Sisters Hope Project

Join us as we speak with these two amazing women and learn more about art, distance, and living with MBC

About Ilga and Andra

We are two Canadian sisters living in London and Chicago, separated by distance and the impermanence of life. Following a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, Andra was keen to develop a personal project for her patient advocacy work. She asked Ilga to run an idea-generation sketching workshop with her. This became the start of our weekly meetings, and now we've been collaborating online for nearly one year. Our intention was to spend precious time together and follow where our conversations took us. Paying attention, noticing moments, elevating these to fill the distance.

Ilga Leimanis is a visual artist, educator and author based in London. In addition to her art practice and collaborative work, Ilga’s practice-led pedagogy and creative consultancy has brought her into contact with many diverse groups of students, both in the UK and internationally. For over a decade, she has facilitated workshops in sketching and idea generation, developing a functional method for creative practice. Her first book Sketching Perspective was published by the Crowood Press in 2021. Currently pursuing a MA in Academic Practice at the University of the Arts London, she recently completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Arts, Design and Communication (PgCert). Her current topic of research is idea generation, transformational pedagogy, untethered learning, and hope.    

Andra Kalnins is a mindfulness instructor, patient advocate, former nurse and family nurse practitioner graduate. She lives in Chicago, with her husband and 5-year-old son. She was diagnosed with early-stage triple negative breast cancer in 2016, with a stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC) recurrence in 2020. Andra recently completed mentor training with Project Life, a virtual wellness house for those living with MBC and their loved ones, and advocacy training through Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s 2021 Hear My Voice Metastatic Advocacy Program. Her advocacy interests include peer support, with a focus on quality of life and psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, coping and healing. Andra strives to live as fully as possible, by empowering herself and others to keep living with joy, connection, meaning and purpose despite the grief and uncertainty of facing an incurable disease. Always seeking hope.