CHICAGO—Woman Made Gallery (WMG) presented Seeds of Resilience, a multidisciplinary art exhibition featuring work by 41 artists. The exhibition opened Saturday, April 11, 2026, with a public artist reception from 4 to 7 p.m. and closed with an Artist Walkthrough on May 9, 2026 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Curated by Monica J. Brown and Nora Moore Lloyd, Seeds of Resilience brought together women and non-binary artists whose works explored how personal, cultural, and ecological survival are deeply intertwined. Centered on themes of environmental justice, ancestral memory, and the intimate relationship between care and resistance, the exhibition took the seed as its guiding metaphor.
Exhibiting Artists
Brooke Bartholomew, Sharon L Bjyrd, Sharon Bladholm, Gabriella Boros, Julia Bustos-Vasquez, Julie Carpenter, Emily C-D, Lynn Cox-Winston, Sharmon Davidson, Victoria Fuller, DiDi Grimm, Senyah Haynes, Lisa Marie Phoenix Jackson, Natalie Jackson, Adia Jamille, Linye Jiang 江麟冶, Joi, Lilly Kim, Yuliya Klochan, Sarita Kvam, Tulika Ladsariya, Beatriz Ledesma, Andi Linden, Marian Lyndgaard, Lauren Macklin, Erica Moriarty, Stephanie Mulvihill, Andryea Natkin, Courtney Nzeribe, Pamela Penney, Laurie Peters, Leah Schenbaum, Erin K. Schmidt, Piper Snowber, Dorothy C. Straughter, Harriette Tsosie, Chanya Vitayakul, Gail Wagner, Joan Wheeler, Marjorie Woodruff, Stella Zee
Curating Team: Monica J. Brown and Nora Moore Lloyd
Monica J. Brown explores memory, history and personal mythology through visual art, sound, movement, writing and performance. Her visual art has been exhibited widely throughout Chicago, nationally and internationally. Exhibition spaces include: Black Art in America, Atlanta, GA; ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL; Governors State University, University Park, IL; SooVAC, Minneapolis, MN; and Ucross Art Gallery, WY. Monica is a Ucross fellow, and has attended residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Ragdale, and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, among others. She has created murals with Chicago’s Hubbard Street Mural Project, and Detroit’s Live6 DNA Arts Project.
Monica has received Individual Artist Program grants from Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and Individual Artist Support grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. She is also a recipient of Columbia College’s Albert P. Weisman Award. She earned a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles; and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Her work is in the collections of: Black Art in America, Harold Washington College, and Diasporal Rhythms. Monica is currently represented by SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art.
Nora Moore Lloyd (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, born 1947) is a multidisciplinary artist trained in photography and videography. Her work documents the stories of Indigenous elders and reflects her connection to cultural practices such as birch bark harvesting and wild rice gathering. A longtime member of Chicago’s Native American community, she divides her time between the city and her Wisconsin home, where she is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Nation.
Raised in the Chicago area, Nora did not discover her Ojibwe heritage until 1983. Reconnecting with relatives in Wisconsin and engaging with Chicago’s Native community deeply shaped her artistic path, guiding her toward photography as a tool for cultural storytelling. Her art has been exhibited at The Block Museum of Art, the Field Museum, the Chicago History Museum, Illinois State Museum locations, Cahokia Mounds Museum, Woman Made Gallery, and internationally in Bolivia and Guatemala.
Seeds of Resilience Press Release
SEE THE WORKGallery Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12–5 PM | WMG is closed between exhibitions.
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Statement on Organizational Neutrality
As a registered Illinois 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Woman Made Gallery is committed to its mission of supporting women and non-binary artists through inclusive and equitable programming. To maintain trust, legal compliance, and alignment with its values, WMG does not endorse or oppose political candidates or parties and refrains from promoting personal ideological or religious beliefs. All exhibitions, partnerships, and communications are guided by the gallery’s mission, with a focus on artistic merit, diversity of perspective, and respectful dialogue. Staff, board members, and affiliates are expected to distinguish personal opinions from organizational positions and to use WMG’s platform solely in service of its mission.
Thank You
Woman Made Gallery is supported in part by grants from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Illinois Arts Council Agency; the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; the Puffin Foundation; a major anonymous donor; and the generosity of its members and contributors.
