A work from Holly Fay’s print series entitled Plant Awareness Disparity which addressed the endangered Great Plains ecosystem was included in The Ecology of Freedom - a group exhibition and broadside project

  • The Ecology of Freedom was an ecological broadside campaign and exhibition presented by ecoartspace in collaboration with The Crow's Nest, in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded by public servant, author, and climate action advocate Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, The Crow's Nest serves as a hub for artists to collaborate with scientists, activists, community leaders, and each other.

  • Twenty-four visually captivating images were selected for the broadside campaign on the streets of Baltimore in fall 2024.

  • The original works were exhibited in the gallery accompanied by printed broadsides for visitor takeaways. Downloads for self-printing were also available for free.

Artists: Mark Armbruster, Lynn Benson, Christina Bertea, Mazerick Betko, Pamela Casper, Nicole Dextras, Environmental Performance Agency (EPA), Holly Fay, Carol Flueckiger, Helen Glazer, Lawrence Gipe, Karen Hackenberg, Katie Kehoe, Deborah Kennedy, Pierre Leichner, Taina Litwak, Minal Mistry, Constance Old, Hugh Pocock, Jill Price, Jatun Risba, Jann Rosen-Queralt, Ruth Wallen, Bart Woodstrup

Holly Fay’s artist statement for her work included in The Ecology of Freedom

Plant Awareness Disparity, 2024, photo print, water-based inks on FSC-certified photo rag paper,24 x 18 inches

I am grateful to live and work in Regina SK, Canada on Treaty 4 lands situated on the territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšinapek, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda, and the homeland of the Métis/Michif Nation. 

Living in the distinctive Great Plains Prairie Ecozone, one of the most altered ecozones of this continent, has informed my work. Sky, water, earth, light, air, and the under-seen in nature are recurring subjects.  

With less than 20% of natural grasslands intact, this ecoregion has been historically undervalued in its natural state, often viewed as empty, boring, and unproductive. In fact, these beautiful ecoregions not only prevent soil erosion and provide habitat to diverse species, including pollinators and North America’s migrating birds, but also enhance water conservation and are a powerful carbon sink.

As such, my intention for this work is for the grasslands to be seen as an intricate, interconnected system of individual plants functioning within an ecological community.

I am interested in addressing the phenomenon that biologists, James H. Wandersee and Elisabeth E. Schussler, first termed “plant blindness”, more recently fittingly re-termed “plant awareness disparity (PAD)” by biologists Kathryn M. Parsley.

Wandersee and Schussler outlined various reasons why plants are underseen, including plants being viewed merely as a backdrop for animals and their aesthetic qualities and structures being overlooked.