The Living Legacy : An Artist's First Solo Exhibition

I never believed I'd earned the ability to use the term "artist" in reference to myself. Throughout my life, I've explored a multitude of creative outlets; whether it was acting, singing, dancing, writing, painting, photography, metalsmithing, or any other kind of creating, those were the times I felt most alive and the happiest. Yet, I was also shamed, ridiculed, and perpetually told I didn't have what it takes to continue, and so I stopped. Dance teachers who shamed me for my body verbally abused and humiliated me in class making me afraid to set foot in a studio again, voice and acting teachers who coached me to perform certain roles because I would never be cast as a lead, and art instructors who told me if I couldn't draw or paint with a strong sense of realism, I wouldn't be able to get into art school dashed dream after dream until I finally resigned to the thought that I would only ever be able to appreciate art and not produce it.

After I turned 39 this year, I started thinking about my legacy and if I'd even have one. I won't have children, and oftentimes children are the only means to some kind of guaranteed legacy, so I started wondering what would be left of me once I'm gone. For those who know me, I've lived so many different lives in my 39 years, and I am grateful for all of the many paths I've taken. That being said, there are some more common markers of the path of adulthood that I have skipped. Of course, not having children is a major one; a decision I'm very comfortable in having made, while also somehow still remaining controversial in 2025. And then there's not getting married and not buying a home - things that most would say are "normal" occurrences as an adult makes their way through life, but that I've happened to move silently past, in some part due to the dumpster fire of an economy, but also due to the way my life's path has wound around an alternate route.

All of that to say, in reflecting upon myself, my journey, and what I hope to leave behind in this world, it is my art - all of it - my stories, my poems, my photos, my paintings, my jewelry, my collages, my creations. And when that thought finally landed, so too did another somewhat obvious realization - I am, actually, an artist.

So, in conjunction with my upcoming 40th birthday, I plan to mount an art show. I aim to produce an installation of various vignettes that will include my art across all my mediums - a grand undertaking in general, let alone for my first solo exhibition. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to do this again, so I'm diving headfirst into producing a show unlike any other - for starters, you'll be able to touch the art. Can't do that in the Met, can ya?!

This is where I need your help. Rent is expensive in New York City and rental GALLERY space, even more so. I need a day to load in, a day to load out, and then three days to have my show up for exhibition. The galleries I've communicated with thus far have all quoted me an average of $18,000 for the duration.

Believe me, I know it's a big ask, what with the state of economic affairs at the moment - and the cost of EGGS! So, I get it - donating money to art isn't a priority. But here's where I ask you to shift your perspective - I'm not having a wedding, I'm not having a housewarming, and I'm not having a baby... those three events are considered the biggest in a woman's life, but for me, THIS is my biggest. So instead of me asking you to be a bridesmaid, and instead of me asking you to buy me an air fryer from Williams Sonoma, and instead of me asking you to buy me a stroller that has built in airbags, I'm asking you to do this instead.

THIS is my baby. THIS is my legacy. THIS is what I get to leave behind - the actualization of a dream I've been told I couldn't do my entire life. Will you help me prove I can?