The Shape of Resilience: Village Potters Rebuild in Asheville a year after Hurricane Helene Flooding скачать в хорошем качестве

The Shape of Resilience: Village Potters Rebuild in Asheville a year after Hurricane Helene Flooding

The Face of Appalachia: EPISODE 43 On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina, bringing record flooding to Asheville and devastating the River Arts District. The French Broad River surged out of its banks, overwhelming warehouses and studios where more than 300 artists had built their creative lives. Nearly 80% of the district’s buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, displacing hundreds of makers, galleries, and small businesses. Among the hardest hit was The Village Potters Clay Center — a thriving community of ceramic artists, students, and educators. Their 14,000-square-foot studio was inundated, and in just hours, 16 kilns, 37 pottery wheels, and half a million dollars of equipment were lost. For founders Sarah and George Rolland, the destruction was “like losing a loved one.” But this is not only a story of loss — it’s one of resilience, creativity, and community. In this episode of The Face of Appalachia, we sit down with Sarah Wells Rolland to reflect on the flood, the emotional toll of losing everything, and the extraordinary efforts to salvage, repair, and rebuild. Thanks to support from across the country, The Village Potters found a new home uphill from the river and will reopen on October 9, 2025 — one year after Helene. They are located in the Westgate Shopping Center in Asheville, NC. This is the story of how art endures even when the waters rise, and how Asheville’s creative spirit continues to reinvent itself in the face of disaster. 👉 If you value stories like this, please subscribe, like, and share. Your support helps preserve and amplify Appalachian voices, traditions, and resilience. If you care about Appalachian culture, traditions that endure, or simply want to understand how communities find strength in remembrance, this episode about Decoration Day will give you a window into a world where history, faith, and family still shape everyday life. 👉 Subscribe to The Face of Appalachia to see more stories of mountain people, their music, their faith, and their way of life — before these traditions fade away. If you’d like to help us produce more episodes about Appalachian life, you can support our efforts through Super Thanks here on YouTube and on our GoFundMe page. With your contribution, we can continue preserving this fading way of life. Every donation makes a difference. Please visit our GoFundMe and help us keep Appalachian history alive for generations to come: 📌 GoFundMe. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-FOA 📌Be sure to check out Tim Barnwell's books on our websites: ✅The Face of Appalachia: Portraits from the Mountain Farm ✅On Earth's Furrowed Brow: The Appalachia Farm in Photographs ✅Hands in Harmony: Traditional Crafts and Music in Appalachia ✅Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas (guidebook) ✅Great Smoky Mountains Vistas (guidebook) ✅Tide Runners: Shrimping and Fishing on the Carolinas and Georgia Coast ✅Faces & Places of Cashiers Valley ✅Jewels of the Southern Coast: Architectural Gems of Charleston, Savannah and Beyond 📌 Follow us for more: 🌐 Websites: https://www.barnwellphoto.com and https://thefaceofappalachia.com 📷 Instagram:   / timbarnwellphotography   👍 Facebook:   / tim-barnwell-photography-100063064160549   CREDITS: Thanks to Fiasco Media for use of flooding image in thumbnail. www.fiasco-media.com LINKS: Barnwell Photography/books: https://www.barnwellphoto.com/ https://thefaceofappalachia.com/ Village Potters & Sarah Rolland: https://thevillagepotters.com/about-2/ https://thevillagepotters.com/about-2...