Meet the 2023 Curators:
Emma Honcharski, Chas Wagner, and Lena Hansen
Emma Honcharski
Emma Honcharski is a media person, artist, writer and facilitator rooted in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a cofounder of Dinner Bell Mag, a publication of experimental food writing and art, in print since 2018. She values the curatorial nature of publishing and editing, namely the opportunity to create a physical space for other artists to share their work with new and familiar audiences on an international scale.
Chas Wagner
Chas Wagner is an event designer and brand strategist from Pittsburgh who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. In 2007, he graduated from Bucknell University, and in 2011, earned his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. After positions with Blackrock as a fixed income analyst and RunKeeper as Community Manager, Chas’s current work focuses on highlighting everyday people doing extra-ordinary acts in sport, small business and coffee.
Their exhibition, Buttery Spread, will be on view November 9 – December 30, 2023
Whimsical paintings, soft sculptures, installation, and mixed media pieces in this reading room encourage viewers to expand the ways they relate to food. Delve into non-traditional media with playful presence and without transactional expectations. Writing and art about food can be creative, messy, eccentric, non-authoritative, and joyful.
Lena Hansen
Lena Hansen is an arts professional passionate about art and archives. During her time as the Associate Director at Aicon Contemporary, New York, she cultivated a robust roster of artists, putting emphasis on artists typically underrepresented in the New York art scene. She has curated multiple exhibitions, such as Judith Has Arrived (2021), Notes from the Motherland (2021), I Shouted My Laughter to the Stars (2022), and Feast of the Gods (2022). Lena’s curatorial practice has focused on contemporary art by South/Southeast Asian artists both from within and outside the United States. After several years working in the commercial art world, Lena is now pursuing a Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Her exhibition, Blank Tape, will be on view January 18 – March 9, 2024
Through a series of mixed media works including photography, animation, and installation, Blank Tape looks at how surveillance technology has become integrated into our daily existence. Whether through celebration, protest, or attempts at creating an alternative life, this exhibition will explore the various ways we make sense of our existence in the contemporary world.