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40 <br /> and How the Light Gets Gold exhibits <br /> o Two standing-room-only poetry events in connection to the Rekindling exhibit, <br /> one featuring a reading by currently incarcerated individuals, and a spoken <br /> word performance featuring artists from around the Triangle, curated by <br /> Dasan Ahanu. <br /> o A standing-room-only reading by celebrated Chapel Hill author Daniel <br /> Wallace <br /> 2. At 7am on Monday, July 7, OCAC director Katie Murray arrived at the Eno Mill to <br /> find 3.5' of standing water and no power. Over 150 community volunteers <br /> responded and helped us, and our tenants, move out of our 10,000sf space in <br /> just three days. Volunteers brought food and water, rented a storage unit for our <br /> artists who were out of town, and helped clean, all while navigating temperatures <br /> over 100°. Local and statewide news outlets featured our story, leading to <br /> donations from around the state, which were received by our nonprofit arm. The <br /> Arts Alliance dispersed $95k in Artist Relief Grants, for artists living or working in <br /> Orange County who lost supplies or income due to Chantal. <br /> 3. Following the flood, programs were relocated and continued in satellite locations: <br /> a. Summer Camps resumed the following week at 306 Revere Rd. <br /> b. Adult classes resumed at West Campus, Revere Rd., and Snow Approach <br /> Foundation. <br /> c. The Common Good Mutual Aid Auction, originally scheduled for <br /> September as a fundraiser for WNC artists, was relocated to the <br /> ArtsCenter. It featured over 60 works of donated art, raising over $11 k for <br /> our Artist Relief Fund. <br /> d. The 9th Annual Paint it Orange Plein Air Paint-out & Wet Paint Sale was <br /> relocated to the Thomas Stevens Gallery (adults) and the Orange County <br /> Library (youth). We had 95 adult participants, 50 youth, and raised $8k for <br /> the arts commission. <br /> e. Makers at the Mill Holiday Bazaar became the Hillsborough Holiday <br /> Bazaar and was relocated to the Courthouse Lawn. Thanks to boosted <br /> programming by events contractor Greg Bell, the event featured <br /> performances by local youth ensembles, a community square dance, and <br /> saw record attendance and sales. <br /> 4. Two weeks after the flood, installation began for the 211 Uproar Festival of Public <br /> Art, which uplifted our community through the joy of public art and saw <br /> tremendous growth over the inaugural festival in 2023: <br /> a. 52% increase in Welcome Center visitors <br /> b. 373% increase in votes cast <br /> c. 121% increase in Saturday trolley riders <br /> d. 70% of downtown businesses saw new customers; 53% saw increased <br /> foot traffic; 100% felt Uproar was a positive addition to the community <br /> e. 92% of artists would recommend Uproar to fellow artists <br /> f. $84,5050 raised in private support; 53% of Uproar expenses paid Orange <br /> County residents and businesses <br /> g. 30 editorial stories, 65k views of uproarfestnc.com and over 4k audio <br /> description listeners <br />