Erica Chambers
Media & Visual Artist
2026 Art Meets Activism Grant | (Berea) $10,000 to create, “Let’s Worsh Up,” an extension of her photography exhibition and film “Dirt Pearls.” Women farmers from the previous project will come together to share meals and create space for rest, artistic expression, and collective accountability. These seasonal gatherings invite participants to review evolving documentary material, co-author how their stories are represented, and collaboratively create original art and merchandise that supports the project. This will potentially generate income for them and contribute directly to the final exhibition and public presentation of Dirt Pearls.
Previous Grants
2024 Artist Enrichment Grant | (Berea) $3,300 to fund “Dirt Pearls” a portrait and documentary series addressing food justice, environmentalism, and challenges women face from societal expectations to domestic violence. Erica will elevate these powerful stories by recording women’s own words on video that will open a new journey into filmmaking for her artistic practice as a documentarian.
2024 Artist Enrichment Grant | (Berea) $2,500 to create a collection of portraits featuring female farmers throughout Appalachia, titled “Dirt Pearls”, which aims to raise awareness of the diversity of women who contribute to our regional agricultural, sustainability, and food justice practices through imagery and story collecting. This collection will allow her to expand her work creating representation for female farmers in a way that empowers herself and her community.
Erica Chambers also received a 2022 Art Meets Activism Grant and a 2023 Art Meets Activism Grant with Ali Blair. Click here to learn more about those projects.