Experience the transformative power of art and nature!

Saturday, April 5 – Sunday, May 18

The Nature of Healing is a group art exhibition featuring around 30 local artists. Co-curated with and presented by Deep Roots Gallery, this exhibition focuses on grief and mental health and utilizing green spaces, such as Cleveland Botanical Garden, as healing spaces in the community.

Cleveland, historically challenged by some of the highest crime rates in the nation and recently identified as the most stressed city in the country, presents a fertile ground for artistic inquiry. The work poses the question to creatives of “What is the relationship between flowers, botany, nature, and the grief of loss?” This show’s exploration seeks to unravel the complex interplay between natural elements and the emotional landscapes shaped by trauma and mourning. The inspiration behind the work is to dig even further to explore what it means to utilize art and natural spaces as tools to support mental health and healthy communities.

About Deep Roots Experience
Based in Cleveland’s historic Fairfax neighborhood, Deep Roots Experience serves as an inclusive platform for artists and storytellers, using art as a bridge to connect communities. Through exhibitions, content creation, and educational initiatives, Deep Roots Gallery celebrates diverse perspectives, cultivates creative expression, and provides opportunities that uplift historically underrepresented voices in a way that promotes unity, innovation, and positive social impact.

Learn about a few of the artists and their installations

Asia Armour “Whenever I See a Butterfly, I Know I’ll Be Okay”

My installation immerses visitors in a surreal floral forest, inviting them to experience the perspective of something small—an ant, a child, or even Alice in Wonderland. Towering blooms and intricate floral details create an otherworldly, larger-than-life environment where beauty and loss coexist. This space serves as a reflection of the grieving process, illustrating how moments of grief can make us feel small yet deeply connected to the world around us.

Dayzwhun “Reclaimed”

Reclaimed is a profound exploration of nature’s resilience and sacrifice, reflecting on the ways it is altered to meet human needs. This large-scale multimedia sculpture features a floral branch extending toward a potted fragment of its former self, symbolizing a return to wholeness. Through this piece, we examine the tension between nature’s original form and its manipulated state, posing the question: “What does it mean to reclaim and restore?” Reclaimed invites viewers to reflect on the cycles of destruction and renewal, urging us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world.

Lacey Talley “The Crystal Collective”

This installation features my miniature Crystal Lady busts and accompanying environments inspired by the healing properties of crystals and flowers! These works explore diverse coping mechanisms and grounding techniques, offering viewers a variety of tools for their personal healing journey.

Davon Brantley “Mass”

The installation “MASS” by Davon Brantley is a continuation of a body of work where Brantley explores grief. This installation, wrapped in burlap, alludes to a vessel or bodily structure in which we are allowed to enter a safe internal space. As the viewer touches the sculpture, music plays along with pulsating lights to allow the viewer to meditate and think of the beings they may have lost or emotions they may not have properly touched before. Brantley invites the public to utilize this installation as a place of peace and meditation until the song ends. The audience is able to write on seeded paper and plant it into one of the planters within the altar space to take home.

Michael Roman “No Return for Negus”

This installation incorporates drawing and sculptural elements to reflect on the loss of culture and legacy that many Black Americans feel as a result of the American institution of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This work examines the manifestations of that grief and the resulting attempts at reconnection, while also honoring our ever-present ancestors and the ways in which they remain present in our collective cultural memory.

Christa Freehands “The Throne of Ease”

The Throne of Ease is a piece that highlights the stages of emotional healing. The throne itself represents the awareness of healing. Sitting on the throne is acceptance. The mirrors represent self-reflection, the first mirror is forgiveness and letting go and the second mirror is rebuilding and transforming. I am in the middle of my emotional healing journey, so I wanted to create a piece that allows you to sit in your feelings.

David Ramsey “Your Seat in Grief”

As a curator and creative director, my work explores the contemporary Black American experience through the lens of Black culture, particularly from a Midwestern perspective. Rooted in the ethos of ‘curating the culture,’ I draw inspiration from artists like Miya Bailey, Kara Walker, and Emory Douglas to present nuanced portrayals of Black identity, history, and social dynamics. Through exhibitions, installations, and creative space-making, I aim to challenge stereotypes, amplify diverse narratives, and foster deeper connections within and beyond the Black community.

Aldonte Flonnoy “Your Seat in Grief”

My love for comic books, video games, and animation sparked my passion for art and design from an early age. While I have explored various styles, from abstract to commercial art, I am still discovering my unique artistic voice. I draw inspiration from my family, my hometown, and my love for nerd culture. As an underdog, I create with something to prove—to myself, my family, and the city that shaped me.

“Your Seat in Grief”

As part of The Nature of Healing (2025), artists David Ramsey and Aldonte Flonnoy present a series of modular benches that embody the five stages of grief. Each bench features a graphic dandelion face, a symbolic representation of resilience and transformation, expressing denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Designed to foster reflection and communal connection, the benches interlock to create collective seating areas, blending natural elements with a thoughtfully crafted character. Just as dandelions endure and regenerate, this installation speaks to the cyclical nature of healing, inviting viewers to sit with their emotions and embrace the journey of loss and renewal.

Here’s more to explore at Cleveland Botanical Garden