A letter from Tyger Tyger Gallery’s owner, Mira Gerard:

Dear friends,

As you have probably heard, Hurricane Helene dealt a devastating blow to North Carolina, including the River Arts District, which was the home of Tyger Tyger Gallery, which represented local, regional, national and international artists, including several Asheville artists. The gallery is situated next to the French Broad River, and it was completely submerged in the flood, which crested at over 30 feet, far higher than the great flood of 1916.

The night before the flood and then early in the morning the following day as the river was rapidly rising, my staff, volunteers and I moved artwork to my upstairs studio above the gallery, thinking it would be safe there. We were evacuated soon after arriving. As I drove away, the river crested the road, starting to pour into it. It was a harrowing moment as I realized that only a few more minutes might have meant that I might not have made it out. In the days that followed, there was no access to the building as the river rose, and it was days after it receded that we were allowed back inside. We discovered that the works that had been moved to the second floor were also compromised because the flood waters rose all the way up to that level. The gallery windows had shattered and the doors were forced open, and we lost a lot of art that was pulled through those spaces and floated away. Once we were allowed back inside, staff and volunteers and I worked to pull every work of art out of the gallery that we could find.

A massive amount of artwork was in the gallery downstairs and was submerged in the flood. Much of it was completely lost or destroyed, while other works were severely compromised and may or may not be restorable. This included artwork by over 40 local, regional, national and international artists, including the work of my late father, Jonas Gerard, as well as my own work.

We were so fortunate that many of our artists had studios in the building. Being able to walk upstairs and pick out new work for the gallery and talk with artists about their process was a gift. These artists have lost so much and are in need of support.

One of the most meaningful things you can do in the upcoming months and holiday season to support the art community of this region would be purchasing art that survived the flood.

There are only a few works that survived without any water touching them, and they are now available for purchase. The private view below contains Round 1 of what we are making available. In addition, many of our artists have generously donated their surviving work for us to sell, which means that we will make sure that up to 60% of the proceeds from the sale of this work will be donated to local artists who lost their livelihoods and studios.

Coming soon, we will release Round 2, which is a number of clean prints, works on paper, and works from my studio that were also unscathed. After that, we will focus on restoring the artwork that had less damage and making that available for purchase, including some paintings and prints that were dried out in the sun in the days after we were given access to the building. Stay tuned!

To those of you who donated to our Venmo in the days after the flood, thank you. We were able to send money to part-time employees who had to leave, as well as fund the ongoing gallery operations, remaining staff, and storage/transit of damaged work. If you would like to send any donation amount to Tyger Tyger Gallery's Venmo, please click the button below:

I am deeply grateful for the dozens of people who helped us in the aftermath – moving and storing damaged artwork, bringing food, offering lodging, sending kind messages, donating money, and more. In this painful and extraordinary process I have made so many new friends. But most of all, it’s the artists and staff of the gallery who are the heart and soul of this endeavor.I want to focus on the art we have left to celebrate and share.

It is hard to put into words the heartache I have experienced in this process. The gallery space was magical. The memory of the way it looked when the late afternoon sun would stream through the windows has been prominent in my mind. It feels like it was all a beautiful dream, except that it was very real. I look forward to keeping the dream alive one way or another, and staying in touch with you all.

All Love,

Mira Gerard

191 Lyman Street #144, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 350-7711
mothership@tygertygergallery.com
www.tygertygergallery.com
@tygertygergallery