Meghan Bourdess (b. 2002) is a visual artist from Bellevue, Nebraska. She is receiving her BS through University of Nebraska at Omaha. Meghan’s painting is a visual representation of her experience with her mental health and what she has overcome. Artist Statement: Flower Poking Through the Sidewalk Crack (2021) is a watercolor painting that reflects on how Meghan’s scars and mental health struggles will grow into something beautiful. Acrylic paint portion was done with the help of Meghan's spouse, Sophia Bourdess. 

Alex Cole (b. 1999) is an animator and illustrator based in Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently working toward a BA in Studio Arts with a concentration in Media Arts and a Business minor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Cole's work acknowledges the grim side of the human experience, and she transforms her creations into narratives that help us transcend that darkness. Artist Statement: Fixing the Knot (2022) is a linocut print based on one of Cole's creatures that she uses to help cope with severe social anxiety. The linocut depicts the tentacles of social anxiety slowly becoming untangled to represent the slow but rewarding process treatment has on a patient. All Eyes on You (2021) is a digital illustration of a little girl turned away from a horde of eyes and gaping maw behind her. The illustration depicts the worries and anxieties of the artist when venturing out into the world and how unknown and startling it can feel when all eyes are on you. 

MacKenzie Davis (b. 1993) is a multimedia artist and printmaker from Omaha, Nebraska. She received her BFA through the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a concentration in drawing (2020). Davis’s work is an exploration of her diary of experiences as a woman living with a chronic illness. Artist Statement: In contrast to other drawings in my MRI series, MRI (#5) (2019) shows my full profile. I wanted to further reflect myself as the person in the image in an effort to show the human behind the scans. This was a step to further reclaim my self and my body in addition to humanizing an experience that can leave a person feeling very anonymous and alone. Profit Over People (2021) is a multimedia painting collaged with medical bills and depicts the weight of the financial burden placed upon patients seeking healthcare.

Amiey Elsasser (b. 1985) is a multimedia artist from Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha and working toward her BA in Medical Humanities with a minor in Studio Art. Elsasser’s work is a true collaboration between artist and model, currently focusing on equal representation for people with chronic physical challenges. Artist Statement: Rachael (2021) is a series of photographs from a collection in progress. The application of body paint serves to illustrate the diverse sensations felt through the model’s skin following a spinal cord injury. 

Mark Gilbert (b. 1969) is an artist and researcher. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Artist Statement: Luke (Child of Jennifer) (2008) depicts a birth by cesarean section. It was created as part of a two-year arts-based research study entitled “Here I Am and Nowhere Else: Portraits of Care," carried out at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Gilbert drew or painted one hundred portraits during the study, which used portraiture to investigate ideas about care and caregiving at the intersection of art and medicine.

Parker Herout (b. 1999) is a contemporary figurative painter based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Despite currently studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, she grew up in Dallas, Texas, where her trips to the nearby Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth sparked her early interest in abstract and figurative painting. She is expected to graduate with her concentration in 2-D media in the Spring of 2023. Artist Statement: Navel Gazing (2021) is a figurative oil painting on canvas that confronts and explores distortions of the female body, our relationships to our own image, and our perceptions of others.

Lydia Johnson (b. 2000) is a painter from Buffalo Grove, Illinois. She will graduate with her BFA from Creighton University in May 2022. Johnson’s work is an exploration of her interest in dentistry and the structure of the human mouth, along with her experiences studying both art and science during her undergraduate education. Artist Statement: Study Notes 1 (2021) is an oil painting depicting the process of studying for the Dental Admissions Test, of oral repetition and written notes.

Andrew Lindgren (b. 1986) is a multimedia artist from Omaha, Nebraska. He is currently enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha for his BFA. Andrew's work is an exploration of the human condition and ways to convey key subjects such as time, death, and love. Artist Statement: Industrious Hands (2021) depicts the human nervous system surrounded by polyhedrons drawing inwards toward the figure. From the figure’s hands, other polyhedrons are being dispersed back out into space.

Marvel Maring (b. 1962) is a painter, book artist, and librarian living in Omaha, Nebraska. She received her BFA in painting from the University of Kansas, her MFA in painting from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her MFA in Book Arts and MLIS from the University of Alabama. Maring’s collages combine mixed media of so-called “failed” pieces into new compositions. She explores compositions that restore disparate parts to an integrated whole. Artist Statement: The Bardo (2022) series is dedicated to Maring’s best friend, Julie Green, who died in 2021 of ovarian cancer at the age of sixty. The series was created as an offering to her, and contemplates what Buddhists describe as the “liminal space between death and rebirth.”

Benjamin Nollette (b. 2000) is a student artist from Omaha, Nebraska. He is earning a degree in Studio Arts. Benjamin's art focuses on themes of mental health, spirituality, and nature. Artist Statement: Sisyphus (2021) is an acrylic painting inspired by the symbolists of the 19th century and excerpts from Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus.

Jaycee Schettler (b. 1999) is a multitalented artist and athlete. She recently graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. She is pursuing a clinical doctorate of physical therapy degree. Jaycee’s art is a visualization of human anatomy through color and creation.