County cuts funds for Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville Art Museum
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — On Thursday, Gavin Stewart was preparing with fellow dancers for a three-evening run for Terpsicorps' performance in the Diana Wortham Theatre.
“This is an incredible facility,” said Stewart. “They do a lot of work to it to make it a great place for artists to come.”
News the operating budget request submitted to cover maintenance and operations of the building that houses both the theatre and the Asheville Art Museum was not fully granted left Wortham’s incoming managing director shocked.
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“Unfortunately, this news came without any warning or discussion with us,” said Rae Geoffrey, incoming manager director for the Diana Wortham Theatre.
The Pack Square Cultural Partnership received $350,000 in operating funding in fiscal 2017, and was granted $175,000 for fiscal 2018. Rae said the theatre will have to look for alternate ways to raise money and cover operating and utility costs for the building.
On the other side of town, Asheville Community Theatre Executive Director Susan Harper is pleased with the $135,000 county commissioners granted towards the theatre’s $4 million renovation.
“This is a 44-year-old building,” Harper said. “Our technology was significantly out-of-date.”
The theatre has new LED aisle lights, a new overhead area to install stage lights, and new green rooms for actors to get ready.
“We replaced the stage front, and have inserted speakers at the front of the stage, to help with sound for the building,” she said.
Harper said the ACT has also been granted $1 million from the Tourism Product Development Fund (TPDF) which comes from hotel room taxes in Buncombe County.
The Asheville Art Museum in a separate request asked for $500,000 towards its renovation and expansion project. Commissioners approved $100,000.
Sunrise Community for Health and Wellness received $45,000 for a new, first-time drug offenders pretrial diversion program the nonprofit is working on with Buncombe County’s district attorney’s office.
News 13 was unable to reach commissioners on Thursday to find out how decisions were made on what entities received full funding and which did not.
