Asheville Area Arts Council rebrands as Arts AVL
The new name reflects shift towards more focused approach
November 2, 2022 – Asheville, N.C.|The Asheville Area Arts Council has officially become ArtsAVL. The new name is a simplification and clarification that reflects the organization’s mission to keep the arts at the heart of our community. This rebranding aligns with the agency’s goals of supporting artists and arts organizations, and making the arts more accessible in Asheville and Buncombe County.
ArtsAVL has served the local arts community for the last seven decades, predating the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council. With each passing decade, the local creative sector has grown substantially. In 2019, the creative industries generated $1.6 billion in sales and supported 14,000 jobs. The Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation industry alone grew 53% from 2015-2019 — double the growth rate of the Construction industry over the same time period.
This unprecedented growth was thrown into turbulence by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation industry experienced the greatest percentage of employment loss in Buncombe County — an overall loss of 34%. ArtsAVL actively tracked the effects of the pandemic on the arts, releasing a countywide Creative Jobs Report and stepping even more into arts advocacy to help ensure a sustainable future for regional arts.
In the past year, ArtsAVL published three reports on the local creative sector, established the Arts Coalition to ensure the entire local arts community is being served, and hosted the Creative Sector Summit and new ArtsAVL Town Hall candidate forum events. Since 2020, ArtsAVL has regranted $300,000 in federal aid relief and $50,000 in Buncombe County American Rescue Plan funding to local arts nonprofits, and successfully advocated for a $129,788 Arts & Cultural block grant from Buncombe County to provide additional funding support to arts organizations.
To effectively support the arts in Asheville and Buncombe County, ArtsAVL must track and respond to the changing needs of the creative community. As the county’s official designated arts agency, ArtsAVL directly supports arts professionals and businesses through connection, advocacy, and services for creatives. Through this new approach, ArtAVL continues to tailor its programs to the specific needs of the local community.
In 2023, ArtsAVL will debut three new initiatives to foster more creative connections and improve accessibility: Creative Portal search features, a SmART Pass discount card, and an Arts Trolley. The Creative Portal functions on the ArtsAVL website will connect artists and arts businesses with patrons and supporters through a robust events calendar and member profiles. The SmART Pass will give ArtsAVL members discounts on goods and services at participating art businesses. The free Arts Trolley will have two connecting routes through downtown Asheville and the River Arts District, complemented by an interactive, searchable map of stops. More information on each initiative is coming soon.