Opening Reception SCARS: A Collaborative Photographic Experience

S C A R S

A Collaborative Photographic Experience to Mend the Visible and Invisible Scars

Darkroom Gallery | Flower City Arts Center First Friday, June 6th 5:00 – 9:00 PM

7PM Q&A with the artists

We will offer refreshments and a kids’ room with hands-on activities inspired by the exhibit’s themes

Everyone is Welcome!

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"Our body is a map of our life... The scar humbly reminds us of the path and the trauma. Stitch by stitch, we let ourselves be seen; we glow." — Paola Macas Betchart

SCARS is a collaborative photographic exploration that honors both pain and the possibility of renewal. Through an intimate visual narrative, artist-in-residence Paola Macas Betchart invites us to reflect on the body, memory, and the land. Beginning with her own healing process, Paola brings together ten collaborators in a unique photographic performance. Analog and digital black-and-white images are created in a ritual space where stories are shared as mutual witness in confidential sisterhood, and images are birthed and progressively mended through embroidery in a shared act of repair and reclamation.

This meditative process becomes a ritual offering connection, resilience, and collective healing.

These visible and invisible scars tell stories of colonization, industrialization, displacement, survival, and resistance. From Native communities reasserting their connection to the land, to African descendants embracing joy in the shadow of forced removal, to immigrant families reclaiming home, the stories converge within the landscape of Gä'skosägo (Rochester, NY).

We invite you to witness this journey through an evocative visual installation, join us in reflection and dialogue, and share in the power of collective storytelling. The exhibit will be on display from June 6th to June 28th 2025.

We will host a community art talk on Art, Mental Health and Land Regeneration on Friday June 13th

We are proud to honor the Photo Collaborators (in alphabetical order):

Almeta WhitisAmbar de SantiagoAyeong Kim (Pamela Adams)Cassandra BocanegraDebora McDell HernandezGä'skosägo (Rochester, NY)Iman AbidJuliana MunizLauren JimersonSerena Viktor

With photography and conceptual direction by:

Paola Macas Betchart, Artist-in-Residence at Flower City Arts Center

Special Thanks to program director Julina Muniz for her mentorship and photographer Monica Mullen for the aerial photos.

This exhibit is part of the Alchemy of Healing Project funded by Arts Bloom Funds from the City of Rochester and Administered by Rochester Latino Theater Company.