Chronicles of the Chronic 

About

Chronicles of the Chronic

Rochester Art Center, Main Gallery West

Curated by Zoe Cinel

About the exhibition:

Chronicles of the Chronic is a group exhibition that celebrates the creativity and resilience of the chronically ill community by featuring regional, national and international artists whose artistic practice reflects holistically upon the experience of living with a chronic health condition. Eight of the thirteen artists were invited by Rochester Art Center’s Curator Zoe Cinel, and the remaining five were selected through a juried process from a pool of eighty-one applicants. The jury was composed of a diverse group of artists, curators and healthcare professionals, including Alison Berglom Johnson (independent artist and disability advocate), Keisha Williams (MCAD Gallery Director and Curator), Victor Montori M.D. (founder of Patient Revolution and author of Why We Revolt) and Rochester Art Center Curator Zoe Cinel.

What does it mean to navigate capitalism, the healthcare system and the artworld as an artist living with chronic, often invisible, conditions that impose physical and emotional limitations and require ongoing medical attention? This exhibition considers illness as an individual yet public experience, and it promotes an intersectional approach to care and healing. The narratives of disabled, queer, immigrant, and other historically underrepresented communities are presented through twelve artworks created in a variety of media, including soft sculpture, photography, participatory installations, and storytelling.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates that 6 out of 10 adults in the United States suffer from a chronic disease, but illness is still culturally regarded as an isolating topic to be discussed within the closed walls of a scientific establishment or private domain. In Rochester (MN), the birthplace of the top-ranked U.S. hospital, Mayo Clinic, health and care are central to the daily life of many residents and visitors. In this unique context, Chronicles of the Chronic invites all audiences to embark on a transformative journey that normalizes conversations around these topics. The artists’ perspectives on illness, wellness and disability move past binary constructs and they encourage us to find healing as individuals, communities and as a society. As artist Emma MacLean writes on her featured artwork Pain Journal N.2, “I used to believe that sickness and wellness were diametrically opposed, but I understand now that they flow back and forth and within each other.”

In addition to the artworks, visitors have access in the gallery to a multimedia library with books, podcasts and additional resources about care and healing. In-person and virtual programming related to the exhibition connects artists and healthcare professionals in order to build a stronger community and mend relationships.

Featured artists:

Anna Cowley Ford, Anna Hite, Benjamin Merritt, Brothers Sick (Ezra and Noah Benus), Drew Maude-Griffin, Geography of Illness (Emma Jones), Emma MacLean, Jennifer Bastian, Kym McDaniel, Lauryn Youden, May Ling Kopecky, Weng San Sit.

Jurors:

Alison Bergblom Johnson is an artist whose work crosses media and genre, exploring disability, identity, and joy.

Keisha Williams is the Director and Curator of the MCAD Galleries and Exhibitions.

Victor Montori M.D is a clinician, researcher, and healthcare innovator working at Mayo and he is the founder of Patient Revolution.

Zoe Cinel is the Curator at the Rochester Art Center and multidisciplinary artist living with a chrornic illness.

Attend a program in person at Rochester Art Center:

Sunday, November 12 at 1:00 PM | Spotlight Tour led by artist Benjamin Merritt

November 19, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Alison Bergblom Johnson presents: Letters Never Sent: Lydia B. Angier Writing from Rochester State Hospital. This program will take place in the Main Gallery West. More info & register free: Click Here

Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 1:00 PM | Spotlight Tour led by artist Drew Maude-Griffin

Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 1:00 PM | Spotlight Tour led by artist Jennifer Bastian

Join us online for these virtual programs:

December 2nd, 2023 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Virtual panel discussion with artist Anna Cowley Ford, Anna Hite, Kym McDaniel, Moderated by Curator Zoe Cinel | Register for free: Click Here

January 28, 2024 at 10:00 AM - Noon | Virtual workshop with Neuroscientist Morgan Fitzgerald from The Chronic Connection Podcast and @lifwithmigrane. Register for free: Click Here

February 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM | Delaney Liskey in conversation with May Ling Kopecky about Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis, patient experience and MS advocacy. Register for free: Click Here