BIO

Heather ‘Bird’ Harris is an artist and history educator based in Atlanta. Through painting and social practice, she engages site-specific materials to explore the throughlines between land history and environmental crises, as well as mothering in the face of climate change.
Harris received her B.S. in art history and studio art from Skidmore College and master’s degree in education leadership from Columbia University. Harris has served as principal of a turnaround school in New Orleans and has consulted with school leaders across the South to implement equitable learning practices and empowering history education. Her work has been exhibited at Art Fields, Stoveworks, the University of New Mexico, and has been featured nationally on NPR, Sea Change podcast, and the All We Can Save Project. In the spring of 2023, Harris facilitated the first iteration of her community-based experience and installation The Land Memory Project as part of Science Gallery Atlanta’s JUSTICE exhibition season. Harris was recently announced as one of 7 artists selected for Emory University's Arts & Social Justice Fellowship.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2026 Georgia State University
M.F.A. candidate
2014 Columbia University, NY
M.A.in Education Leadership
2009 Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
B.S. in Art History, Minor: Studio Art
SOLO EXHIBITIONS + PROJECTS
2025 Solo exhibition, Spalding Nix, Atlanta, GA (forthcoming)
2023 ASJ project, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
(forthcoming)
2024 Sonoran Heritage Waters, University of Arizona, Tucson,
AZ (forthcoming)
2023 Land Memory Project, Science Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2022 Where the Water Goes, SALON Gallery, New Orleans, LA
RECENT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Wild Pigment, New Mexico State University
Museum
Sex Ecologies: Becoming Plastic, Stoveworks,
Chattanooga, TN (curated by Leah Dalton)
Small Changes, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, GA (curated by Susan Bridges)
The Art of Water VII, James May Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
JUSTICE, Science Gallery, Emory University, Atlanta, GAArtFields, Lake City, SC (curated by Floyd Hall)
TRIO, Mont Art House, Houston, TX
Transient Bodies, Roaring Artist Gallery (curated by Inge Flinte)
Co-Create, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, TN (curated by Kaylan Buteyn and Jamie Smith)
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2024 TBD, co-curation with Jennifer Williams, Echo
Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA (forthcoming)
2022 Earth Body, co-curation with Erin Drakeford, Echo
Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA
RESIDENCIES + FELLOWSHIPS
2023 Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellowship,
Atlanta, GA
Zero Foot Hills Residency, Durham, CT
Stay Home Gallery & Residency, Paris, TN
2022 SALON Residency + Gallery, Arts Council of New
Orleans