Kate Muehlemann Cataldo: The Constellations Project
Artist Kate Muehlemann Cataldo takes on a second-year residency with their project, The Constellations Project. This project fosters connections between queer elders and youth, nurturing intergenerational bonds and community care. By spotlighting LGBTQ+ legacies, this residency weaves understanding across generations through art and storytelling. Kate is now preparing new stories and paintings, which will be exhibited in June 2025.
Kate’s first year of their project culminated in an exhibition at the Altadena Pride Festival, featuring painted portraits, queer elder reflections via audio recordings, and youth artwork inspired by the elders. Her practice consisted of a six-week legacy interview session with three queer elders, capturing hours of their life experiences, reflections, and advice for queer youth embarking on their own journeys. She then presented the audio recordings to local queer youth. The teens gathered inspiration from the elders' wisdom and produced artwork reflective of the impact of the elders' stories and their legacies in the greater community.
During The Constellations Project exhibition opening, visitors experienced an evening of celebration by listening to the impactful stories of the elders, viewing the artwork produced by the artist and youth, and folks got to speak one-on-one with the artist and the elders themselves.
Kate is currently in the process of interviewing new queer elders and searching for queer youth to collaborate with in this second phase of the project. We are hosting three art gatherings where youth will make art inspired by the elders’ life stories. Open to ages 13 - 19, the sessions are scheduled for:
Saturday, December 7th @ Side Street Project
Saturday, January 4th @ Side Street Project
Saturday, February 1st @ Altadena Library
Saturday, March 1st @ Side Street Project
Saturday, April 5th @ Altadena Library
Most sessions will run from 12:00 to 2:30 pm at Side Street Projects a two sessions will take place at the Altadena Library. Register here if your child or someone you know is interested in participating.
The Constellations Project acknowledges how many queer people have not had role models nor a blueprint of what life might look like as an aging adult. The Constellations Project is rooted in honoring non-biologic family stories as our own queer ancestry and its legacy while promoting connection with the community.
Constellations of the night sky have shared stories and guidance throughout time, and The Constellations Project takes its name from this sentiment. Constellation is not only an inclusive word for those who surround, care for, and support us but also a reminder of the presence of these guiding lights, inspiring curiosity and wonder if we take the time to look.
Stay tuned for more!
This project is funded by the Pasadena Community Foundation and SAGE Equity Innovation Lab.
Bio
Kate Muehlemann Cataldo is a visual artist, death doula, and founder of Constellations of Care. Their organization provides end-of-life support and advocacy for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and creates space and tools for intentional dialogue about death and dying. Her artistic practice is influenced by the vulnerability and empathy cultivated in caregiving and themes of queer identity.
Follow Kate’s Artist page on Instagram:
Follow Kate’s Death Doula page on Instagram and website:
In 2023, Kate Muehlemann Cataldo was invited to “develop a project that creates peaceful spaces for intergenerational connection and the conditions for collective healing, with a trauma-informed-care approach,” based on SSP’s Artist Residency theme “UNTWISTED: Inside Out In”.