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Under Pressure: Jewelry Artist Jeffrey Burroughs Transforms Hardship Into Hope With River Arts District Artists

RADA president Jeffrey Burroughs discusses how financial investment and community action shape the River Arts District’s recovery and Asheville’s future.

Elise Wilson

• 5 min read
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Under Pressure: Jewelry Artist Jeffrey Burroughs Transforms Hardship Into Hope With River Arts District Artists
Photo: Jeffrey Burroughs

​Editor’s note: This episode contains discussion of a near-death experience and suicidal ideation. The views expressed by Jeffrey Burroughs are their own and do not reflect the positions of ArtsvilleUSA or its parent, Arterial Inc. This podcast is intended to highlight the artistic work and community impact of our guest. It does not reflect support or opposition for any political candidate, party, or ballot measure.

Jeffrey Burroughs doesn’t believe in luck. “There’s no such thing,” says the president of the River Arts District Artists Association (RADA), repeating a bit of wisdom they once received from a mentor during their days as a musical theater major. “It’s preparation met with opportunity.”

Those words became reality when, just three days after Hurricane Helene left Asheville’s low-lying arts district underwater, RADA was granted nonprofit status. Suddenly, all that paperwork became a lifeline for hundreds of artists, studios, and small creative businesses struggling to recover. According to Jeffrey, the funds raised in the storm’s aftermath remain the only significant financial investment in the district to date.

As an artist, an active community advocate, and now a candidate for city council, Jeffrey has seen firsthand how policy decisions impact working artists. Today, they join us to discuss how financial investment and community action shape the River Arts District’s future, the intersection of art and civic life in Asheville, and how themes from our fall exhibition—mortality, memory, and impact—resonate through their art, business, and advocacy.

Highlights From Our Conversation With Jeffrey Burroughs

  • ArtsvilleUSA opened its September programming with the virtual exhibition Body of Work, which explores the concept of memento mori and features jewelry by Jeffrey. [00:14]
  • Jeffrey details their transition from New York City actor to Asheville jeweler following a serious illness at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. [00:59]
  • Jeffrey explains the significance of RADA receiving 501(c)(3) nonprofit status mere days after Hurricane Helene, which enabled fundraising and emergency relief grants for artists and creative businesses in the River Arts District. [38:14]
  • Jeffrey discusses the inspiration behind their collections, including pieces informed by personal experience, community, and local culture. [17:31]
  • Jeffrey credits Asheville’s resilience after Hurricane Helene to “hundreds of people standing beside me,” stressing that lasting change comes from “team-building and force multiplying.” [41:32]
  • Jeffrey shares their perspective on the economic and cultural role of the arts in Asheville, suggesting state-level “arts vouchers” to offset studio rents and policies that enable young artists to settle down in Asheville. [42:22]

Quotables

  • “Being seen and heard costs absolutely nothing. And showing up and respecting each other is literally the baseline that we should begin from.” — Jeffrey Burroughs [17:06]
  • "I love natural gemstones. It's literally pure magic. The Earth makes these things. And then one day somebody was like, what if we cut them and make them sparkly? There is something so magical that connects us back to the places we come from in those kinds of natural resources." — Jeffrey Burroughs [23:28]
  • "Even when the days are darkest, even when you're living inside of impossibility, you have to remember that you are unstoppable and that the energy and the possibility that lives inside of us that makes us so special as humans can't be dictated. That's what we're able to use to spark whatever it is we create." — Jeffrey Burroughs [31:02]
  • "You might see my face, but there are hundreds of people standing beside me.” — Jeffrey Burroughs [41:32]
  • "The arts in Buncombe County [are] a $1.3 billion industry. That's not philanthropy. Again, that's an economic driving force that should be invested in.” — Jeffrey Burroughs [43:39]

Mentions & Connections

  • River Arts District Artists (RADA): Community organization supporting Asheville’s artist-makers; steward of the Creative Campus project.
  • Arts AVL: Countywide arts advocacy organization; partner in recovery efforts post-Hurricane Helene.
  • ArtsvilleUSA’s Body of Work: Our virtual fall exhibition exploring the concept of memento mori, featuring work by Jeffrey and other Western North Carolina artists.
  • Unified RAD: Grassroots coalition that organized 39 visionary projects for Asheville’s creative future.
  • New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts: Collaborative partner in A Tale of Two Cities, ArtsvilleUSA’s retrospective exhibition linking Asheville’s and New Orleans’ hurricane recovery stories.

Get Involved / Where to Find More

Episode Credits

Clockwise from top left: 'Through the Flood'; '14k Gold Skull With Diamonds Pendant'; 'Helene’s Renaissance Necklace'

All photos published with permission of Jeffrey Burroughs.

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Jeffrey Burroughs

Website: https://JeffreyBurroughs.com
Instagram: @JeffreyBurroughs
Facebook: @JeffreyBurroughsNewYork

View the "Body of Work" Exhibition