We were very honored to interview Esther Manheimer, the Mayor of Asheville in a multi-faceted discussion about the state of the arts in Asheville. Hear about her work on the Rebuilding Western North Carolina Advisory Committee and how she is bringing the arts to the forefront of the rebuilding efforts. Also learn about a possible $1 billion+ that could be flowing into Asheville, the opportunity for arts businesses to obtain some of this grant money and her advice to arts organizations and artists in becoming involved in the state and local government efforts. We also chatted about the Public Leadership in the Arts Award she received from the Americans for the Arts and why the arts are so important to her personally and to Asheville overall.