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Exhibitions · The First Chapter · 2026

FLARE: Illuminating Endometriosis

FLARE’s inaugural exhibition. Work by thirty-two visual artists from thirteen countries, on what it is to live inside a body that is so often disbelieved.

September 17–19, 2026 · The Sixth Floor Loft, 873 Broadway, New York City
An installation view of the Annex: a stacked-disc sculpture in the foreground, a red figurative painting, a black-and-white photograph and a yellow diptych on the panels behind, a visitor passing through.
The Annex, Illuminating Endometriosis, 2026Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

Overview

About the inaugural exhibition

Dates
September 17–19, 2026
Venue
The Sixth Floor Loft, 873 Broadway, New York
Artists
32 visual artists from 13 countries
Works
A diverse body of visual artworks including painting, sculpture, textiles, photography, jewelry and fashion

Endometriosis is widely experienced and widely misunderstood. The exhibition brought that experience into a room where it could be seen rather than explained.

Across the Annex and Studio 500, artists working in paint, clay, thread, photography, print, collage, fashion and jewelry showed work made from inside the disease. Over three days the rooms also held a keynote and two panels, live music and performance, a collector’s preview dinner, and a space for care and rest.

Clinicians, advocates, artists and people living with endometriosis were in the same rooms, on the record. This page is the exhibition’s permanent record.

10

Speakers & panelists

Clinicians, artists and advocates

4

Performers

Live music and performance art

45

Partners & supporters

Organizations that made it possible

6

Photographers

Documenting the three days

Artists & Works

Selected works

Six works from the exhibition. The full collection, with every artist and work, is on the Artists page.

Shape of My Sorrow by Alice Brunello Luise

Alice Brunello Luise

Shape of My Sorrow

Mixed media: paper, watercolour, acrylics · 20 × 30 cm

Tejido Invisible by Andrea Chueca

Andrea Chueca

Tejido Invisible

Oil on canvas · 32 × 83 in

Body Forensic by Chloe Van der Kindere

Chloe Van der Kindere

Body Forensic

Hand appliqué, hand quilting and hand embroidery; cotton · 63 × 27 × 0.5 in

La Dolores by Laura Solar

Laura Solar

La Dolores

Ceramic

en mis sueños nos encontraremos (salgo a buscarte) by Marggie Haza

Marggie Haza

en mis sueños nos encontraremos (salgo a buscarte)

Acrylic, oil and thread on canvas · 5 × 7.5 ft × 3 in

Windows by Poppy Fowler

Poppy Fowler

Windows

Watercolour and fineliner on Arches watercolour paper · 40 × 40 cm

The full collectionThe artist index

Installation Views

The Annex and Studio 500

Two visitors seen from behind stand before a red figurative painting and a large yellow and violet canvas; one photographs the work on her phone.
Installation view · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
A tall hand-stitched quilt in black, cream and pink, titled Body Forensic, hangs from a steel-framed panel beside framed photographs and paintings.
Body Forensic, Chloe Van der Kindere · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
La Dolores, a ceramic sculpture by Laura Solar: a small figure folds over the rim of a vessel carved in the shape of a uterus, set on a dark wooden plinth with the exhibition blurred behind.
La Dolores, Laura Solar · Photograph by Alix Rae
A very large unstretched canvas hung on the brick wall: figures in red, ochre and blue-green, the words 'my body makes my mother cry' written across it.
Installation view · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

Exhibition Architecture

TRELLIS: the walls were made for the work

The making of TRELLIS, from design and fabrication to the Annex, 2026 · Film by P&L Smithed

Priscilla and Luke Smith designed and built these walls by hand, so that the deeply personal work entrusted to FLARE would be held by something made with the same care. They are more than a way to hang an exhibition; they carry the devotion, craftsmanship and long view behind FLARE itself. Built to hold art, they also stand for how FLARE means to grow: with strength, with permanence, and with heart.

The TRELLIS steel framework set out across the Annex, plywood panels hung from its rails holding an X-ray print, paintings and a bright quilt, with the stacked-steel sculpture Waiting for You on a black plinth in the foreground.
TRELLIS in the Annex, with Waiting for You in the foregroundPhotograph by Eric Smalkin

Built for this exhibition, but not only for it: TRELLIS comes apart, travels, and reassembles in a different room, around a different set of works. Custom installations and wall rentals are available for your next event.

Inquire

Curatorial Framing

The case for the exhibition

The Problem — An Invisible Public Health Issue +

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain and infertility; among women with infertility, as many as 25–50% have endometriosis.

It affects an estimated 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide, roughly 190 million people, yet it remains widely under-recognized. The average time to diagnosis is between 4 and 12 years.

During that time, many experience

  • Persistent physical pain
  • Medical dismissal or misdiagnosis
  • Emotional isolation
  • Disrupted education and careers
  • Reduced quality of life

For many, the illness remains invisible to others — existing privately within the body while daily life continues outwardly unchanged.

Source: World Health Organization, Endometriosis fact sheet, 15 October 2025. FLARE is not a medical organization and does not provide medical advice.

Beyond Medicine — Why Awareness Alone Is Not Enough +

Conversations about endometriosis have traditionally occurred within medical spaces. While medical research and treatment are essential, they do not fully capture the lived experience of chronic illness.

Pain, identity, grief, resilience, and embodiment cannot be measured solely through clinical language. Cultural silence surrounding women’s health has contributed to misunderstanding, stigma, and delayed recognition of suffering.

Art offers another way of knowing. Through visual expression, storytelling, and creative practice, artists can translate complex bodily experiences into forms that invite empathy, dialogue, and deeper understanding.

Why Art Matters — Art as Advocacy +

Art has long played a role in shaping public understanding of social issues, from mental health to disability rights to gender equity.

Art allows audiences to

  • Encounter experiences different from their own
  • Engage emotionally rather than diagnostically
  • Reconsider assumptions about health and the body

Through exhibitions, publications, podcasts, and community programming, FLARE uses art to transform private experiences into shared cultural dialogue.

Five women on a low stage share a panel, four on a velvet sofa and the moderator on a chair, smiling as one of them speaks into a microphone.
A panel conversation, Saturday, September 19Photograph by Eric Smalkin

Conversations

Three public conversations

On Saturday, September 19, clinicians, artists and advocates shared one stage.

  1. Keynote · Saturday, September 19

    Joint Keynote

    A surgeon and a clinical nutritionist opened the afternoon together, on the same stage.

    Dr. Chandra Spring-Robinson, DO, FACOG · Savannah Regensburger, MS, MBA, CNS

  2. Panel · Saturday, September 19

    Art as Advocacy

    How art can share lived experience, teach others, build community and move people to act.

    Kyung Jeon-Miranda · Amanda Fuller · Kara O’Malley · KYRIANNA

  3. Panel · Saturday, September 19

    Life Beyond Diagnosis

    Support, recovery, referrals and quality of life after diagnosis, treatment or surgery.

    Alexis Brooks · Melanie Carminati, PT, DPT, GTS, NCPT · Dr. Jonas G. Wilson-Leedy, MD · Winnie Chan, LAc, MPA

Moderators: Priscilla Smith, Chelsea Hardesty · MC: Racheli Aye

The full program Conversations at FLARE

Live Music

Four performers

1 / 4

Ariel Bridges on stage, arms raised and eyes closed, singing in front of a black curtain and brick wall
Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

Friday, September 18

Ariel Bridges

Singer & songwriter · releases music as BRIDGES

Growing up Black and Japanese in Texas, Bridges stands at an intersection of identities and embodies her name, creating unexpected connections and music that belongs to everyone. With genre-defying sound, textured vocals, and soulful lyrics, she empowers audiences to link up, to thrive, and to join her in a quest for joy. She is a professional member of the organization RAMPD (recording artists and music professionals with disabilities), and serves on the engagement committee. She is also the NYC Chapter lead for the organization Mamas in Music.

Spotify (opens in a new tab)Apple Music (opens in a new tab)Website (opens in a new tab)Instagram (opens in a new tab)
Carrie Wallace with a black acoustic guitar, smiling as she speaks into the microphone
Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

Friday, September 18

Carrie Wallace

Singer & songwriter

Carrie Wallace (she/her) is a singer/songwriter from San Diego, CA who writes sad girl music about grief and growing up. She combines stripped-back vocals and acoustic guitar with carefully crafted lyrics to tell stories about everything from chronic illness to her current favorite TV show.

Instagram (opens in a new tab)
Ann-Marie Iacoviello singing into a handheld microphone beside the banner for The Missing Piece
Photograph by Eric Smalkin

Saturday, September 19

Ann-Marie Iacoviello

Coloratura soprano

Ann-Marie Iacoviello is a coloratura soprano recognized for her distinctive interpretations and exploration of lesser-known repertoire. Her work spans opera, contemporary music, and new works. She commissioned When I Bleed, a new song cycle exploring chronic pain and endometriosis, creating space within classical music for stories that are too often left unheard.

When I Bleed: a cycle on chronic pain — words by Maggie Bowyer, music by Felix Jarrar, released September 18, 2026.

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Alexandra Totillo, Priscilla Smith and Sara Gay at the Opening Reception

Feature · Wearable art

One artwork, two makers.

At the Opening Reception, one work in the exhibition moved through the room: a dress by Alexandra Totillo and a necklace by Sara Gay, worn by FLARE’s founder. Roughly fifty years separate the two artists.

Read the feature

Community Works

Two works the visitors finished

Two pieces in the first chapter were left open on purpose. Each was completed by the people who came.

A visitor ties a length of colored thread into the knitted work at the exhibition
Adding a thread · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
Two visitors stand before the knitted work, beside the banner for The Missing Piece
Visitors at the work · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

A collaborative community sculpture

The Missing Piece

Priscilla Smith and Nina Phelps

An hourglass form in two materials: metal, shaped by Priscilla Smith, and knitted cotton yarn, by Nina Phelps. The sculpture opened unfinished. Visitors completed it, tying threads into the work, each color carrying one part of living with endometriosis.

  • Light pinkThe Unknown
  • Dark pinkThe Cycle
  • PurpleGrief & Loss
  • Dark purpleReclamation
  • Light creamCommunity & Care

“Add your thread. Add your voice. Become part of the work.”

The sculpture grows because we do.

Alexandra Jabot stands beside the Struggle canvas, covered in handwritten notes
Alexandra Jabot with Struggle · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
Framed sign: Struggle. Write your truth. One word. One sentence. One story. Anonymous. Unfiltered. Unheard no longer. Artist: Alexandra Jabot
The invitation · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
Detail of the Struggle canvas: a handwritten note reading “A trial by internal fire”, among other notes on washes of pink and orange
Detail, the notes · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson

A living, participatory installation

Struggle

Alexandra Jabot

Guests were asked to write their truth on a piece of paper: one word, one sentence or one story, anonymous and unfiltered. The notes were then sealed into a single canvas, so that each became part of one collective work.

“Different women. Different journeys. Different battles. One shared foundation.”

Alexandra Jabot is a mother, the owner of a childcare center, and an advocate for women, children and the future.

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The Self-Care Lounge

A room for rest, inside the exhibition

Alongside the galleries, the Self-Care Lounge offered visitors time to be looked after. Two sponsors shaped it.

Caroline Palmieri styles a guest’s hair in the Self-Care Lounge, beside a gold-framed mirror
Caroline Palmieri of KK Luxe Hair, styling a guest’s hair · Photograph by Emma Wilkinson
In the Self-Care Lounge, a stylist works on a seated guest’s hair, both reflected in a tall gold-framed mirror.
Caroline Palmieri with KYRIANNA · Photograph by Eric Smalkin
Elizabeth Snider leads two guests through a somatic practice, seated on cushions and a pink-and-white rug in the Self-Care Lounge
Elizabeth Snider of Global Wellness, leading a somatic session · Photograph by Priscilla Smith
Elizabeth Snider

Somatic healing

Elizabeth Snider

Global Wellness

NeuroSomatic EMDR Journey Integration Facilitator, offering somatic healing services in the lounge.

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The 2026 Exhibition Team

The people behind the exhibition

The four-person exhibition team on stage at Illuminating Endometriosis

An exhibition is more than the artwork on its walls. Behind every conversation, connection, and shared experience are the people who believe in its purpose and dedicate themselves to bringing it to life.

FLARE’s inaugural exhibition was made possible through the creativity, commitment, and collective efforts of a team who helped transform an ambitious vision into an international gathering of artists, patients, advocates, and medical professionals.

The 2026 exhibition team in front of the flower wall

The 2026 exhibition team. Photographs by Eric Smalkin.

Priscilla Smith

Founder, Creative Director & Curator

Priscilla Smith

Founded FLARE and led the creative vision, curatorial direction, development, and production of its inaugural exhibition, bringing together art, lived experience, and advocacy to create a new space for conversation around endometriosis.

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Chelsea Hardesty

Advocacy & Development

Chelsea Hardesty

Led advocacy outreach and development for the exhibition, connecting FLARE with endometriosis organizations, speakers, and community partners. Moderated the Life Beyond Diagnosis panel, managed volunteers, and supported onsite production and logistics across the weekend.

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Racheli Aye

Partnerships & Programs

Racheli Aye

Led partnership outreach and managed ticketing for the exhibition, building relationships with sponsors, product partners, and community organizations. Served as Master of Ceremonies and supported onsite and guest logistics throughout the weekend.

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KYRIANNA

Co-Curator & Artist Relations

KYRIANNA

Played an integral role in shaping FLARE’s inaugural exhibition through collaborative curation, artist selection, and the thoughtful organization of artworks. Helped cultivate relationships with participating artists and bring together a collection that reflected the complexity, diversity, and deeply personal experiences of living with endometriosis.

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What began as one person’s vision became something far greater through the people who chose to build it together.

A full list of volunteers and credits can be found in the impact report.

Partners

Supporters

Presenting sponsors

Our Daughters FoundationThe Jazz Urbane Cafe · Savage Against EndoSavvy Custom SwagP&L SmithedNew York Gynecology Surgery & Endometriosis

Lead sponsors

iCareBetterInspira Physical TherapyStrike Endo OutWomen’s Health Research & Action CenterAll 45 partners & supporters →

Relive the moment

Six photographers documented the three days. Their work is held in the photographic archive, alongside the rest of FLARE’s record. Printed ephemera and film will be added as they are catalogued.

The photographsThe FLARE Archive