Emma Ross Sermons graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South with a bachelor’s in art history in 2023. Her senior honors thesis focused on contemporary artists confronting and dismantling destructive agricultural practices through socially engaged projects—taking on ecological resilience and community healing as intertwined pairs. Following graduation, Emma worked closely with two artists central to her thesis research as an assistant in material production, research, and organizing. As a Fulbright Curatorial Scholar with the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, Emma will explore the role of art in facilitating community imagination and liveliness amongst the complexities of the cityscape’s natural environment. She’s eager to carry forward the generosity and spirit of her artist-mentors to examine the role of visual culture in creating an ecology of interaction.