Conceptual painter exploring allegory and ecology, both social and environmental. Queer Appalachian artist, gardener, and mutualist. Annie Kyla Bennett is painting stories of hope for the future, centering plants and our relationship with Nature. Processing climate crisis, their current focus in the studio is on remediation and restorative justice.

Annie is a co-founder and the creative director of Art Garden AVL, an arts collaborative creating economic opportunity and inclusive representation for artists from underserved communities. Annie is also a founding member of Medicine Heart Murals, an artist collective working to highlight environmental urgency through public art.

Annie grew up in rural Alaska, homesteading with artist parents. They first moved to Asheville in 2007, and spent many years on the road creating art all over the country before nesting into a permanent gallery space here in 2019. Annie collects books, tools and seeds. They find inspiration in Nature and in the places where ideas intersect.