Human | Nature explores artists who bring sustainability into their practice — in medium, method, and theme — investigating the intersection of art, science, and climate ecology, and the impact of humans on the natural world. Clare Hirn is among the exhibiting artists. Environmental groups will be present at the opening with information.

On view: July 11 – August 27 · LVA Gallery, 1538 Lytle Street, Louisville, KY 40203

• Opening Reception — July 11th, 4–7 PM
• Art & Science Panel — August 1st, 2–4 PM (artists, scientists, and community leaders)
• Film Screening — August 16th, 2–4 PM (Willie and His Pigs by Emily Cooper, with a performance by Ben Sollee)

Statement:

Trees of the North American continent have been cleared and harvested by

humans for centuries. By about 1,000 BP (before present), significant areas

of forest had been converted to intensive agricultural use. By 1880, lumber

had overtaken agriculture as the most important driver of deforestation. By

1920, more than two-thirds of American forests had been leveled at least

once. Today the total amount of forested lands is about 70% of the original

cover, with only 7% to 18% being old-growth forest. Significant forest loss

continues in tropical areas.

Increasingly added to the equation is climate change. In the last few

decades, the death rate of trees in western old-growth forests has doubled.

Climate change and related stressors, such as susceptibility to fire, disease

and pests, are resulting in increasing impacts with rapid and variable rates

of change.

Forests play critically important roles in global ecosystems, from purifying

the air and filtering freshwater, anchoring soil, regulating the climate and

storing significant amounts of carbon, supporting biodiversity (the soil

beneath a forest contains up to 50% of Earth’s biodiversity), to bettering

human mental and physical well-being.

Our (mutual) survival depends on protecting our global forests.

This installation speaks to our seemingly insatiable appetite to continue the

trajectory laid out from our human beginning. We have learned so much

about forests, and various ecosystems, but this driving beast will ultimately

pull our species down under with the rubble if we don’t pick up the pace to

move slower, thoughtfully, communally.

 

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Plan Your Visit to See Human | Nature

With Insects We Share the Same Light — through August 8 · Maybe It's Fate, Co-op, 1425 Story Avenue, Louisville, KY

Human | Nature — July 11–August 27 · Louisville Visual Art, 1538 Lytle Street, Louisville, KY 40203

Thank you for supporting your local art and natural ecosystems! Follow along at @clarehirn and @maybeitsfatesocial.

On view now through August 8 at Maybe It's Fate, Co-op — 1425 Story Avenue, Louisville, KY.

Step inside the show. Here's a short look at WITH INSECTS WE SHARE THE SAME LIGHT

 

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The Exhibition

Insects, the most diverse and numerous organisms on Earth, play critical roles in ecosystems — nutrient recycling, pollination, seed dispersal, control of populations of other organisms — and are a major food source for other taxa. Found for over 350 million years, they are some of the foundational organisms of Earth. WITH INSECTS WE SHARE THE SAME LIGHT aims to heighten our appreciation of the insect world, their habitat, and their plight in the Anthropocene era.

Designed as an immersive experience, this show does not present itself as a typical gallery show. Artwork is suspended from the ceiling or mounted a few inches off the walls. It is viewed up high and down low. And it is all visually supported by two large scenic charcoal drawings on muslin that fill the main walls of the room and function as (more than) a backdrop for the artwork.

Artwork in this show, 2D and 3D, all speaks to the world of insect life, while also stating facts about the alarming decline of insects. Varied in scale and media, the selected works move the viewer around the room, offering beauty, surprises, information.

The Artists

Gwen Burke · Sandra Charles · Sabra Crockett · Elle Hendrickson · Clare Hirn · Catherine Irwin · Brenda Kiefer · Douglas Miller · JD Schall · Rachel Singel · Kat Smith · Ben Sollee

Why This Show Came To Be

WITH INSECTS WE SHARE THE SAME LIGHT was intentionally timed to overlap with another environmentally themed show opening July 11 at Louisville Visual Art, Human | Nature. Going forward, I plan multiple, simultaneously timed regional shows, treating environmental themes. Awareness, more understanding, and more positive individual and collective steps to better the health of our planet are critical. Uniting scientific facts and knowledge with artists' creations for broader communication in this critical era is a priority.

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Associated Programming at Maybe It's Fate

Coming Up — Louisville LASER Talks: Inviting Nature, Data and Play into Shared Spaces

A brunch edition of the Louisville LASER Talks, bringing together three perspectives on coexistence, resilience, and human nature. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

When: Sunday, July 19, 1:30 PM (come early for the brunch potluck) Where: Maybe It's Fate — 3rd Floor Attic & Library

Margaret Carreiro — Professor emerita, UofL, is a plant and soil ecologist who has worked primarily in Urban and Suburban Ecology. She studies the impacts of cities and towns on natural areas and is also involved in restoration ecology. She is currently President of Louisville Chapter of Wild Ones and is the local organizer for iNaturalist's City Nature Challenge in Louisville Metro, a biodiversity Bioblitz. Margaret is a cheerleader for our local native species and enjoys teaching people about the importance of nature in cities and how together we can sustain local species. Margaret Carreiro presents "Neighborhood Adopt a Species," drawing on urban ecology and reconciliation ecology to show how residents can collaboratively share everyday spaces with other species, scaling conservation down to the neighborhood level.

Fran Kremer — works at the interface of science and the visual and performing arts, integrating these disciplines to build greater understanding of the environmental and public-health effects of climate change on individuals and communities. Until 2025, Dr. Kremer served as a Senior Scientist with decades of experience managing research in support of US Environmental Protection Agency policies and regulations, examining the impacts of contaminants on public health and the environment. She led multidisciplinary teams in developing innovative approaches for monitoring and controlling contaminants and anticipating the impacts of climate change. Fran Kremer's "Data Democratization and Climate Action" argues that making climate data accessible and understandable empowers individuals and communities to prepare for floods, wildfires, and heat.

Claude Stephens — directs Bernheim's Children at Play Network, focused on fostering the next generation of environmental stewards through play in nature. His background in evolutionary biology frames the way he approaches systems change by valuing play. He has helped design natural play environments regionally, nationally, and most recently for a national park in Brasília, Brazil. In 2025, Claude received an honorary doctorate in play from the International Play Association. He closes with "Three Million Years of Play," provocatively proposing Homo Ludens over Homo Sapiens — tracing how industrialization and commercialization eroded play and risk, and offering paths to restore it.

Chaired/moderated by Maybe It's Fate co-founders Rebecca Norton & Clare Hirn.

About LASER: The Louisville LASER program is a series of lectures and presentations on art, science, and technology-related projects, and an affiliate of Leonardo/International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST). Leonardo/ISAST LASER Talks is a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists, and technologists together for informal presentations, performances, and conversations with the wider public. Its mission is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and community building across more than 50 cities and 5 continents worldwide.

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A Look Back — Our Pollinator Presentation Series

All summer, the exhibition brought neighbors, families, and curious minds together for a series of Pollinator Presentations:

Native Bees with Leo Carpenter — May 16. An informative, fun afternoon with a coloring activity for younger folks. Leo Percy Carpenter is a graduate student in the Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky.

Starting a Pollinator Garden with Kelli Eder — June 13. Kelli walked us through Year 3 of her St. Matthews home pollinator garden — proof of how much can happen in three years. Seeds and plants went home as door prizes.

Citizen Science with Margaret Carreiro — June 27. Margaret Carreiro, Ph.D. in Biology and President of Wild One Louisville, closed out the series with a warm, inspiring talk on how each of us can contribute to species conservation as a citizen scientist — using tools like the iNaturalist app to observe, document, and protect the life around us.

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WITH INSECTS WE SHARE THE SAME LIGHT

Closing Celebration — August 8, 2026

Plan Your Visit

With Insects We Share the Same Light — through August 8 · Maybe It's Fate, Co-op, 1425 Story Avenue, Louisville, KY

Human | Nature — July 11–August 27 · Louisville Visual Art, 1538 Lytle Street, Louisville, KY 40203

Thank you for supporting your local art and natural ecosystems! Follow along at @clarehirn and @maybeitsfatesocial.