BIO
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Heather Bird Harris (b. 1987) is an artist and educator who prioritizes caretaking and connection. Her work explores the throughlines between history and ecological crises, engaging with communities, scientists, and site-specific materials to investigate land memory, systems of complicity, and possibilities for emergence.
Harris received her B.S. in art history from Skidmore College and master’s degree in education leadership from Columbia University. She has served as principal of a turnaround school in New Orleans and has consulted with school leaders across the South to implement equitable learning practices and anti-racist history education. Her work has been exhibited at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Greenville, SC), NADA Curates, the New Mexico State University Museum, SITE at the Goat Farm (Atlanta, GA), Art Fields (Lake City, SC), Stoveworks (Chattanooga, TN), the Barnes Ogden Gallery at Louisiana State University, and Science Gallery Atlanta. She has been an artist in residence at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (Hudson Valley, NY), The Hambidge Center (Rabun Gap, GA), and was one of 7 artists selected for the Art & Social Justice Fellowship at Emory University in 2023. Revent projects include Sonoran Heritage Waters with musicians and ecologists at Arizona State University and Hope Springs Eternal in collaboration with activist group RISE St. James and New Orleans-based artists. Harris is an MFA candidate at Georgia State University. She lives in Atlanta with her partner, Josh, and their two children.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2026 Georgia State University
M.F.A. candidate
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2014 Columbia University, NY
M.A.in Education Leadership
2009 Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
B.S. in Art History, Minor: Studio Art
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS + PROJECTS
2026 Heather Bird Harris and Joel Silverman, Swan Coach House,
Atlanta, GA (curated by Liz Fleming) (two-person
show) (forthcoming)
2025 love as large as grief demands, Spalding Nix, Atlanta, GA
(Jan 17 - March 10)
2024 Resonancia Natural, in collaboration with composer
Carolina Heredia, commissioned for Sonoran Heritage Waters, Arizona Institute for Resilience at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Hope Springs Eternal, interdisciplinary performance in collaboration with RISE St. James, Melange Dance
Company, Delechaise Ensemble, and climate photographer Bryan Tarnowski, New Orleans, LA
2023 Landscape as a Living Historical Record, Emory University,
Atlanta, GA
Land Memory Project, Science Gallery, Atlanta, GA (curated by Floyd Hall)
2022 Where the Water Goes, SALON Gallery, New Orleans, LA