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(SANTA BARBARA, CA, July 14, 2026) – A solo retrospective exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of interdisciplinary artist Jami Joelle Nielsen (1983–2025) will be on view at the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) in Santa Barbara from Thursday, August 6 through Sunday, August 16, 2026. Curated by Erik Solevad Nielsen, Jami Joelle Nielsen: An Otherworldly, Rusty Retrospective showcases the depth and breadth of her artistic practice while honoring her vision of symbiosis, transformation, and hope. The exhibition marks the first comprehensive retrospective of the artist’s work following her passing in 2025.
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Jami Joelle Nielsen was a self-taught eco-artist who lived, worked, and exhibited in Santa Barbara, California. She held a degree in Environmental Science from the University of Kansas and worked in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara for several years. Her art combines a reverence for science, nature, and the human experience, challenging destructive patterns of consumerism through mixed-media collage, assemblage, drawing, painting, and photography. She sought to create work that speaks to social and environmental concerns while fostering dialogue, education, and collaboration.
Her interest in life cycles and the process of decay and rebirth drew her to collect rusty industrial objects and incorporate them into her pieces. Her practice as a found-object artist led her to organize and curate the No Waste Earth exhibit at Art From Scrap in 2014 and, a decade later, create the inaugural Recycled Show: A No-Waste Art Exhibit at the CAW, where she was active on the Outreach Committee. Both exhibitions sought to address environmental concerns through artworks conjured from a wide range of materials typically destined for the landfill.
Nielsen lived with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a painful genetic degenerative joint and neurological disease. By 2015, as her disability progressed and led her to create most of her work from bed, she shifted her attention from found-object assemblage to what she referred to as her “Otherworldly Landscapes,” a signature mixed-media art series inspired by science fiction and crafted from discarded science textbooks, recycled greeting cards, and vintage ephemera. She worked incessantly in this new artistic direction, creating an extensive body of work exploring the intersection of art, science, community, and social change.
“Jami Joelle was a beloved member of Santa Barbara’s art community, and a deeply creative artist. Her tremendous heart for her community and for the world was reflected in her unique, playful, beautiful artwork,” said Casey Caldwell, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative.
Nielsen began exhibiting her art in 2007, showing in over 70 exhibitions and 10 solo exhibits nationally and internationally, with work permanently installed at UC Santa Barbara’s Environmental Studies Program. Select artwork will be available for purchase, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Community Arts Workshop.
EVENT DETAILS
Jami Joelle Nielsen: An Otherworldly, Rusty Retrospective
Opening Reception
Thursday, August 6
5–9 p.m.
Exhibition
August 6–16, 2026
Gallery Hours
Friday, Aug. 7, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 14, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Or by appointment
Location
Community Arts Workshop
631 Garden St.
Santa Barbara, CA
Admission
Free and open to the public
Appointments & Information
(805) 324-7443
