CHELLA MAN
b. 1998
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Frieze NYC at The Shed with Performance Space New York and The Jewish Museum
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Queer Screen's 31st Mardi Gras Film Festival
Overflow, Afterglow: New Work in Chromatic Figuration, Jewish Museum, New York, NY
Chella Man: It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense, Solo Show at Hannah Traore Gallery, New York, NY
2023
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” .Semi-finalist Oakland Film Festival Cyborg Film
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Cannes Indie Short Awards, Cannes, France
“Life After Birth” Rubin Museum Podcast Interview
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” SignLight International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Superfest Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Newfest Film Festival, New York, NY
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Vimeo Disability Visibility Picks, Virtual
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Deaf Film Festival, Austin, TX
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Leslie Lohman Museum, New York, NY
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Nowness, Virtual
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, AU
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” queerfilm festival, Bremen, DE
“The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg…” selected in Toronto Short Film Festival
“Elevator Etiquette” Public Installation, Industry City, Brooklyn, NY
“The Beauty of Being Deaf,” QueerFilmFest, Rostock, DE
BIG DEAF: Activist New York Exhibition, Museum of the City of New York, NY, NY
2022 “Headphones as Armor” Sculpture, Leslie Lohman Museum, New York, NY
“Why Do People Want To Be Remembered” film screened at Malin gallery during Miami Art Basel
“Constructing My Own Seat at The Table” Pure Joy Live Performance, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
“Dinner Table Syndrome” Pure Joy Painting, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY
“The Beauty of Being Deaf,” Mardi Gras Film Festival, Sydney, AU
“Is It Worth It” Live Performance, Performance Space, New York, NY
“Listen To Me” and “Fabricated Jewelry Box” Group Exhibition, Villa Madrid, Los Angeles, CA
“Vitruvian Man” Floor Design, Abrons Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
“I'm Glad I Met You At This Age” Group Exhibition, Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin
“Just Right Now” Group Exhibition, NYC Culture Club, The Oculus, New York, NY
2021 “Rewiring, Raison D'être”, Group Exhibition, NYC Culture Club,The Oculus, New York, NY
“Vineeta” First Impressions Solo Piece, Anonymous Gallery, New York, NY
“Have You Met Every Layer of Yourself?” Group Exhibition, US Open Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Take This Down I Dare You” Online Performance, Eyebeam,
“The Beauty of Being Deaf,” CINEMQ Cinema, Shanghai, CN
“I Want To Be Remembered…” Billboard, ForFreedoms, Pittsburgh, PA
“How To Do The Right Thing” Painting, Higher Power Auction, Artsy
“The Beauty of Being Deaf,” Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington, NC
“The Beauty of Being Deaf,” Newfest Film Festival, New York, NY
“Horizontal Hostility” Painting, Greenhouse Auction, Artsy
2020 “TransAtlantico” Group Exhibition, Mana Contemporary Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
“Trans Disabled Black Lives Matter” Public Mural, NYC Pride Window Mural, New York, NY
2019 “Dysphoria” Painting, CNN World Pride Installation
2018 “Golden Hour Series” Group Exhibition, Compound Gallery Group Show, New York, NY
“Not Your Typical Solo Show” Solo Show, Space 776 Gallery, New York, NY
PRESS COVERAGE
2024 “Who I Am” Documentary Series wins BRONZE for NYF TV & Film Awards
Chella Man’s Identity Doesn’t Have To Make Sense, HeyAlma Interview
Chella Man Is Done Explaining His Existence, Harpers Baazar Interveiw
Forthcoming Documentary on art practice - Funded by Elf Beauty
2023 Selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 - Art and Culture
“Who I Am” Documentary Series nominated for Documentary at Asia TV Awards
Interviewed by The Rubin Museum on“Awakened” Podcast
Featured within Pessima Magazine, Vol 1
Covered and interviewed by Man About Town Magazine, FW23
Guest on Schuyler Bailar’s Podcast “Dear Schuyler”
Interviewed by The AMP, “Chella Man Explores the Cyborgian Experience of Being Trans and Deaf”
Interviewed for POPSUGAR, "Joy Is the Foundation of Gender Identity and Expression"
Interviewed for Puss Puss, “The Only Way is Forward”
Interviewed by Gossamer, “Chella Man”
Interviewed and art studio featured on EQ3
Gay City News, “From Industry City, Chella Man invites you to think outside the box”
Interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, “The Captioning Conundrum”
“Who I Am” Documentary Series follows Chella Man: WOWOW Productions
2022 New York Times, “Art We Saw This Summer” Pure Joy Exhibition Highlighted
Covered V Magazine, “Midterm Elections 2022: Chella Man”
Interviewed for Gucci’s Zine: Chime For Change with Judith Heumann and Andrae Lavant
Sculpture featured in Vice Magazine “Transmasculine Actors Are Still Waiting for Their“Tipping Point’”
Galarie Magazine, quoted in “Next Big Thing” Article
Featured and interviewed for Buffalo Zine at The Chelsea Hotel with Aaron Phillip
Paper Magazine, “Chella Man Features All Disabled Artists on Pure Joy”
ART News, “Curating Disabled Joy and Resisting ‘Inspiration Porn’”
Who What Wear, “Chella Man Has Found His Joy” Interview
Queerty Magazine, “Chella Man invited 13 disabled artists to explore ‘Pure Joy’”
Covered Out Magazine, “Nyle DiMarco and Chella Man Are the New American Idols”
Prestige Online, “Actor, Model, Artist and Activist Chella Man on Creating Space for Himself”
Prestige Magazine, “Man in the Middle” Print Spread
Johnson & Johnson, #DEPRESSIONLOOKSLIKEME Campaign Front
Vogue Hong Kong, “Chella Man on Representation and Advocacy Through Art”
2021 The White House, interviewed and video: 31st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Tamron Hall Show, “Chella Man Is Challenging Gender Roles & Encouraging Us to Be More Expansive”
Vogue, “A New Jewelry Collaboration Celebrates the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities” Highlight
Paper Magazine, “Chella Man Launches Ear Jewelry Collection with Private Policy”
CNN - “Chella Man on finding and making his communities”
Covered “In The Know” with MJ Rodriguez
Interviewed for Hunger Magazine
Featured in Photobook Magazine
Featured in Perfect Magazine
Yahoo features Jewelry Designs for The Beauty of Being Deaf x Private Policy
Interviewed by Autostraddle for executive producing trans in trumpland
2020 Out Magazine, Cover Feature with Laverne Cox
Calvin Klein, #PROUDINMYCALVINS Summer Campaign
Yahoo, “21-year-old Deaf Activist Explains the Ongoing Fight for Disability Rights” Interview
2019 Mission Magazine, “Chella Man Offers A Radical Approach to Visibility” Cover Feature
TimeOut, “Chella Man Talks Art and Activism in NYC” with L’Officiel Art
Gay Times Magazine, “Gay Times Magazine’s 500th Issue” Cover Feature
The Advocate Magazine, Cover Feature
2018 Teen Vogue, IMG Worldwide Signs Chella Man as first Deaf, Trans Model
LECTURES AND TALKS
2024 Film Screening and Talk Back at Georgetown University
2023 “Continuum,” Scripps College, Claremont, CA
“Continuum” reading at Powerhouse Arts
Film Screening and Talk Back for Mixed Asian Media at Industry City, NY, NY
Film Screening of Cyborg and Talk Back at The Leslie-Lohman Museum, NY, NY
Film Screening and Talk Back at Hermitage Artists Retreat in Sarasota, Florida
2022 “One Must Live It: Disability and Joy Roundtable” with Judith Hermann and Jezz Chung, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art , New York, NY
2021 Panel Speaker with Judith Heumann and Andraéa LaVant, Gucci CHIME Zine, Virtual
Guest Speaker, University of California, Riverside, CA
Internal Discussion on Intersectionality, Apple, Cupertino, CA
“Continuum,” DC 2023 Public Library, Washington, DC
Panel Speaker with Tyler Oakley, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah GA
Guest Speaker, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Guest Speaker, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Interviewed by Indya Moore for The Renaissance Awards
2020 Keynote Speaker, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Guest Speaker, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
2019 Guest Speaker, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
“Becoming Him,” TEDx Talk, Virtual
Speaker at the Brooklyn Museum for youth, NY, NY
PUBLICATIONS
2024 Forthcoming For Freedoms Billboards monograph with Monacelli
Forthcoming Overflow Afterglow Group Exhibition with The Jewish Museum
“Deaf and Trans Intersections” co-author published in The Sage Encyclopedia Edition II
2023 Featured in Christine Sun Kim’s Monograph “Secession” published by Vienna Secession
Featured in Luigi and Iango’s “Unveiled” published by Phaidon
2022 Featured in “Fire Island Pines” by Robert Andy Coombs published by BOFFO
2021 “Continuum,” published by Penguin Random House’s Pocket Change Collective
2018 Columnist of “Man-Made” published on Them with Conde Naste
2017 Columnist of “Man-Made” published on Them with Conde Naste
ACTING AND PRODUCTION
2023 ‘Jason,’ “Chestnut,” Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Director/Co-Editor/Co-Producer/Actor, “The Device That Turned Me Into A Cyborg…”
2021 Executive Producer, “Trans in Trumpland” TV Documentary Series
Director/Producer/Editor, “The Beauty of Being Deaf”
2020 ‘Frankenstein,’ “Frankenstein” Play Production, National Theatre of the Deaf, West Hartford, CT
2019 ‘Jericho,’ “Titans” Season 2 TV Series, DC Universe
COLLABORATIONS
2024 International Ambassador for Nike
Board Member of The Leslie-Lohman Museum in New York City
2023 International Ambassador for Nike
“The Process of Falling in Love With Yourself” : short film commissioned by Google Pixel
Ambassador for Google
Board Member of The Leslie-Lohman Museum in New York City
2022 International Ambassador for Nike
Featured in It Gets Better Campaign Short Documentary
Designed Cochlear Implant Cover for Med-El Cochlear Implants
Featured in Nike’s Global Running Campaign “Run to Release”
Hosted Wheelchair-Friendly Community Run (5K) with Nike
ASL Teacher, CIRENAS, Hacienda Ario, CR
2021 Designer, “The Beauty of Being Deaf” Collection, Private Policy Jewelry
Designer, Chella Man Tattoo Collection, Inkbox
Internal Diversity Consultant for Gucci
2020 Judge, Instagram Portraiture Art Competition 2020 Collaborations with Adobe Creative Cloud
Designer, Chella Man Tattoo Collection, Inkbox
2019 Designer, “Chella Man x Opening Ceremony,” Opening Ceremony
Designer, Chella Man Tattoo Collection, Inkbox
HONORS AND AWARDS
2023 Selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 - Art and Culture
Honored by the National Associated of The Deaf with the Awareness Breakthrough Award
Honored by the British LGBT+ Awards for Online Presence
2022 Gold House’s 2022 A100 List Honoree
“Continuum” Nominated for Audible’s Best LGBTQIA Listens by Queer Authors
“Continuum” named as YALSA’s Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
Shorty Awards, Judge
2021 Nowness Film Highlights, “The Beauty of Being Deaf”
Models Dot, Social Mover of the Year Nominee
The Attitude Awards, The Hero Award, London, EN
Digital Creator Award Winner, The Renaissance Awards, —NFT
Honoree at The White House for the 31st ADA Anniversary
2020 Silver Arts Residency Mentor, World Trade Center, New York, NY
Paper Magazine, “Eight Faces Defining the Future of Fashion,” Honoree
Shorty Awards, Judge
2019 Shorty Awards - LGBTQ+ Account Nomination
Queerty Pride50, Award Winner
2018 Out100 List, Honoree
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2024 Anderson Center - Red Wing, MI
2023 Hermitage Retreat Residency Fellow, Sarasota, FL
Industry City Artist-In-Residence, Brooklyn, NY
2022 Silver Art Projects Mentor, World Trade Center, New York, NY
Industry City’s First Artist-In-Residence, Brooklyn, NY
2021 Silver Art Projects Mentor, World Trade Center, New York, NY
2020 Palazzo Monti Resident, Brescia, IT
MODELING
2023 Kilian Perfume, Paris, France
2022 Hugo Boss Men’s FW2022, Milan, Italy
International “Be True” Campaign, Nike
Prada Triangle
BOSS Be Your Own Boss
Balmain x Barbie
2021 Tommy Hilfiger x Timberland
YSL “Nu” Campaign
H&M “Beyond the Rainbow”
Indya Moore x Tommy Hilfiger
2020 Calvin Klein Summer Campaign by Ryan McGinley
EDUCATION
2017-2019 Parsons School of Design, BFA in Virtual Reality Programming