Support Amy Mackie's Cancer Recovery Journey

Everyone who knows Amy Mackie loves her for her quick smile, boisterous laugh, sharp intellect, and boundless creativity, all of which have made her a fixture in the New Orleans community in which she lives, as well as an important friend, colleague, and collaborator to people well beyond it.

Amy has shaped her life around supporting people—artists, curators, and other creatives through her residency program PARSE NOLA, as well as many young (and a few old!) people wanting to learn to play piano through her private lessons. Amy talks with adoration and enthusiasm about her piano students, always finding joy in helping them through their challenges and celebrating their successes. And the energy and dedication she’s brought to innumerable projects in the art world have had a profound impact on people from Bulgaria to France, Norway to Latvia, Portugal to Miami.

Amy is, in a word, truly generous. Now we need to come together to support her.

At the end of August, Amy was diagnosed with stage 1 rectal cancer. Thankfully it’s an early stage of cancer, but that doesn’t mean the treatment and recovery will be quick or easy. Amy’s first (and hopefully last) surgery is scheduled for October 2. After that surgery, the doctors will be able to determine whether she needs additional surgery, chemo, or radiation.

Amy is going into all this with her typical fiery, indomitable spirit, but she is going to have to take time off from work to undergo the treatment and recover from it. We’re humbly asking for help from all of you to get her through this scary period and on the way to recovery, and we’re incredibly appreciative of whatever donation makes the most sense for you financially.

Her diagnosis of colon cancer is shocking because she lives a very clean life with her eating (no alcohol) and exercise. And of course her career doesn't come with health insurance or PTO, which is why we all need to rally behind her.

Please give as you are able to support our friend, Amy. And please share this widely via social media and email.

“Think of giving not as a duty, but as a privilege."

—John D. Rockefeller Jr.