Faced with massive debt, Charlotte Art League cobbles together a plan to stay afloat

The Charlotte Art League will remain at its current NoDA location, albeit with a smaller footprint, after the troubled nonprofit and its landlord unofficially agreed on a new lease, an art league board member said.

For months it has been unclear whether the art league, Charlotte’s oldest art gallery, would stay at its home near East Sugar Creek Road and the Blue Line light rail extension.

The league owed building owner Flywheel Group more than $200,000 in back rent and update costs, according to a letter that the property manager wrote to Jim Dukes, the former executive director of the nonprofit.

Dukes resigned last month, after former board members said he failed to tell them about the art league’s financial concerns.

Flywheel has forgiven some of that debt, said Charlotte Art League board member and first vice president Brent Finnell. He did not specify how much debt would be canceled.

But Finnell said the smaller space, debt payment plan and reduced monthly rent line up better with the nonprofit’s projected annual budget.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, but our budget and lease are a lot more conservative and a lot more realistic,” he said.

The five-year lease agreement should be finalized next week, Finnell said.

The Charlotte Art League had $37,200 in net revenue in fiscal year 2019, according to IRS records. It had a net loss of $21,600 the following year. And in fiscal year 2021, the most recent of data available online, it had a gross revenue of $219,300 while finishing in the black with a net revenue of $20,300.

“After months of dark days for Charlotte Art League, it feels as though the tides are changing and the ship is heading in the right direction,” read a newsletter sent to league members this month.

Finnell estimated that the art league would lose about 40% of its building space, located at 4237 Raleigh St. Gone are rooms for events, storage, splatter painting and some art studios, he said.

Where the art league would reside has been a concern since late 2023, when its entire 13-member board resigned after learning about the board’s financial problems.

The art league has since brought on six new board members and a new executive director, Kate McAllister. McAllister served the league as director of operations from 2019 to 2022.