures Fund, which it established during the pandemic. These grants are intended to provide emergency relief and recovery for WNC artists who were impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“Craft is an essential part of the region and our legacy, deeply rooted in our culture, history and economy,” says Stephanie Moore, the Center’s executive director. “For generations, these artists have preserved the area’s heritage while also fostering innovation. They make up a large percentage of Western North Carolina’s cultural heartbeat going back thousands of years.”
Artist Laura Lau Klein
ArtsNC reports that the arts sector is a significant economic force in our region, employing almost 16,000 people and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales, mostly by driving tourism. Helene caused, and will continue to cause, extensive damage to this crucial industry.
The Craft Futures Fund offers a multi-phase approach. Phase 1 was a series of $500 emergency grants distributed between October 15 and November 17. Phase 2 will offer larger grants to help the regional craft community recover. To date, more than $1 million has been raised for the fund.
The Center is collecting data from artists who have received funding, and many have reported a total or significant loss of their studio space; destruction of tools, materials and completed artworks; displacement from their homes and unexpected expenses. “Many shared that they are facing months of lost and uncertain income,” says Moore. “Scheduled events, festivals, fairs and exhibitions have been canceled, significantly disrupting income streams.”
One grant recipient is Karie Reinertson, who founded the multidisciplinary design studio Mother Studio with Laura Evans. “Like many others, we were severely impacted by Helene on both professional and personal levels,” says Reinertson. “We are grateful for the Craft Futures Fund to help us cover a bit of the cost of moving out of our flooded studio to transition to a temporary space.”
Moore notes that the second phase of Craft Futures Fund is intended to provide support for both individual artists as well as the arts organizations that will be suffering post-Helene. “As funders begin to consider the transition from relief to long-term recovery funding, the needs of arts organizations like the Center for Craft—who are committed to retaining staff, maintaining operations and remaining nimble in the face of shifting community efforts—will be critical,” she says. “Without a multifaceted range of funding and other long-ranging supports, artists will move away, businesses will close and our sector will struggle to rebuild. The Center for Craft is committed to being a beacon of hope for the region.”
Learn more about eligibility requirements and apply for the Craft Futures Fund, or to donate to the fund, visit CenterforCraft.org/CraftFuturesFund.
