Art for Awareness: Remembering the Missing Women of Humboldt

Lindsey Bryant, of Element Art Studio, is one of the local artists participating in the North Coast Open Studios event. Her vibrant murals can be seen all over Northern California, from Humboldt to Sacramento. This year, she has invited the public to come see her painting live in Alton, at the end of Sandy Prairie Road, under the Van Duzen Bridge, where she will be painting a mural on the second pillar, a continuation of her “Eyes Wide Open” project dedicated to the missing women of Humboldt County.

Her previous mural, a vibrant tribute to the faces of diverse women, aims to honor and remember the missing women from our community. This new mural will continue this impactful project, bringing awareness and empowerment through art. Your support will help bring this vision to life, creating a space for reflection and community healing.

About the Project:

Humboldt County, known for its breathtaking landscapes and imposing redwood forests, has also become known for a far more somber reason: a disproportionately high number of missing women. The phenomenon, often overshadowed by the region's natural beauty, has left a void in the community's hearts. This project aims to confront this tragedy head-on through the transformative power of public art and applied education.

The “Eyes Wide Open” mural project’s objectives are to raise public awareness about the issue of missing women and the broader discussions about safety, prevention, and justice; to honor and remember the women who have gone missing in Humboldt County and acknowledge the ongoing pain of families and friends; and to create a permanent visual statement that fosters community solidarity, healing, and advocacy for those affected.

About the Event:

The Ink People's 25th Annual North Coast Open Studios is June 7th-8th and 14th-15th. Local artists from all over the county open their studios to the public so they can meet the artists, see their creative space, and watch the artistic process live.

About the Artist:

Born in rural Western Washington in 1983, Lindsey Bryant has pursued a lifelong passion in the arts, expressed through many mediums, including painting, pyrography, glass etching, beading, as well as sculpture from clay and sand. Lindsey's work has won awards, been published, commissioned, and collected. Lindsey is inspired by nature because it always finds a way. Her untamed beauty and unimaginable vastness remind us that we are insignificant alone, but that together we can achieve greatness. Lindsey's art-making process consists of exploration, discovery, and is perpetually in progress. She invites the viewer to join her in this ever-evolving journey into the unknown.

Nature and its connection with the female form is the focus of her work. "I am her and she is everything that surrounds me." - L. Bryant