Artist Bio
Kathleen Sweeney is an interdisciplinary artist, storyteller, environmental steward and community weaver.
Recent curatorial projects include Symbiocene Era: Mycelium, Soils and Roots (2025) and Symbiocene Era: Artists Envision Environmental Symbiosis (2024) in collaboration with Bushel Collective.
The exhibitions featured 20 Eco-artists exploring diverse pathways of integration and collaboration with nature in their artistic output.
A full-color catalogue accompanied the 2025 exhibition, featuring exhibition artworks and a behind-the-scenes view of artist tools and techniques in the studio.
Current projects include ICE Cocoon, a multimedia installation featuring, video, photography and botanical elements showed at Termite TV’s Understories project in Philadelphia (August 2025) and at “Botanical Impressions” at Headwaters Art Center.
Also in production: the EcoAction Cards, featuring myriad creative solutions to climate change.
The Book of Awe: Wandering and Rewilding, a monography of original photography and poetic wonder lore, was released in 2024 with an exhibition of multimedia artworks and photography and a public reading at Diamond Hollow Books and Gallery.
Screenings and exhibitions of her video art and photography include South by Southwest, Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie, LA Center for Digital Art, Atlanta Film Festival, with panels, residencies and presentations at Tulane University, UC Santa Barbara, Colgate University, Ithaca College, and many other venues.
The author of Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age, she has published articles on film, tech innovation, pop culture, and social change at Afterimage and IndieWire. An Assistant Professor of Media Studies at The New School for Public Engagement, she has developed original courses exploring creativity and multimedia storytelling, social change innovation, girl leadership and cultural innovation, mindfulness and digital detox literacy.
The founding artist in residence at Reel Grrls and DIA:Beacon, she has produced innovative youth media arts curricula funded by the NEA, New York State Council for the Arts, Putnam Arts Council and Media Alliance.
As a communications consultant, strategist, multimedia producer and videographer, her client work includes PBS documentaries, book launches for renowned authors, social media and crowdfunding campaigns, book trailers and mini-docs for authors published by Little/Brown, Shambhala Books and Random House/Delacorte. Client projects have screened at The New Museum, MoMA, and international venues.
Residencies and fellowships include the Sugar Maples Art Center; Cill Rialaig Art Center, Ballingskelligs, Ireland; The Mind and Life Institute Europe, Cheimsee, Germany; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) and a Ford Foundation/Civic Engagement Grant for “Postcards, Post-Sandy,” a storytelling portal developed in collaboration with The New School/Parsons.
A native New Yorker and lifelong environmentalist, she recently relocated to the woods of Roxbury, NY where she co-founded Don't Trash the Catskills.
Current artwork weaves foraged forest materials, local plant and mineral pigment watercolors, collage book arts, photography and video pieces inspired by the Catskills ecosystem. Recent exhibitions include “Understories” at Termite TV (Philadelphia), Bushel Collective, 1053 Gallery, Roxbury Arts Group, ARTUp! and the AMR Studio Tour.
