Sentience Art Gallery

about the gallery:

Sentience Art Gallery strives to present a program that invites viewers to open their hearts and minds to the roles of animals in our lives, the choices we make as we live in this world and the ways in which we navigate and reflect on life – both human and animal. By offering artwork that shows deference to and appreciation of our environment and the animals we share the world with, we hope to encourage the viewer to introspectively contemplate the habits and attitudes that shape our treatment of animals, our planet and each other.

We believe that all beings are sentient: that animals and humans think, have emotions, feel and suffer alike. Therefore, neither should be used or abused.
In support of that philosophy, some of the gallery’s art attempts to “pull back the curtain” on issues that often seem invisible, breaking down the barriers that keep us from conscious awareness of the outcomes of our choices.

Our artists have created works that appeal to a broad range of tastes and sensitivities:

Zoltan’s photography celebrates the absolute beauty of our planet and its inhabitants through the eyes of a wandering world explorer. Scout paints ocean images that colorfully capture life above and below the water, evoking in us a familiar and deep emotion about the sea. Jennifer’s spirit boats speak to our desire to connect the past to the present and honor the part of us that will always be and Margy’s images are uniquely woven in ways that force us to adjust our perspective – creating a different way for us to appreciate familiar images. Jessica asks us to notice what we often fail to see in the beauty and simplicity of dear, flying souls. As a metal evolutionist, Brian allows us to give reverence to the things we love by creating their likenesses in incredible sculptures, born out of ordinary found objects. Teresa turns the world upside down to show us - with the heart of a historian and storyteller - that while we see, we are blind to the norms we’ve created in our world and the species-ism we accept. Jo-Anne’s photography touches the deepest places in our hearts and forces us to face the realities of animals being used by humans. Barriers to compassionate choices are broken down by her witness. She is a war photographer, but she also shows us the wonder of the amazing souls of individual, sentient animals and of the merciful guardians and rescuers who devote their lives to making a difference.

Several of our artists have created videos that complement and expand on their work, and photographer Jo-Anne McArthur is the subject of a film documentary, The Ghosts in Our Machine. These videos/video clips will often be streaming on our gallery wall during regular hours and artist openings.

Watch for special events at the gallery that will present writers, filmmakers, outside artists, and exhibits that expand on our gallery program.

We hope that Sentience Art Gallery is a different and positive kind of small gallery experience and that you will find our artwork moving, beautiful and thought provoking. Come by and say hello. We won’t bother you while you look! But we are happy to tell you more about our artists and their processes and work, if you’d like.