Join us in conversation with artists Laura Quattrocchi and Rivkah Simcha, whose works—separately featured in RoCo’s fall programs—offer radically different but equally thoughtful reflections on dependence and grief. Quattrocchi’s The Loser Show transforms thousands of discarded lottery tickets into multifaceted sculptures that explore gambling, systemic inequality, and collective vulnerability. Simcha’s Unmaking My Chains, a new body of work to be created during her residency upstairs at RoCo, draws from her experience in recovery from alcoholism and her engagement with a 12-step framework.

Addiction has touched the lives of many artists throughout history and continues to shape contemporary creative practice, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. Together, these two artists offer distinct perspectives: one outward-looking, shaped by stories gathered from others; the other deeply introspective, rooted in personal transformation and emotional sobriety. The panel will explore how each artist navigates themes of dependence, struggle, healing, and human resilience through their creative practices.

This talk will be moderated by Lauren Jimerson, Hodinöhšyo:ni:h artist, trained therapist, and facilitator of transformative conversations around healing and survivance through the arts.

Monroe County’s Community Action Coalition Committed to Uprooting Stigma (CACTUS) will be present to provide information about addiction services and resources. C.A.C.T.U.S. was created to address and educate communities on the existing causes and to to eliminate stigma surrounding substance use disorders. They aim to dismantle the harmful stereotypes and discriminatory practices that perpetuate stigma surrounding substance use and co-occurring concerns. C.A.C.T.U.S. aims to empower our communities through education, resources, support, and compassion.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Laura Quattrocchi ( b. 1972, Padua, Italy ) is a multidisciplinary artist working with movement, Installation, sculpture, video, and performance. She moved to NYC in 1995 to study contemporary dance and then to Detroit in 2016. Quattrocchi's practice reflects on her perception of her surrounding world, particularly human habits and waste. She works in any media that serves the concept of the piece, often mixing performance and object making. Her process can be very long, sometimes taking a decade to develop. Central to her dance development involved meeting and working with Daniel Lepkoff, Elaine Summers, Karl Anderson, and Joshua Bisset. She discovered her interest in visual arts and fabrication after collaborating with visual artists Diego Britt, Sylvestre Gobart and Agata Oleksiak. In 2000 she joined Shua Group founded by Joshua Bisset. Her individual visual and performance works have been presented at venues including The Newark Museum, The Queens Museum, The American Visionary Arts Museum, The Jersey City Museum, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Detroit Contemporary, The Harn Museum of Art, ShuaSpace, and The Gateway Project in Newark. Laura has performed as a dancer with David Parker and The Bang Group, Mary Anthony Dance Theatre, Tam Le, Kun-Yang Lin, Andrea Haenggi, Elaine Summers, Jody Oberfelder. She was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship in 2016 by New Jersey State Council of the Arts in the category of interdisciplinary performance for her work Spring Rain. She is also one of the chosen artists representing New Jersey in the 2014 Newark Museum Arts Biennial. She is one of the founding member of a community space called Andy in Detroit. @lauraquattrocchi

Rivkah Simcha (she/they) is a New York City-born mixed media artist based in Rochester, New York. She uses ink, collage, assemblage, monotype printing, and other approaches to explore the themes of grief and transformation, and to respond to the questions “Who am I in this world? What can I make of what has been made of me?” Her art practice has been influenced by her training in expressive arts therapy at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. As a performer in the avant-garde theater troupe The Velvet Noose, Rivkah has designed and created art scrolls, costume pieces, and ritual objects for use in performance. Rivkah’s art work has been shown in galleries throughout the Rochester area. Rivkah is currently an artist in residence in printmaking and book arts at Flower City Arts Center. @shulamithinshadow

Lauren Jimerson is a Hodinöhšyo:ni:h artist that works and resides in Rochester, NY. While earning her degree in art therapy, she did a deep dive into researching the topic of trauma, more specifically historical and intergenerational trauma. She has provided presentations on these topics both locally and nationally. @laurenamber_art