Ellen O’Grady is an artist and social justice activist in Durham, North Carolina. She majored in Theology in college and afterwards spent six years living in Palestine and Israel. Ellen has returned several times since to work with a variety of grassroots activist groups. An extensive and growing list of weblinks can be found here.

Her work has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the state and country. Ellen’s volunteer work in Palestine led to several commisioned public projects. Much of her work draws from her time in Palestine and Israel and reflects on the present conflict revealing the human faces behind the ongoing tragedy. For a complete list, see below.

Ellen is currently preparing her second nation-wide tour to promote her book, Outside the Ark. It is the culmination of her painting series of the same name whose inspiration came from her time living and working in the West Bank. For more information on the series, loo through the onine collection of Artwork. For information on the book and to purchase a copy, go here. Upcoming tour dates can be be found to the right.

Outside the Ark tells the stories of individual Palestinians living in the West Bank. It links these stories and her own story through a remembering of the Biblical flood story. The work is exhibited in the form of a slide-show/storytelling performance, in paintings exhibitions, and in a book. It has been reaching people at a variety of venues, including art galleries, public libraries, colleges, high schools and places of worship.

Selected Exhibitions
2005

• Outside the Ark, CCB Gallery, Durham, North Carolina

2004

• Outside the Ark, Red Hat Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina

2003

• Outside the Ark, Brecht Forum Gallery, NYC, New York

2002

• Magic Nation, CCB Gallery, Durham, North Carolina
• Genesis, Seamans Gallery at the Durham Arts Council, Durham, North Carolina.
• Picture This, Exploris Museum, Raleigh, North Carolina. Juried by Susan Toplikar and Christopher Ciccone.
• 48th Annual Juried Exhibition, Durham Art Guild, Durham, North Carolina. Juried by Joyce Tenneson.

2001

• 47th Annual Juried Exhibition, Durham Art Guild, Durham, North Carolina. Juriedby William Cole

Commissioned Public Art Projects
1996

• Freedom Murals Project, Ramallah, West Bank. Commissioned by the Educational Network

1995

• A Day in the West Bank, Birzeit, West Bank. A collaborative mural project commissioned by Birzeit University
• Palestinians, Ramallah, West Bank. A collaborative project with the students at the Ramallah Friends Schools. Commissioned by Ramallah Friends Schools

Awards & Honors
2004

• Blue Mountain Center Fellowship, Blue Mountain, NY

2003

• Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South Grant, Durham, North Carolina

2002

• International Solidarity Movement Fellowship, NYC, New York

2001

• Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant, Durham, North Carolina

Education

• Massachusetts College of Art, B.F.A., Honors.
• Hamilton College, B.A. Theology, Suma Cum Laude, Grad. 1990

Work History
2001-Present

• Painter/Small Business Owner, Whiskers and Paws

1995-2001

• Creativity Coach, Clients include North Carolina Lambda Youth Network, Wayne County Department of Health, Public Allies, and Duke Nonprofit Management Leadership

1993-1995

• Art Teacher and Teacher Trainer, Atfaluna School for the Deaf: Gaza City, Gaza; Ramallah Friends School, Ramallah, West Bank