KEELY CONROY is a visual artist, singer-songwriter, and emerging art therapist originally from Minnesota. Currently pursuing an M.A. in Transpersonal Contemplative Art-Based Counseling at Naropa University, she holds a B.A. in Studio Art from St. Olaf College and served as an ArtistYear Americorps Resident Teaching Artist at Roaring Fork High School, where she also led community art programs through local nonprofits. Keely’s creative work is rooted in presence, grief, connection to land, reverence, and prayer— interweaving creative practice with contemplation and inner looking. She believes in the healing power of art and community.
Check out her EP of original songs titled, “And I Pray” here: https://open.spotify.com/album/2okVoB6Lb0rMk5DLlITgDd?si=lTJ6Pw1HRw2dgYDpsjxLlA
“My body of work is not separate from my inner work. I see my practice of observing and my practice of expressing as inextricably linked. While creatively expressing, my inquiry is bodily. I do not inquire to know, I inquire to sit with asking: to befriend asking. As I move, I allow my ideas and visions to freely arise. I listen to my body and rather than craving control, I surrender into discipline. I see my art as a form of prayer and communication. I practice confronting fear and facing darkness, while feeding wonder and self-trust. These practices have helped me find safety during times of great loss and pain. In response to my mother’s ALS diagnosis, her passing in 2021, and my own isolation during the covid-19 pandemic, my process of art-making has helped me practice returning to an expansive place of inner compassion. I’ve learned to respond to and process my grief through art. Art has provided me with a language that I believe our bodies intuitively understand.”