ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Trackside Studios, an art gallery and studios located in the River Arts District, will hold a benefit auction of artwork inspired by and salvaged from Tropical Storm Helene in commemoration of the two year anniversary of the storm.
The auction will take place online from Sept. 1-14 at www.givebutter.com/c/support-beloved-asheville-with-local-art-cls3d6.
The artwork for sale is currently on display at Trackside, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week at 375 Depot St., Asheville, N.C.
Auction origins
Trackside endured major losses during Helene.
“We’re a long established, multi-artist studio in the River Arts District, and we are on Depot Street, which, historically, has not flooded. Or, if it did flood in 1916, it was maybe the basement, so we were not prepared for the fact that we flooded to over six feet,” shared Julie Bell, co-owner of Trackside. “We had 60 artists at the time, and 40 of them were on the main floor and lost everything. I think we may be salvaged, you know, just 10, 15, 20 pieces of art. Not much at all.”
Trackside, which also features working artist studios and a classroom for art workshops, also lost all the supplies in those rooms.
Fortunately, however, recent experience had prepared the gallery for a rebuild.
“We had just been through a big remodel in late ’23, early ’24, so our building owner and his contractor and subcontractors were all really familiar with the place, and they said, ‘We’re gonna reopen in two months,’ and we did,” Bell said. “We reopened in December of 2024, two months and a couple weeks after the flood, and we’ve just been kind of putting one foot in front of the other for the last couple years.”
Now, two years after the storm, Trackside wanted to mark the milestone with a benefit for its artists and the community that rallied to support them.
“We thought, you know, some people had some things that survived from [nearby galleries] or from our studio when it flooded. We should have a show,” Bell said. “Then, at the last minute, we decided that we should have an auction to benefit our artists, ’cause it has been a tough year with the economy, and tourism’s still trying to make its way back.”
An even-split auction
The auction, titled “Resilience: Art & Community,” features art that was rescued from Helene, crafted with salvaged materials or inspired by the experience of surviving the storm. 22 artists have their work featured in the auction.
Net proceeds from each sale will be split 50/50 between the artist behind the work and BeLoved Asheville, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Helene recovery and community equity in the Asheville area.
“We’re really hoping that we can raise a lot of money for BeLoved and help our artists, because they were obviously impacted by this flood,” Bell said. “We’re all still kind of in recovery mode as artists. I can’t speak for every artist in the River Arts District, but it’s been a tough time.”
For more information about the Trackside Studios auction, visit givebutter.com/c/support-beloved-asheville-with-local-art-cls3d6/auction.
