The Eno Arts Mill is preparing to fully return to its regular operations after a year of recovery and rebuilding from flood damage sustained during Tropical Depression Chantal.
The arts hub, located in the repurposed Eno Mill building at 437 Dimmocks Mill Road in Hillsborough, has set its re-opening ceremony for Friday, August 7. It has also begun to once again host summer camps and classes.
“This tragedy brought even more wonderful community members into our Eno Arts Mill family,” said Katie Murray, the director of the Orange County Arts Commission, in a newsletter. “It gave us time to pause, think, and strategize on how to improve our operations. It brought with it opportunity to rebuild and improve, and what an improvement! I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve done with the place.”
The ceremony will last from 6 to 9 p.m., and will feature open artists’ studios, food trucks, and live music from the band Liquid Pleasure.
A volunteer helps clean the flooded interior of the Eno Arts Mill (Image via Steve Murray).
The Eno Arts Mill first closed after sustaining heavy flood damages during the deluge of rain brought on by Chantal on July 6, 2025. That damage included much of the art on display at the time. While Murray’s post recounted the heartbreak felt by her and the greater Orange County arts community, it also detailed the ways it brought them together.
“Donations poured in almost immediately,” she wrote. “Thanks to this community, we fully reimbursed all 15 studio artists for their losses and distributed nearly $100,000 in emergency relief grants to Orange County artists whose livelihoods were impacted by Tropical Storm Chantal.”
Those funds came from 261 total donors and 60 mutual aid auction artists. The repairs to the mill itself were contributed to by over 100 relief volunteers.
“Friends and strangers shoveled mud, scrubbed flooded restrooms, cleaned artists’ studios, delivered enough food and water to feed an army, and stepped in however they could,” Murray wrote. “My team became superheroes, coordinating volunteers, solving problems, and leading with incredible grace under impossible circumstances. My panic gave way to overwhelming gratitude—a mix of emotions unlike anything I’d experienced in my 47 years.”
Murray also posted a YouTube video walking through the repaired space, detailing where damage occurred and what kind of remediation the Orange County Arts Commission and its partners have done since last July. On top of the repairs, the rebuilding process gave them the opportunity to improve the arts hub. That includes an updated classroom space, a shop for local artists to sell their work, and a community ceramics studio filled with tools and materials donated by local potter Russell Knop.
The video also detailed a forthcoming art show at the mill called “Chrysalis.” It will showcase work from the artists who had pieces on display during the floods, specifically focusing on art they’ve completed in the year since the storm.
“If I had a dollar for every person who’s told me how much they’ve missed the mill over the last year…well, my job would be a whole lot easier because I’d never have to fundraise again,” Murray said. “It’s made me realize that the goal we set in 2019—to create a welcoming, inclusive arts space for ALL people—had truly become a reality.”
Featured image via Steve Murray
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