BIO
Heather Bird Harris (b. 1987) is an artist, mother, and educator based in Atlanta and New Orleans. She makes paint from handfuls of foraged, local earth pigments and mixes it with washes of water on canvas to recreate geologic processes. Her work explores the throughlines between land history and environmental crises, as well as mothering in the face of climate change.
Harris received her BA in Art History and Studio Art from Skidmore College in 2009 and master’s degree in education leadership from Columbia University in 2013. As an educator, Harris is a former middle school principal who now consults with school leaders and writes anti-racist history curriculum, a lens that deeply informs her art practice. She has exhibited in New York, Louisiana, Georgia, and California including Anthropocene Epiphany at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art and her 2022 solo exhibition Where the Water Goes. She’s represented by Spalding Nix in Atlanta and Mont Art House in Houston.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2013 Columbia University, NY
M.A.in Education Leadership
2009 Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
B.S. in Art History, Minor: Studio Art
2008 School for International Training: Art &
Culture, New Delhi, India
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Where the Water Goes, SALON Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2009 Come Together, Case Center Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Heather Bird Harris, Tyler Guinn, + Colt Seager, Mont Art House, Houston, TX (forthcoming)
2022 Earth Body, Echo Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA
Ensemble, Spalding Nix Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Little Things, curated by Jacob O'Kelley and Maria Bruckman, Swan Coach House, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Art Week Showcase, Jennifer Balcos Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Marks of Time, Fourth Wall, New Orleans, LA
Prologue, studio activation, Echo Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA
SALON Residents Group Show, curated by the Arts Council of New Orleans, SALON Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2021 Anthropocene Epiphany, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
Magnolia Ball, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Natural Pigments, Pigments Revealed Symposium
Restore Mother Earth, Longue Vue House and Gardens, New Orleans, LA
2020 Hear Us Roar, Roaring Artist Gallery, virtual
Art for Activism II, Good Children Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Art for Activism, Carroll Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2009 Senior Showcase, Case Center Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
Lines, Case Center Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
2008 Selected Student Exhibition, Schick Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
SELF RELEASES
2021 Land. Water. Color. Online collection release, sold out.
2021 Qualia. Online collection release, sold out.
2020 Control. Online collection release, sold out.
2020 Recreate. Online collection release, sold out.
AWARDS and RESIDENCIES
2023 Artist-in-Residence, Stay Home Gallery & Residency, Paris, Tennessee (forthcoming)
Workshop-in-Residence with Judith Kugler, MASS MoCA, Massachusetts (forthcoming)
2022 Artist-in-Residence, SALON Residency +Gallery through Arts Council of New Orleans
2009 S. Michael Eigen ‘87 Prize in Art History, Skidmore College
AFFILIATIONS
Women Eco Artists Dialog, selected artist, 2021-present
Wild Pigment Project, selected artist, Pigment People: Paint, Mineral, + Waste Stream, 2021-present
Artists Commit, artist-led collective committed to a climate-conscious future, 2021 - present
Where Y’art, selected artist, 2020-present
Turnaround Arts, President Obama’s Committee on the Arts, John F. Kennedy Center, 2015-2017
PRESS and ARTIST TALKS
2023 Visionary Projects, Artist Talk + Workshop, New York, NY (forthcoming)
Bell Moon Artist Retreat, Artist Talk + Workshop, North Carolina (forthcoming)
2022 Land Art Collective, Artist Feature (forthcoming)
Environmental report, WWNO New Orleans Public Radio (forthcoming)
Visionary Art Collective, Artist Interview (forthcoming)
Artist/Mother Network, Artist Feature
The Writer’s Wing, Artist Talk
In Her Studio, ”Land, Water, Color: In the Studio with Heather Bird Harris”
2021 Contemporary Creatives, Artist Feature
Carve Out Time for Art, Artist Feature
EXPERIENCE
2017 - present. Social Studies Curriculum Director + Writer for
several school networks in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA
2020 - present Collaboration with artist Hannah Chalew
Including two-day field research trip down the Mississippi River led by Richie Blink
2021 - present Collaboration with soil scientist Ashely Ribboth
Collected soil samples from wetland conservation studies and turned them into paint
2008 - 2009 Collaboration with artist Oliver Herring, Skidmore
College, NY. Hosted two iterations of his relational works, “Task Parties,” including conceptualizing, production, leading community outreach, and facilitating an artist talk
2009 Apprenticeship with photographer Emma Dodge Hanson,
Saratoga Springs, NY
2008 Tibetan Iconography Fieldwork with Art Historian Rob
Linrothe in Ladakh, India
2007 Apprenticeship with artist RK Sharma, Kolkata, India
Miniature painting and traditional pigment processing
REPRESENTATION
Spalding Nix, Atlanta, GA.
Jennifer Balcos, Atlanta, GA.
Mont Art House, Houston, TX
COLLECTIONS
Susan Brennan private collection, New Orleans, LA
Ochsner, New Orleans, LA