Lyme Disease: Portrait of an Epidemic ? Exhibition

SUNY Adirondack Visual Arts Gallery, Dearlove Hall
640 Bay Rd., Queensbury, NY  12804

Explore the personal impact of Lyme disease through art at Lyme Disease: Portrait of an Epidemic, an exhibition by Lynn Shanks at SUNY Adirondack’s Visual Arts Gallery in Dearlove Hall, November 5–December 10, 2026. Admission and parking are free.

Developed through a year of preparation, painting and in-depth conversations with nine Warren County residents, as well as Shanks’ own experience with illness, the exhibition features expressive figurative paintings examining life with Lyme disease and its co-infections. Portraits and related works share participants’ experiences with diagnosis, treatment, physical symptoms and the emotional toll of illness, including its effects on identity, independence, careers and relationships. Interview excerpts will play in the gallery, alongside informational panels.

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, November 5 | 4–6 PM
Visual Arts Gallery, Dearlove Hall
Free and open to the public; no reservation required.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Thursday, November 12 | 5:30 PM
Scoville Learning Center Auditorium, SUNY Adirondack
Shanks will discuss her artwork and its inspiration, followed by a panel conversation about ticks and tick-borne infections in the southern Adirondack region. Free and open to the public; no reservation required.

Panelists include moderator Holly Ahern, founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ACES Diagnostics, co-founder and Vice President of Lyme Action Network, and SUNY Adirondack Professor Emerita of Microbiology; Dan Durkee of Warren County Health Services; Deanna Lebel, MHS, of the Center for Lyme Action; investigative reporter and author Mary Beth Pfeiffer; Mark J. Soloski, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Lyme Disease Research Center; and Ronald Stram, M.D., founder and Medical Director of the Stram Center for Integrative Medicine.

GALLERY HOURS & PARKING
Monday–Thursday: 10 AM–3 PM
Tuesday & Wednesday: also 5:30–7:30 PM
For holiday closures or schedule changes, confirm with the gallery before visiting.

The closest parking to Dearlove Hall is the North Parking Lot (North Bay Road Lot). Enter from the main Bay Road entrance and follow the campus perimeter drive to the north/northeast side of campus.

For media interviews and coverage inquiries, contact Lynn Shanks at 518-745-7221 or lynnshanksarts@gmail.com.

This work is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts Statewide Community Regrants Program, administered locally by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, with support from the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.