Elana Mann
Elana Mann explores practices of listening and amplifies voices that are yet unheard through sculpture, sound, and community engagement. Recent solo exhibitions include 18th Street Arts Center (Santa Monica), Lawndale Art Center (Houston, TX), Artpace (San Antonio, TX), and Commonwealth & Council (LA, CA). Mann has participated in group exhibitions and screenings at the Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, the Orange County Museum of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum. Mann has received numerous awards, including an Artist-In-Residence at Artpace San Antonio, the California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship, the Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Award, and the City of Los Angeles (COLA) Master Artist Fellowship.
In works where listeners become performers, performers become musicians, and music becomes protest, Elana Mann’s goal is to amplify unheard voices through artworks that create spaces of listening. Amidst the vitriol and polarization of politics, Mann’s artwork reasons that now is the time to listen, to empathize, and to strengthen a plurality of perspectives.
Her sonic sculptures synthesize the human figure with musical instruments. Resulting works may amplify speakers’ voices like megaphones, create distinct percussive sounds, or function like wind instruments. For over a decade, Mann has collaborated with countless musicians, performers, community organizers, and audience members to create performative artworks that invite audiences to bring the work to life.
