PLANT CITY, Fla. — A Plant City art gallery will offer a special art exhibit this weekend, honoring the legacy of a Bay area girl who died far too young.
The Red Calliope Art Gallery on Evers will display the work of Morgan Pierce. Doctors diagnosed Morgan with neuroblastoma when she was just five years old. She died in 2020 at the age of 17.
But in the 12 years she fought cancer, Morgan also created powerful works of art.
“Through treatment, art was a way for her to express herself but also a form of therapy for her,” said Emily Pierce, Morgan’s mother.
“It was an outlet for her. It was something she could do to stay busy and she enjoyed doing it,” added Clint Pierce, Morgan’s father.
The event runs from 4-6 p.m. Sunday. It benefits the No More Umbrellas Foundation. That’s a foundation Morgan parents started, providing financial support for kids fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. (No More Umbrellas Foundation)
The artwork caught the attention of Rachel Dummeldinger, owner of Red Calliope Gallery on Evers in Plant City.
“They’re not just the doodles of a little girl. There’s so much texture and depth,” Dummeldinger said. “She was giving us an invitation to pay attention to who she is and what she was doing through. That, coming from a child, it’s a big deal.”
Dummeldinger said she would be “careless and remiss” if she didn’t try to share the artwork with others. So she is hosting an art exhibit of Morgan’s paintings at the gallery on Sunday afternoon.
The event runs from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. It benefits the No More Umbrellas Foundation, a foundation Morgan’s parents started, providing financial support for kids fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Jeff Butera
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