Gallery

A Letter from the Board of Directors
As some of you know through firsthand experience or from reading articles in the Mountain Xpress, the Arts Council has been working hard to gain financial solvency for the last year or so.
For those of you who operate galleries, you can appreciate that the Council has been subsidizing our gallery since it opened in 2004. Our costs to operate the gallery over the last couple of years have been about $4,000 per month. This means that almost $290,000 has been spent in staffing, utilities and overhead over the last six years just to keep these doors open. Taking into account our 30% commission charge on sold pieces, we would have had to sell about $13,500 each month in order for us to ‘break even’. Clearly, we haven’t done that by a long shot.
Since we have maintained the gallery despite the inability to break even, the difference in operating costs has come from our cash balances on hand every month for the past six years. We can no longer afford to operate in this way, and so have decided to sell the building that houses our gallery space. We will continue to own the building at #13 Biltmore.
Over the last decade the art community in Asheville has matured and expanded to include organizations of visual artists, performance artists and a wide variety of musicians. The number of art galleries downtown has greatly expanded in that time, and the Council feels the need to re-vision and re-focus its priorities to make sure we know where we fit in the community.
We know that providing gallery exhibit space for new and emerging artists is a service we’ve provided that is unique and extremely valuable to our art community. Please understand that this decision to close our gallery has not been easy for us, as we all feel that this space has helped define the Arts Council in recent years. Our plan is to develop creative ways to help new and emerging artists now and into the future even without our own gallery space.
We have appreciated working with you in the gallery since its inception. The artists of Asheville never fail to impress and surprise, and as we undergo this transition we welcome your continued support and thank you for what you have generously offered us over the years. The sale of our building will hopefully herald better financial times ahead for the Arts Council. Please feel free to send comments and suggestions to: theboard@AshevilleArts.com.
--------------------

Since 2004 the Asheville Area Arts Council has had the privilege of supporting non-commercial emerging artists by providing gallery space showcasing their work. Featuring between two to ten artists each month, the AAAC has helped present the creative work of hundreds of visual artists to the viewing public. Held the first Friday evening of each month, Gallery openings are usually attended by hundreds of community members.

The AAAC Gallery will host the Friends of the Arts Council on Friday, April 23rd! The show will run through May 1st and will include work by local artists who helped support our Crystal Ball! Please stop by to support them and see great artwork! Opening Reception Friday, April 23rd from 5-8pm!