ABOUT THE ARTIST: CHERIE SAMPSON
"In a disquieting prescience, my somatic work as a performance artist for 30 years inquiring into “liveness” through movement and kinesthesia (often in relationship with a natural environment, as well as to a camera lens) converged in a new investigation into unknown territory: my body, life, and art impacted by cancer."
Cherie Sampson is an American interdisciplinary artist whose work spans environmental performance, site-responsive installation, video art, and new media. She has built a distinguished international career over more than thirty years, presenting work in galleries, art-in-nature symposia, festivals, and solo performances across the United States, Europe, and beyond. Sampson’s art often explores the intersections between the body, landscape, and lived experience, incorporating elements of dance, projection, and narrative to engage audiences in contemplative and immersive ways. Over the years, her projects have been featured in prestigious venues and festivals, with the Pori Art Museum in Finland acquiring a significant body of her work for its permanent collection in 2018. Sampson holds an MFA in Intermedia and Video Art from the University of Iowa, 1997, establishing her practice in site-based practice and electronic media with conceptual rigor and eclectic material exploration.
A pivotal focus of Sampson’s recent work is her deeply personal and research-driven performance project every.single.one, which draws on her experience with hereditary breast cancer to explore themes of science, genetics, integrative healing, and human resilience. This one-woman performance piece has been presented at national and international venues, including in 2025 at the CEC Theater in Columbia, Missouri, the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis and the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) conference in Banff, Canada in 2023. every.single.one was a 2023 Finalist for a Jane Chambers Award for feminist performance texts. Video and other works related to performance have been exhibited in solo exhibitions such as Art, Cancer & Transformation at the Joan Hisaoka Gallery in the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington. D.C. Sampson’s artistic voice continues to bridge art, lived experience, and advocacy, fostering empathy and connection through storytelling and creative expression. Sampson serves as a patient advocate in several organizations: Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the Society for Integrative Oncology and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. Recently, Sampson presented in an educational session on a panel with members of SIO at the 2025 Annual Meeting of ASCO/American Association of Clinical Oncologists.
In addition to her artistic practice, Sampson is a dedicated educator and mentor. She serves as a Professor of Art in the School of Visual Studies at the University of Missouri, where she has been teaching for nearly 20 years in the Art and Digital Storytelling programs and contributes to the academic community through research, exhibitions, and creative projects. Her work has been recognized with numerous grants and fellowships, including two Fulbright awards (1998 and 2011), a Puffin Foundation Grant, a Finnish Cultural Foundation grant, and multiple internal support from the University of Missouri, reflecting her commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary inquiry.
A pivotal focus of Sampson’s recent work is her deeply personal and research-driven performance project every.single.one, which draws on her experience with hereditary breast cancer to explore themes of science, genetics, integrative healing, and human resilience. This one-woman performance piece has been presented at national and international venues, including in 2025 at the CEC Theater in Columbia, Missouri, the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis and the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) conference in Banff, Canada in 2023. every.single.one was a 2023 Finalist for a Jane Chambers Award for feminist performance texts. Video and other works related to performance have been exhibited in solo exhibitions such as Art, Cancer & Transformation at the Joan Hisaoka Gallery in the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington. D.C. Sampson’s artistic voice continues to bridge art, lived experience, and advocacy, fostering empathy and connection through storytelling and creative expression. Sampson serves as a patient advocate in several organizations: Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the Society for Integrative Oncology and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. Recently, Sampson presented in an educational session on a panel with members of SIO at the 2025 Annual Meeting of ASCO/American Association of Clinical Oncologists.
In addition to her artistic practice, Sampson is a dedicated educator and mentor. She serves as a Professor of Art in the School of Visual Studies at the University of Missouri, where she has been teaching for nearly 20 years in the Art and Digital Storytelling programs and contributes to the academic community through research, exhibitions, and creative projects. Her work has been recognized with numerous grants and fellowships, including two Fulbright awards (1998 and 2011), a Puffin Foundation Grant, a Finnish Cultural Foundation grant, and multiple internal support from the University of Missouri, reflecting her commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary inquiry.