Grounded Attention

Ally Messer is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Her work often takes the form of books, zines, animation, puppetry, and installation. Messer's recent projects highlight instances of care and reciprocity within communities, exploring themes of connection and support. Through her diverse artistic practices, she engages with the complexities of human relationships and the spaces we inhabit.

Erin Mallea is a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, photography, video, and print publications. Her work scrutinizes constructions of culture and nature, land and time, as entry points into contemporary social, political, and environmental conditions. Grounded in place-based research, Erin collaborates with individuals, community groups, and institutions outside of traditional art spaces, engaging with biologists, historians, environmental justice activists, and others to develop interactive projects and time-based works. Her artistic explorations include the internal struggles of a 19th-century utopian community, her grandmother's family history, land-use conflicts near her hometown, and the ecological transformation of a park beside her former studio. Erin currently produces *Tree News*, an experimental publication and event series, and has exhibited her work in various galleries and museums. She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and serves as an Assistant Professor of Art at the Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts.