Press Release: PSYCOLOURGY 2.0
MORE ART/LESS CANCER
Art Gallery Fundraising Event for Breast Cancer Warrior: Susi Herrera
NEW YORK, NY – NOV. 8,9,10 – Enjoy art and celebrate living at the MORE ART/less cancer art gallery fundraising event at La Sala de Pepe (73 Ave C in Lower East Side) on November 8, 9 and 10. All tickets are donation-based and can be reserved at https://moreartlesscancer.
MORE ART/less cancer is an art gallery fundraising event benefiting Susana Elizabeth Herrera Martinez (Susi Herrera), a breast cancer warrior. The gallery will feature a collection of artwork by her father, artist Chuy Herrera, curated to express the experience of living in the bittersweet dichotomy of joy and pain. All pieces in the collection will be available for purchase, with each dollar going directly to Susi’s medical and living expenses.
The art-full weekend will kick off with an opening party on Friday, Nov. 8 from 5 pm to 9 pm at La Sala de Pepe and will feature live music by acclaimed percussionist and composer, Reynaliz Herrera; performance by music producer and DJ, AsprinCity; a raffle for prizes including a diamond ring by New York jeweler, Verragio, and gift certificates to dinner at Chef Frances Tariga’s Tadhana NYC. Opening weekend events will also include: music, gallery talks, a healing sound-bath meditation (led by Carleen Shankle), food by chef Frances Tariga, and more. For more information and tickets, visit https://moreartlesscancer.
Susana Elizabeth Herrera Martinez (Susi Herrera) is a queer Mexican actor living in Crown Heights. Herrera was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer in the fall of 2023 at the age of 35 and has been battling the disease with a combination of chemotherapy treatments as well as a single mastectomy. This diagnosis signaled the beginning of a journey for Herrera that has reshaped her presence in this world, one that has offered her the challenge of celebrating two truths that are undeniable to the human experience: joy and pain. It is through this lens that she has curated the art collection by her father to display and share with the world. Susi Herrera is from Monterrey, MX.
The collection features original artwork by Susi’s father, Chuy Herrera, a talented Mexican architect-turned-painter. Chuy has been sketching since he was nine years old. His artwork celebrates queer culture and challenges social norms with emotional depth. Chuy’s paintings are powerful expressions of love and struggle; the hard and soft of life. The MORE ART/less cancer exhibition showcases Herrera’s exploration of the space in-between expressions of hardship and festivity. Chuy’s most recent series, created in collaboration with Susi, captures the beauty and pain of being a minority, celebrating their resilience and spirit. The artist describes the human capacity to exist in this dichotomy as an art itself:
‘We have the capability to hold multiple truths, joy and pain.
This collection celebrates this ability of all sentient beings.”
The MORE ART/less cancer event will be hosted entirely at La Sala De Pepe y Foto Espacio, a social club art space in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. La Sala de Pepe (Pepe’s Living Room) and Foto Espacio (Photography Space) is a unique artistic collaboration brought into existence by two longtime friends and Lower East Side / East Village residents: Ethnomusicologist Jose (Pepe) Flores, and Visual Anthropologist/Curator Lyn Pentecost. La Sala de Pepe y Foto Espacio is dedicated to honoring the Past, celebrating the present, and incubating the future.