Local photographer Zen Sutherland sends a before/after image to highlight the contributions — and plight — of artists in the River Arts District. The studios here were recently shut down by the city of Asheville, citing a lack of maintenance, code violations and safety concerns.
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At the southern tip of Asheville’s River Arts District, along Old Lyman Street, a few warehouses sat marginally used. In the time since 2008, when the top photo was taken, Jeremy Russell had vision and energy enough to convert two of them to artist’s studios: the Tannery and Switchyard Studios. Street artists like Dustin Spagnola, Ishmael and Gus Isrich began putting up large mural pieces among other artists and graffiti, turning it into a colorful parade of styles, design and wild images seen in the bottom photo.
This week the city cut the electricity to eight of these buildings including the area that Alex Irvine and Ian Wilkinson were using to create the public art project selected by the city for 51 Biltmore. This left artists quickly searching for alternative places to create their works.
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