For Dolly, With Love

A one-night installation devoted to Dolly Parton, in which visitors left handwritten love letters that accumulated across the stage and transformed the piece.

Explore the Love Letter Archive (opens in a new tab)

Participatory installation, 2026

Animated projection, framed portrait, rhinestone microphone, handwritten letters

Part of Wild Flowers: Rock’s Iconic Women

Handwritten pink love letters and a bouquet on the black stage, with visitors in the background

Heidi Phelps gathering the pink love letters from the stage

The black stage covered in pink love letters at the end of the night, with a microphone stand and the projected Dolly Parton portrait behind

For Art All Night at Dupont Underground, I brought back a small piece of Wild Flowers: Rock’s Iconic Women — my illustrated portrait series celebrating iconic women in music through flowers, symbols, and storytelling — in a completely different form. The one-night installation focused entirely on Dolly Parton, with a large animated projection, one framed portrait, a handmade rhinestone microphone, and an invitation for visitors to leave Dolly a love letter.

Over the course of the evening, handwritten pink cards accumulated across the black stage and physically transformed the piece.

Five hundred pink cards were used during the installation. 447 handwritten letters have been preserved in the Love Letter Archive.

Explore the Love Letter Archive (opens in a new tab)

Exhibition: Dupont UndergroundArt All NightWashington, DCSeptember 12, 2026