FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Artists Living with Chronic Pain Share Their Stories Through International Exhibition in Portland

"Illuminating the Invisible: The Beauty Behind the Pain" Opens January 8 at Southwest Community Center

PORTLAND, OR – The Chronic Pain Project presents its third major exhibition featuring over 30 artists from Portland, across the United States, and internationally from the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. "Illuminating the Invisible: The Beauty Behind the Pain" runs January 8 through February 19, 2026, at Portland's Southwest Community Center.

The exhibition creates visibility for artists whose work emerges from lived experience with chronic pain—perspectives rarely seen in traditional gallery spaces. Through painting, fiber arts, mixed media, and other visual forms, these artists transform invisible experiences into powerful visual stories.

"People with chronic pain know their own stories better than any researcher or clinician," said Janna Kimel, Executive Director and founder of the Chronic Pain Project. "This exhibition isn't about studying chronic pain from the outside—it's about creating space for artists to share what they know, what they've lived, and what they've created from that experience."

The exhibition includes works that explore themes of isolation, resilience, the frustration of invisible illness, and unexpected moments of beauty within struggle. Each piece offers viewers a window into experiences that affect millions but remain largely unseen in public discourse.

Artist Leah Ziegler painted a self-portrait capturing the precipice between pain and healing. "It really ended up being a snapshot of where I am today," Ziegler explains, "understanding and knowing the pain I've been in, but also knowing I won't stay here."

Katalina M., who began painting after brain surgery in 2010, discovered something powerful through her art practice: "I'm not in pain when I'm painting."

As artist Georgia O'Keefe once said, "I found that I could say things with color and shapes that I had no words for"—a sentiment that resonates throughout this collection of works born from lived experience.

The Chronic Pain Project was founded in 2023 to amplify voices of artists living with chronic pain through curated exhibitions, workshops, and community programming. Short videos of participating artists discussing their work are available on the organization's YouTube channel at youtube.com/@chronic-pain-project.

Exhibition Details:

  • What: "Illuminating the Invisible: The Beauty Behind the Pain"

  • When: January 8 - February 19, 2026

  • Where: Southwest Community Center, 6820 SW 45th Ave, Portland, OR

  • Opening Reception: Thursday, January 8th, 6-7:30PM

  • Admission: Free

For more information, visit chronicpainproject.org or follow @chronicpainprojectpdx on Instagram.

Media Contact: Janna Kimel, Executive Director The Chronic Pain Project janna@chronicpainproject.org

Participating artists are available for interviews. Please contact Janna Kimel to arrange.