“Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.”
- Illness as Metaphor, Susan Sontag

For the past several years Emily Mottahedeh has conducted in-depth interviews with Cancer Survivors who have generously shared their stories, photographs, patient charts, and journals. Asking them to reflect on their experiences they address one central question: 

What does it mean to be a Survivor? 

In this virtual exhibition, their voices now come together to tell the authentic and complex story of Cancer. Project Survive: The (Un)lucky Ones aims to increase the visibility of both the Cancer experience and the life afterward.

The composed portrait photography, in-depth interviews, artifact collection, poetry, art, and literature have been curated together as a resource to illuminate the intimate perspective of those directly impacted by Cancer. The coupling of these profiles with the selected artifacts results in a richer learning experience and dispels the notion that there is one universal Cancer experience.

Project Survive: The (Un)lucky Ones provides an inclusive platform for Cancer Survivors to tell their stories, share artifacts, and engage in reflection on the Cancer experience regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, diagnosis, or course of treatment in an attempt to create the most honest narrative(s) of the Cancer experience. 

We wish to acknowledge and honor all of the participants who generously contributed to this exhibition.

Project Survive is a collaborative project with a number of individuals. 

Emily Mottahedeh, Founder of Two by Twelve

Martha Superti, Photographer

Many thanks to all.

Annabelle Schafer, Curator