Editor’s note: This story has been updated at noon on April 21 with a longer statement from co-founder and former Director Marlene Paul, which is noted by italics in the text.
The nonprofit Art 180 plans to announce today that it will be closing its doors on Aug. 28, describing a near perfect storm of financial challenges in recent years.
A lynchpin of the local arts scene, Art 180 became known for its innovative programming and empowerment of Richmond youth through classes, workshops, paid internships and educational programs over the past 27 years. It operates Atlas, a community arts hub and gallery in Jackson Ward, and has functioned as a creative community space for local kids most in need, seeking to turn their lives around 180 degrees, hence the name.
But leaders say that six years of “financial strain and shifts in funding” have made it increasingly difficult to sustain the programs into the future.
Executive Director Tanesha Powell, who took over for co-founder and longtime director Marlene Paul just over 10 months ago, says the nonprofit’s focus will now be on ending strong with a slate of summer programs and events, in addition to a final exhibition opening Friday, Aug. 7 in the Atlas Gallery.
Among the 700-plus programs that Art 180 has hosted in the past: a My Reality virtual reality exhibit showcasing incarcerated youth stories, and Performing Statistics, which became a national program using art and storytelling to combat the school-to-prison pipeline.
Monarose Ryan, vice-president of Art 180’s board of directors, underscores the impact of the loss that will be felt by local participants. “We’re talking about kids who already feel like they didn’t belong; they spend so much time online. To lose a safe space like this … it’s really upsetting.”
Former board member and longtime donor, Iris Holiday, echoes this sentiment.
“We’re losing an exceptional nonprofit that focuses on children who have the least resources,” she says. “But one thing I’ve learned since coming to Richmond: Longevity does not equal perpetuity. Just because you have a long and glorious history does not mean you’re going to be around forever … because the earth changes underneath you — the sky changes.”
Financial strain and “lack of structural footing”
Today’s press release says that the closing is a result of “compounding financial strain over multiple years, which includes a sustained operating deficit, the loss of foundation and corporate support, rising operational costs” as well as “unbudgeted severances provided to prior leadership that significantly depleted the organization’s reserves.”
According to the nonprofit’s 990 forms for 2024, revenue for Art 180 was $728,573 and expenses were $946,639 (net income -$218,066) with total assets valued at $1.4 million and total liabilities at $71.9 thousand. The salary for former Executive Director Marlene Paul that year was $123,165.
The press statement also notes that until the recent completion of its strategic plan, Art 180 has operated “without a formal strategic plan for the past six years,” leaving it without the structural footing needed to weather these challenges. It says the organization “has operated at a deficit for more than three years with individual donations declining steadily over the last six years. Corporate and foundation support — a pillar of Art 180’s funding model — contracted significantly, with the organization losing roughly $135,000 in that category alone [over the last year]. At the same time, emergency pandemic-era funding that helped sustain many nonprofits came to an end.”
Powell says she quickly became aware of dwindling income levels soon after taking over the job last June. When asked about other revenue streams, she informs Style that the nonprofit lost $35,000 in City of Richmond funding, along with nearly $10,000 in reduced support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), which is federal pass-through funding. Faced with these shortages, in early 2026, the board of directors authorized an emergency stabilization effort which included major donor conversations, targeted foundation asks, and the sale of Art 180’s summer residency artist condominium at 110-A Marshall St. (part of the complex where Art 180 is located at 114 W. Marshall St.).
Despite their emergency efforts, it was not enough to chart a path forward, Powell says. The press release notes that “external pressures were further compounded by internal challenges. Leadership transition costs, including unbudgeted severance payments to prior leadership, came at a time when reserves were already constrained.”
Three of Art 180’s current board members have served for approximately a year and a half, and two additional members joined in January of this year, according to Powell. The annual operating budget this year was just over $800,000, Powell explains, while in 2025 they ended up spending more than the budget of “just under a million” due to the “leadership change and unbudgeted expenses” of negotiated severance packages to former Director Marlene Paul and former Deputy Director Nicole Jones, who also represents the 9th district on Richmond City Council.
Ryan explains that when the severance packages were negotiated before the board, there had been a “significant misunderstanding” of the nonprofit’s assets, which were mostly tied up in real estate and were not liquid; adding that some of the executive committee board members who presented the info are no longer part of the current board. “If it had been made clear that making the severance decisions would put the organization at risk, I doubt any of us would’ve made the same decision,” she says.
Another internal structural issue that Ryan says needed to be addressed during the leadership transition was the lack of a dedicated director of development role to oversee relations with donors and grow the base. “It was a bit too little too late,” she says.
In the last few months, the floor began to drop out. “The executive board was talking about an emergency plan, and we just learned in a board meeting that, as it turns out, Art 180 had asked for emergency funds over the past three years,” Ryan says. “That radically changed the scenario … We did not know we had done that before. Things were just continuing to come up and we were learning more. It was a surprise and I believe it will continue to be a surprise to a lot of people.”
For Art 180 to be sustainable beyond the year to come, Powell says it would need to raise close to a million dollars, which they did not see happening in the current climate. “In terms of impact, compensation is only one component of the overall budget, but it was not the primary driver of the financial challenges we faced,” Powell said in an email response to Style. “The issues were developed over multiple years, including sustained operating deficits, declining individual giving, and reduced corporate and foundation support.”
In the press release, Powell says: “Everyone in a position of responsibility around this work is accountable to the young people we serve. That accountability was not consistently upheld in the years before I arrived. When I came in, my goal was to stabilize and strengthen our infrastructure so that this important work for young people could continue. We made meaningful progress, but we could not fully recover from what had already been lost.”
Style has continued to reach out to multiple other board members, past and present, but had not heard back from most of them as of press time. Several former people associated with Art 180 defended the prior work of co-founder Marlene Paul, who, when reached by Style, asked that we run this statement below:
“After so many years, I expected the transition to new leadership would be complex. What we built together at Art 180 was strong — an engaged community, a legacy of longstanding supporters, and meaningful impact across generations. I’m deeply grateful to all the people who invested in and cared for Art 180 alongside me, and heartbroken by this outcome.”
UPDATED STATEMENT (April 21, 2026):
Marlene Paul recently sent Style Weekly a longer statement in which she directly challenges the accuracy of the narrative around the closing. She makes a case that while funding has been in decline since the pandemic and federal funding cuts in 2024, that Art 180 was “financially stable and sustainable” when she departed 10 months ago.
“To question my leadership while I was in the role contradicts the programmatic, reputational, and financial success of ART 180 through my last day there,” she writes, adding that to challenge a “reasonable, board-approved compensation package” after she founded and led the organization for 27 years “is deeply offensive.”
Last December, she learned that the nonprofit was in crisis and emailed board alumni for help. “Their actions, along with a personal meeting I had, prompted a foundation to contact the organization on behalf of some other funders who might provide emergency support. They were told that ART 180 would be fine until February by selling the condo, and they agreed to reconnect then. When ART 180 met with funders in mid-February, the situation was too dire, and confidence in the organization’s viability too uncertain for them to help.”
Before she retired from her role, Paul says she personally contacted more than 120 major donors and funders, paving the way for follow-up from the new director, and recruited two former board presidents to help with fund development strategy. She adds that she met with new Executive Director Powell before and after leaving, and again in August, and was available as an advisor through 2025. “In October, I offered to email donors but was told my help wasn’t needed,” she says.
Regarding her severance package, Paul says that her proposal was vetted by the executive committee and approved by the full board, who had access to the same financials that she did. She says she was paid less than she asked for (confirmed by board VP) and that there were funds available in the reserves, so it would not affect the annual operating budget. She adds that the board hired consultants and attorneys to handle the transition and paid retention bonuses to remaining staff.
“What happened at ART 180 is not a mystery. But it is a shame, and I believe it was avoidable,” she says.
Changing philanthropic landscape
Many arts organizations statewide are struggling with funding cuts and fewer corporate sponsorship dollars, partly due to more widespread demand from various nonprofits around the state. Powell did not want to identify the names of major corporate sponsors who changed priorities, apart from noting that $135,000 was lost in the last year alone.
Iris Holiday, who was named to Style’s Power List almost a decade ago while in her former job as director of corporate philanthropy and community partnerships at Dominion Energy, notes that today there is “more demand for corporate representation on [nonprofit] boards than you have people available.”
Another trend she’s been noticing for years: “Corporations have a different philanthropy imperative, it’s not as general, it’s very specific and targeted. Most have foundation boards or advisory boards that meet on a wide range of philanthropic endeavors, from economic development in the arts to environmental. Much more now than ever, you have emergency situations come up all over the state, not just in Richmond.”
Powell told Style that multiple scenarios were considered during this decision-making process, “including what a significantly leaner version of ART 180 could look like.” She noted that “even with deep reductions, the organization would not have been able to operate sustainably – both financially and operationally – without compromising the core quality and impact of the programming.
“Sustainability in regards to being able to fairly compensate staff and artists for their time, talent, and energy, and to run programs at the level of quality our young people deserve,” she said. “We were not in a position to do both long-term.”
She adds that ultimately, the board made the decision that “closing in a thoughtful, planned way was more responsible than continuing in a way that would be unstable or diminish what the organization has meant to young people over the years.”
Philip Davidson, a longtime Art 180 donor and parent of staff member, says he and his wife have supported the nonprofit since 2010, when it applied for a grant from Impact 100.
“Although Art 180 did not receive the grant that year, we were so impressed with Marlene Paul that we began donating ourselves and have continued our support,” he tells Style. “Sometimes an organization runs its course. And since COVID, gaining funding for such organizations has been increasingly challenging. My guess is that a new organization will emerge and fill the void.”
Upcoming programming
Powell says that the proceeds from the condo sale will be combined with a donation from the Virginia Sargeant Reynolds Foundation to fund their upcoming programs and support partnerships with Next Up, Boys & Girls Club of Richmond, Higher Achievement and other community organizations.
Each Art 180 program currently running will be completed so that every young person can “finish what they started” (there is a list of upcoming programs after this breaking news story). Organizers are also inviting the public to share a note, an image, or a reflection of their history with the organization and what it meant to them on the Art 180 Community Wall, located on its website.
Program Manager Dallas Roquemore, who has been there for three years, says the paid residency of 10-15 teens was the most impactful program he’s personally witnessed: “This past year we had a theme ‘Hol’ On, I’ll Stay Here,” based on displacement in Black and brown communities, especially in Jackson Ward … it was always a new perspective that you hadn’t even thought of.” When recruiting in high schools, he says he never sees any other art organizations like Art 180 that focus solely on kids’ creativity.
“It truly does break my heart … for these kids, their third space is art,” says Powell. When asked about her own future, she adds that she is weighing all her options moving forward including entrepreneurship, consulting and working with other local nonprofits.
Powell shared with Style some comments from impact stories given by teens on Art 180’s teen leadership committee, about how the nonprofit changed their lives.
“I don’t think I realized the true importance of being surrounded by people that reflect you, not just by race, but by the music they listen to, the fashion they wear, the hairstyles they do, and the artwork they make until I got to Art 180,” one writes.
“These trips (referring to a camping trip to Shenandoah National Park, and Museum visits in D.C.) took me out of my shell a bit, but also exposed me to a future I had never thought of before,” says another. A third adds: “When I think of Art 180, I think of the friends, the mentors, all the times I’ve laughed until my stomach was in pain, all the hours spent furthering myself as an artist and as a person.”
A letter to Art 180 donors went out yesterday that said “this is not the result of a single moment. It is the result of patterns that built over time.”
Former board member and personal donor, Scott Blackwell, credits Paul with growing Art 180 from a very small organization to one with a permanent home. “The staff and board cared deeply and always put the kids first,” he said via email after Style made several attempts to reach him by phone. “[Art 180] was about so much more than art, it was a part of the neighborhood and a safe place for youth to be together and thrive.” (Update: After this story was published, Blackwell publicly commented on our Facebook page: “Art 180 was a well-managed organization for many years. It provided a valuable service to many children and their families. I cannot agree with all that I’ve read. I was involved with them for 20+ years and saw nothing but professional and prudent management.”)
Reached this morning, Sean O’Brien, who was the past board president from 2016 to 2023, said he was “shocked to realize that the demise was so imminent.”
This is a breaking news story and Style will follow it and be adding any additional reporting as it becomes available. Art 180 notes that community support, at any level, remains welcome and meaningful. Donations can be made at www.art180.org.
Upcoming Art 180 programs:
“Through their Eyes” – Youth art exhibition opening May 1, featuring work made in the spring programs; open to the public at Atlas gallery.
Bird Scooters Helmet Painting Event – A collaborative public art event with Bird Scooters on Saturday, May 23.
Atlas Artist Residency (summer 2026) – An adapted version of paid youth arts residency running through the summer. The program includes an overnight camping trip in collaboration with Shenandoah National Park Trust and a one-day field trip to Washington, DC to visit museums.
Open Studios: Drop-in creative programming for high school students hosted in the Atlas Gallery from June 9 to Aug. 4.
Teaching Artist Legacy mini-series: A four-six week learning series equipping Art 180’s teaching artists with tools to independently sustain youth arts programming in Richmond.
Final Youth Exhibition: Opening Friday, Aug. 7
