A New York-based artist, director, author, curator, actor, and speaker – Chella Man‘s work highlights the continuums and extends beyond binaries of disability, race, gender, sexuality, and morality. His identity includes being Deaf, trans, Jewish, and Chinese as well as determined, curious, and hopeful. Blending the genres of fine art, visual art, and performance, his mediums perpetually expand. Beyond organizing his show with Hannah Traore Gallery, Man is working on a live performance exploring his bodily autonomy through the lens of the medical industrial complex and tattooing for Performance Space NY and The Jewish Museum premiering May 2nd of 2024. He also works with Nike as an ambassador for disability and queer inclusion. Most recently, his short film exploring cyborgian identities was shown as a finalist in Cannes Short Film Festival, Newfest Film Festival, and more. This past month, he was awarded recognition in Forbes 30 under 30 for his work in the arts.
In the past, Man was a mentor and resident at Silver Art Projects located in The World Trade Center. He has shown at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Powerhouse Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum, Performance Space NY, Mana Contemporary, The Museum of The City of New York, The Abrons Arts Center this coming year. In 2021, Man published his first book, Continuum, with Penguin Publishing, highlighting how to heal from systemic oppression and the revelations he has come to growing up. Since leaving high school as a Junior to attend college early, he has shown in film festivals internationally, participated in numerous gallery shows and artist residencies worldwide, worked as a columnist for Condé Nast’s first queer publication Them, launched a radically inclusive clothing line in collaboration with Opening Ceremony, signed as the first Deaf and trans-masculine model with IMG Models, and was cast as a superhero in Warner Brothers DC Universe film Titans. He hopes to continue pushing the boundaries of what it means to be accessible, inclusive, and equal in this world.
A New York-based artist, director, author, curator, actor, and speaker – Chella Man‘s work highlights the continuums and extends beyond binaries of disability, race, gender, sexuality, and morality. His identity includes being Deaf, trans, Jewish, and Chinese as well as determined, curious, and hopeful. Blending the genres of fine art, visual art, and performance, his mediums perpetually expand. Beyond organizing his show with Hannah Traore Gallery, Man is working on a live performance exploring his bodily autonomy through the lens of the medical industrial complex and tattooing for Performance Space NY and The Jewish Museum premiering May 2nd of 2024. He also works with Nike as an ambassador for disability and queer inclusion. Most recently, his short film exploring cyborgian identities was shown as a finalist in Cannes Short Film Festival, Newfest Film Festival, and more. This past month, he was awarded recognition in Forbes 30 under 30 for his work in the arts.
In the past, Man was a mentor and resident at Silver Art Projects located in The World Trade Center. He has shown at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Powerhouse Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum, Performance Space NY, Mana Contemporary, The Museum of The City of New York, The Abrons Arts Center this coming year. In 2021, Man published his first book, Continuum, with Penguin Publishing, highlighting how to heal from systemic oppression and the revelations he has come to growing up. Since leaving high school as a Junior to attend college early, he has shown in film festivals internationally, participated in numerous gallery shows and artist residencies worldwide, worked as a columnist for Condé Nast’s first queer publication Them, launched a radically inclusive clothing line in collaboration with Opening Ceremony, signed as the first Deaf and trans-masculine model with IMG Models, and was cast as a superhero in Warner Brothers DC Universe film Titans. He hopes to continue pushing the boundaries of what it means to be accessible, inclusive, and equal in this world.