We were lucky to catch up with Ruth Chase recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruth, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

As an artist, the projects I’ve worked on are deeply personal, each one marking a different phase of my career and personal development. One project that holds particular significance is The West of Lincoln Project, which spanned from 2015 to 2017. This multimedia installation sought to capture the history of Venice, California, through the eyes of its residents. Born from my own complicated relationship with the place I grew up, it eventually became a platform for over 300 people to share their unique stories. Each participant was chosen to represent a different aspect of Venice, and their contributions helped create a vibrant, multifaceted portrait of the community.

What made this project so meaningful wasn’t just the art—it was the relationships I built along the way. I worked closely with local residents, creating large-scale painted biographical portraits and gathering stories through audio interviews, video, and social media.

The West of Lincoln Project earned recognition through a grant from the Carl Jacobs Foundation for Individual Artists and a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles. But the most fulfilling part of the experience was seeing how the project brought attention to the importance of understanding the past while shaping the future of Venice.

Another project that speaks to my heart is I AM HERe, an exploration of women’s sense of belonging in a rural community. Over the course of a year, I sought to understand my own sense of belonging while inviting the public to share stories of women in their lives.

Similarly, Belonging was a multi-year program that delved into the connections between people and the land they inhabit. I led a series of interviews with 13 featured participants, capturing their relationships with the mountain community they call home, resulting in a film called Belonging.

Finally, I Belong Here, a pop-up installation, where I asked passers-by if they wanted a hug and if I could take their instant photo in front of a backdrop that read “I BELONG HERE,” encouraging them to hang it up somewhere visible as a reminder of their worth and importance. I was surprised by the emotion that came from both the participants and myself.

Ruth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Ruth Chase, a multimedia artist originally from Venice, California, now living in Tennessee. Growing up in Venice deeply influenced my work, where I was immersed in a community full of change, diversity, and energy. It was there that my passion for art developed, leading me to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. My practice has always been rooted in inquiry and building connections within communities.

For almost a decade, I created grant-funded projects that explored themes of belonging. This was a period of growth and achievement, where I felt like I was truly at the height of my career, particularly in late 2019. But in 2021, an unexpected move to Tennessee left me feeling paralyzed as an artist. I struggled to find the energy or clarity to start over and rediscover my creative path. I was at my lowest point, unsure of how to move forward.

In 2024, I began experimenting with my work; I felt vulnerable and uncertain about the direction I was heading in. This phase of exploration has been essential to my current work. It has opened up new ways of engaging with my creativity and has been a powerful reminder that the journey is not always linear. What has emerged is a new focus on how we experience natural and manmade environments that affect our health, mood, and perception of reality.

My work became influenced by the invisible forces that shape our bodies and surroundings. Lately, I’ve become particularly attuned to electromagnetic fields, exploring how they interact with us and the environments we inhabit was a natural next step.

Through social media, I share my own journey with electromagnetic sensitivity, encouraging conversations about our relationship with these unseen forces.

My goal in my work is to engage people in productive dialogue that inspires a sense of curiosity and introspection,

Have you ever had to pivot?

My advice for fellow artists is simple but powerful: Say YES and then go above and beyond.

The most recent advice I received from my boss at the museum I work at, Monthaven, has stayed with me: Never let your work go unseen. Get it out there—whether it’s a sidewalk or a gallery, no place is too good or too bad for you to show your work. And more importantly, don’t just show it—talk about it. Get people engaged. Share the story behind your work, and create a dialogue around it.

A recent experience of mine really exemplifies this. A local coffee house invited me to showcase my new work, and at first, I hesitated—I hadn’t shown in a coffee house in over 30 years. But then, Cheryl’s voice popped into my head, reminding me of her advice. So I said yes, and I went all out. I created professional art tags, a title for the exhibition, and even organized an opening reception, just like I would for a museum show.

So, my advice is twofold: Say YES to opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone, and then exceed even your own expectations. Whether you’re just starting out or are already established, it’s essential to stay open to new ways of sharing your work and to always give it your best effort. It’s amazing what can happen by simply saying yes and putting your heart into it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal driving my art is to use it as a tool for communication. I’m drawn to conceptual art and project-oriented work that involves research and public discourse, followed by the creation of art that shares that information. For me, art is a way to spark conversations and explore new ideas, but I’m not interested in offering conclusions, giving advice, or providing ultimate truths through my work. Instead, my mission is to encourage others to explore their own curiosity, to question, and to come to their own conclusions. I want my art to serve as a starting point for personal discovery and reflection, inviting viewers to engage with the work and find meaning in their own way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.RuthChase.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthchase/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChaseBoudreaux/videos

Image Credits

Images are of the work of Ruth Chase