Francesca Olsen is a quilter, writer, and consultant. Her creative work focuses on storytelling, heritage, ritual, magic, and the power and significance held in objects and stories. A recent survivor of breast cancer, she has adapted her practice to translate and document the experience of being in treatment and what happens when treatment concludes.

Olsen is a connector whose work aims to build community by holding space for others who have their own lived experience with cancer. She hopes to create a dialogue that bridges survivors, caregivers, family members and supporters, providing perspective and education about cancer treatment and recovery to reduce stigma and prejudice.

In 2023, she worked with the Phelps Cancer Center in Pittsfield on a month-long exhibition of art by breast cancer survivors which included her Quilts of Power series, three quilts representing chemo, surgery, and radiation. She has also shared her experience in B Magazine and Oprah Daily.

She is the recipient of a North Adams Project grant via MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists, a 2021 grant from the North Adams Artist Impact Coalition to assist artists with marketing, and a 2022 grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Martha Boschen Porter Fund.

She has reached hundreds of artists via digital marketing talks for various arts and culture organizations across New England, including MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists, Mass Cultural Council, and the Rhode Island School of Design. As a consultant, she has helped dozens of artists shape their digital strategy and refine their digital presentation.