Radical Resilience in the Artistic Civic Village: Asheville’s Action in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 12. Ecological Futures & Climate Activism

Abstract

Asheville, North Carolina, is a beacon of artistic community in the mountains of Western North Carolina. No chain stores exist within Asheville’s downtown corridor; local capitalism dominates the area’s business and cultural climate. Art and creative culture are omnipresent—music, visual arts—in a wide expanse of diverse third spaces. The Asheville culture is shaped by a mix of Appalachian independent artist mentality and local business, deeply linked in their institutional practices, collective identity, and approach to community. In September 2024, Asheville’s civic and social fabric was tested by the most devastating climate disaster in the region’s history. Hurricane Helene destroyed the thriving River Arts District and caused a catastrophic loss of life, homes, and livelihoods. Food insecurity skyrocketed and remained elevated. In June and July 2025, I traveled to Asheville and completed in-depth interviews with 22 community and government leaders in Asheville and the surrounding WNC community. The study explores these questions: In the face of increasing climate disasters in the future, what can we learn about this particular community and its institutional response from Asheville’s local businesses, faith leaders, artists, and government officials? How does the combined ethos of local capitalism and creative culture—as practice, third space, economic engine, and embodied individual identity—inform community leaders’ responses? Ultimately, what are the interventions and best practices for civic community and resilience that emerge from this case study? Nearly every place in the world faces a shared and looming fate: the increasing destruction and trauma wrought by climate change. To survive and rebuild, a community needs a herculean level of locally-rooted strength and creative capacity. Investigating institutional response helps to inform and build community resilience for future disasters.

Author

• Caty Borum, George Mason University