Queer and chronically ill artist Cathy Rowsome will be presenting their most recent work, a project that came out of a residency with collaborator Eileen Shaughnessy at the Santa Fe Art Institute. The pair began by exploring the links between chronic illness and environmental destruction. “We found through exploring our own relationships with illness, and talking to other chronically ill people, that disconnection from healthy ecosystems, and living as part of poisoned or struggling ecosystems was at the root of our chronic illnesses in complex ways. We found that our inquiry quickly turned towards questions about colonialism. How has our position as white settlers on Turtle Island, whose ancestral roots and land-based traditions are far away, both geographically and generationally, influenced our relationship to the land here? How do our bodies carry the weight of the violent history of colonialism on this land, how have our bodies internalized colonial misogyny going back to the “burning times” in our ancestral homelands?”

The works on display will feature interviews with four chronically ill women and non binary folks, pictured within landscapes through which they have found healing connection. Using a mixture of printmaking and various drawing and painting media, the pieces tie together landscapes and ecosystems within the human world as well as in the realm of spiritual healing.

The opening night will feature live music and poetry from Eileen, Cathy and several of the project participants. Join us for an intersectional and nuanced exploration and celebration of being chronically ill in the world today.

Free and open to all!
Light refreshments will be served. 

****Accessibility info: The front door is wheelchair accessible- it has an automatic button to open door and no steps and is wide. Back door is not accessible ( has a step). To be accessible, the inner doors should both be propped open including to allow access to the large bathroom at the right. Unfortunately we do not have an ASL interpreter at this time, but we are working on it. We are asking folks to be as fragrance free as possible. If there are any other accessibility needs, please do not hesitate to contact us: eileens@unm.edu.