Sal Marx (they/them) artist, advocate, patient innovator
Above all, I am an artist who lives with chronic illness: my creative practice was born out of a need to communicate and visualize lived experiences of pain. At a young age, I found my story rendered invisible inside and outside of clinical spaces. Visual creation soon became integral to my health/care, rooting me in community centered ways of storytelling and listening.
As a Narrative Medicine Consultant, I utilize design leadership, patient advocacy, and creative solutions to reach measurable impacts on patient care. I am most drawn to projects that partner with patients, doctors, caregivers, and other stakeholders, synthesizing stories into powerful tools for accessible communication, connection, and change within medicine. My background has prepared me to lead research and narrative projects featuring patient-centered care, storytelling, or graphic/video content. My process is centered in co-creation, ultimately to empower patients and their families, and promote health justice in the biomedical sphere.
I have a M.S. degree in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Public Policy, Psychology, and Media Studies from Pomona College.
As a multimedia artist, Sal's work has been shown in The Royal Alberta Museum (Canada) (2024-2025); Literature & Medicine at Johns Hopkins (2024), at Columbia University, NY, NY (2022); The Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2019); MF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2019); Pomona College Studio Art Hall, Claremont, CA (2018). Their storytelling work has been featured on different platforms, including Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal (2021); Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine (2020); Health Union (2020); Intima (2020); The Global Healthy Living Foundation (2019); WebMD (2019); Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Athletics (2018); Spondylitis Plus Magazine (2014), and The Bainbridge Review (2013, 2014).
"Haunting sequential art by Sal Marx, a non-binary artist, opens this theme issue, and conveys the burden and repetitive struggle to endure and communicate pain, as well as moments of solidarity and beauty that can emerge despite constraining systems."
-------------- Sara Wasson, Editor, Literature & Medicine at Johns Hopkins (2024)
