The 2nd annual Saints Preserve Us!, an art show of contemporary ex-votos, altars, and shrines will be on exhibit Friday October 7 through Saturday October 22 at The Yards, 50-52 Public Market Way, Rochester.  Hours are Friday October 7, 6:00 to 9:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am to 2:00 pm; and by appointment.  

More than twenty artists are represented in this wide-ranging show which includes assemblage, installation, collage, painting, textile art, and photography. 

“The theme of Saints Preserve Us! invites artists to reflect on issues of faith, spirituality, remembrance, and gratitude. How can we create artworks or spaces that will hold the beliefs and memories which live so deeply in our hearts?  The pieces in this show present diverse and fascinating answers to that question,” says organizer Laurie MacFarlane.

Works on display include Ling Ling by Martha Schermerhorn, a reliquary in the form of an altered book. It commemorates the artist’s childhood pilgrimage to the National Zoo to see the pandas on loan from China.

Michelle Dashevsky, the daughter of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants, presents what will grow here?, a mixed media installation honoring the home that exists between identities, state lines, and cultures.  Danielle Suzanne Smith offers Elegy for Burke, a collage of memories and perhaps a lament, each sketch a relic of the past and a lesson for the future.

Other artists include Sam Binder, Erica Bryant, Susan Carmen-Duffy, Mary Criddle, Carlie Fishgold, Candice Grimes, Beth MacFarlane, Laurie MacFarlane, Ann McCracken, Michelle L. Miller, Dina Noto, Martha J. O’Connor, Cielo Ornelas MacFarlane, Jina Park, Kat Patterson, Nancy Radzik, Rivkah Simcha, and Char Smith.

The opening of Saints Preserve Us! is Friday October 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The show runs through October 22 and can be viewed on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The show can also be viewed by appointment; please email saintspreserveusartshow@gmail.com to schedule. 

Saints Preserve Us! is organized and curated by Cielo Ornelas MacFarlane, Laurie MacFarlane and Martha Schermerhorn.  

More about The Yards: The Yards Collective offers a space for community engagement and the networking of Rochester’s art scene, a platform for creative individuals to learn real world skills.  The Yards offers studio spaces, residency programs, hosts First Friday exhibitions, curated showcases, workshops, public critiques, and private rentals in the Gallery space and Lounge.