The Canary Collective
Photo of KPH by Chelsea Rose
Welcome to our Virtual Exhibition
The Magnuson Park Gallery may have closed its doors temporarily, but we still value our connection with you, the community, and our mission to bring you important and engaging work. Today we are sharing a virtual exhibition featuring the works of artists and musicians Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm, of "KPH and The Canary Collective," ally and multi media artist Hannah Hamavid, and painter Jay Collins, who tragically passed away just before this virtual exhibition opened, on April 9th, 2020, at the age of 27. We honor his life and the lives of those who are still struggling to survive and thrive in a time of human and environmental health challenges.
This exhibition highlights the many people today dealing with difficult to diagnose and treat chronic illness such as "autoimmune" diseases, which are amplified by the threats we are all facing with the COVID-19 pandemic. While many of us complain and struggle with the shelter in place mandate, these folks have and will continue to deal with these issues beyond the outbreak. It is important to remember, these are the people within our community we are helping to protect by staying home.
We are all in this together. Now is our chance to come together and support one another, creating the world we want to see and be a part of. If you have the ability, please support our local artists as most are self-employed and are no longer able to sell work though galleries, art fairs, and other venues.
The Canary Collective
The Canary Collective seeks to artistically draw ties between human and environmental health, call out the need for healing our bodies as well as our earth, and to highlight the stories of the "canaries" who feel the discordance of the Earth's ecosystems through chronic illness in their bodies and have decided to sing about it.
The featured works include imagery from the Lyric Booklet for The Canary Collective: Vol. 1, created by Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm as well as beautiful linoleum block prints from album cover artist Hannah Hamavid.
KPH & The Canary Collective is a people-powered indie folk project headed by Pruitt-Hamm and a roving cast of accompanists and collaborators. The group blends creative and powerful music and storytelling, community organizing and art, along with captivating solo performances with full band and audience participation. KPH & The Canary Collective's mission is to inspire dialogue and action around issues ranging from environmental to healthcare to gender justice.
For Pruitt-Hamm, there is no separation between art and activism, or the personal and the political. After becoming suddenly bedridden in 2015 from a perplexing and debilitating disease after working five years in the non-profit world as a Seattle and DC-based community organizer,
Photo of Hannah Hamavid by Emily Keeney
Pruitt-Hamm used her experience of working in the non-profit world and community organizing to use music as a way to heal and connect with others in similar circumstances. When medical insurance did not cover all of her life-saving medical treatment, her friends and family supported her and fundraised online, saving her life. People rallied support through a website called Patreon through which Pruitt-Hamm receives monthly donations, sharing new songs, videos, and blog posts as a way of keeping in touch with fans and being able to count on a monthly flow of money to afford her medicine and long-term medical treatment. Recording while mostly bedridden, she released an EP "Hi From Pillows" in 2017 with Local Woman Records. Last year, Pruitt-Hamm received a grant from King County 4Culture and an award from Allied Arts Foundation to create her first official full-length album, "The Canary Collective: Vol 1." Pruitt-Hamm collaborated with poets and musicians such as Luz Elena Mendoza of Mexican-American band Y La Bamba and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, making a Pete Seeger and Joni Mitchell-inspired collage of poetry, songs, and TED Talk quotes exploring themes around healing our bodies and our planet. She released the album in February 2020 and in shows along the west coast, she's teamed up with other artists and organizations, combining music, story telling, and advocacy.
Play the album here,
while you scroll through the image gallery below
Explore More From The Artists
SPACE 101.1 Interview
During the launch of The Canary Collective: Vol. 1 in February, SPACE 101.1FM's very own Eric interviewed Pruitt-Hamm where she shares more of her inspiring story as well as her 3 favorite songs for one of our 3 favorites segments.
KPH & The Canary Collective, Believe Her Music Video
Pruitt-Hamm's video for her song Believe Her, which was part of a larger virtual festival, #BedFest, which showcases the art and experiences of people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) as expressed through song, imagery, and poetry. To see all the contributions for #BedFest, click below.
Link: https://www.bedfest.meaction.net
Learn More
To purchase any of the works found in this show reach out directly to info@spaceatmagnuson.org. Prices listed are for unframed works and do not include tax and shipping.
For more information:
Jay Collins Website: https://jcollinsart.com; or with questions contact kaeleykphmusic@gmail.com
Hannah Hamavid Website: https://hamavid.com/hannah/
KPH Website: https://kphandthecanarycollective.bandzoogle.com
Support Kaeley's ability to afford medical treatment and continue making music by pledging to make monthly donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kph
To purchase the Album:
https://kphmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-canary-collective-vol-1
Check out these other amazing Canaries featured on the album:
Jen Brea - Link
Leland Chazen - Link
Tara Hardy - Link
Luz Elena Mendoza - Interview - Website
Jamila Raquib - Video - Link
Nataly Dawn (ally, not canary) - Link
Porochista Khakpour - Link
Afrose Fatima Ahmed - Link
Jessica Slice - Link
Bekah Fly - Link
Kyle Morton (Typhoon) - Link
Support
During times of financial and economic hardship, the arts are often the first to get cut. If you value local art and music, please consider making a donation so we can continue to make a place for the arts in NE Seattle. 70% of all art sales and donations made in association with this exhibition will go directly to the exhibiting artists with the remainder going to support the operations of the Magnuson Park Gallery and SPACE 101.1 FM .