Hannah Epstein - CV + Bio
Hannah Epstein grew up in remote Nova Scotia before going to college in even more remote Newfoundland where she studied folklore and learned how to make hooked rugs. After getting her MFA at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, she added conceptual rigor to her practice and became, as she calls herself, “a feminist folklorist of the internet age.” Her hooked rugs of monsters, internet memes and historically-inspired creatures are both humorous and disconcerting.
Born 1985, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Lives and works in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
Education
2017
MFA, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
2011
Canadian Film Centre Media Lab
2009
Newfoundland Independent Film Co-Op
BA in Folklore and Religious Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2021
Kill Your Captors, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2020
Enter Art Fair (with Steve Turner), Copenhagen
Making Bets In A Burning House, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2019
Artists-on-Artists: Age of You, Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto
Nittany Lion: Eco-Mascot, HUB Gallery, Pennsylvania State University
Art Brussels (with Steve Turner)
Art Lima (with Steve Turner)
Do You Want A Free Trip To Outer Space?, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2018
Monster World, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2017
As The Fidget Spinner Turns, Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh
2016
The Steaks Have Never Been Greater, The FRAME Gallery, Pittsburgh
Timecraft, The FRAME Gallery, Pittsburgh
2015
Service #4: Prey at Play, Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Pittsburgh
Killing it, 808 Gallery, Pittsburgh
2014
memememememe, The Ellis Gallery, Pittsburgh
2012
Backseat Animal, CineCycle, Toronto
Group Exhibitions
2020
Our World, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
New Domestics, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, Minnesota
Vector Festival, Toronto
Earth Day 2020, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
ALAC (with Steve Turner), Los Angeles
2019
Know Your Meme: Stitching Viral Phenomena, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, California
Loops to Live By, The Rooms, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Thread, Long Beach Museum of Art
Analog Pleasures, LIKELIKE, Pittsburgh
Expanded Reality, Refinery29 Art Park, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington DC
Enter Art Fair (with Steve Turner), Copenhagen
Ariadne Unraveling, Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York
Power of Ten, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Rock Paper Scissors, Living Arts Centre, Mississauga, Ontario
2018
Games At Play Arcade, UC Irvine
Untitled, Miami Beach (with Steve Turner)
Inside Out, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
NEOFOLK, Killjoy Collective, Portland, Oregon
Code Art Fair (with Steve Turner), Copenhagen
Through-Line: Drawing and Weaving by 19 Artists, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Reopen Closed Tabs, White House Studio Project, Toronto
I’M NOT WITH HIM, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh
B-SIDES, Diametrale Film Festival, Innsbruck, Austria
BioPix, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
New Toronto Works, Pleasure Dome, Toronto
2017
Speed Show: Playing Games, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lost/Found Biennial, CornerProjects, Chicago
Nuit Blanche Art Party, House of VR, Toronto
GAME ART VS ART GAME, Christian Petersen Art Museum, Ames, Iowa
Canadian Craft Biennial: Nothing Is Newer Than Tradition, Art Gallery of Burlington
Pop-Tarts and Pabst Fundraiser, Bunker 2 Contemporary Art Container, Toronto
Roundtable Residency Reception, The Dragon Academy, Toronto
Pleasure Dome, CineCycle, Toronto
Vector Festival | Local Host, Black Cat Gallery, Toronto
Cabinet, David B. Smith Gallery, Denver
FAM, Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University
Text Me, Pierro Gallery, South Orange, New Jersey
2016
It took a while….,Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe
Satin Finish, Slayer Gallery, online
Bodacioussss, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
The Cut and The Crumb, The Frame Gallery, Pittsburgh
Art Game VS Game Art, VGA Gallery, Chicago
Parkdale Film & Video Showcase: Close To Home, Gallery 1313, Toronto
8-Hour Project: Failure, Allegheny College Gallery, Meadville, Pennsylvania
Game Art VS Art Game, VGA Gallery, Chicago
Different Games Arcade, NYU Polytech, Brooklyn
What’s a Steak, 5122 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh
2015
15 Performances in an Hour, Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, Pittsburgh
MAKEnight: Aquatic, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Rules For An Other Self, Boom Concepts, Pittsburgh
Home Economics, Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto
Pop Montreal, Pop Quartiers, Montreal
Internet Yami-Ichi, Knockdown Centre, Maspeth, New York
Papes, The Rum Room Gallery, Pittsburgh
Fun Dip, Mist Gallery, online
Prism Pipe presents Crystal Ball, Pehrspace, Los Angeles
New Additions # 7 VAPORWAVE, VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver
Images Festival, Art Gallery of Ontario, Jackman Hall, Toronto
Accelerate, Niagara Artist Centre, St. Catherine’s, Ontario
Sidewalkscreening.mov, Whippersnapper Gallery, Toronto
2014
Garfart 11/12, Garfield Art Works, Pittsburgh
Wade In, Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland
The New Academy, Williamsburg Art & Historical Centre, Brooklyn
VIA Festival, Union Trust Building, Pittsburgh
Mean Time To Upgrade, InterAccess Gallery, Toronto
Hard Twist, Gladstone Hotel, Toronto
The Rainbow Volcano Explosion, Graven Feather, Toronto
How Sweet It Is, Swoon Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sight and Sound Media Festival, Eastern Bloc, Montreal
York Region Multi-Media Film Festival, Lebovic Centre, Stouffville, Ontario
Feminist Art Conference, Beaver Hall Gallery, Toronto
2013
Long Winter Arcade, The Great Hall, Toronto
STRUTT Wearable Art Show, WS Tyler, St. Catherine’s, Ontario
Queer Arcade, Videofag, Toronto
BEND OVER! Images of Gender Exploitation, Show Gallery, Toronto
AMC Arcade, Allied Media Conference 2013, Detroit
NXNE Festival, Art Fair, Toronto
Different Games Conference, Different Arcade, NYU Polytech, Brooklyn
Vector Festival: net.works, Propeller Gallery, Toronto
2012
HTMlles Festival, Studio XX, Montreal
TIFF NEXUS Mini Arcade, TIFF, Metro Hall Rotunda, Toronto
Punk Arcade, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia
UCLA Game Arts Festival, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Grants, Residencies and Awards
2020
Textile Artist-in-Residence, Harbourfront Center, Toronto
2019
Textile Residency, Icelandic Textile Arts Center, Blonduos
Work in Progress Residency, Textile Arts Center, New York
2018
Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2017
Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award, Textile Museum of Canada
Individual Artist Grant, Toronto Arts Council
Roundtable Residency, Dragon Academy, Toronto
2015
Project Grant, Frank Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry
2014
Remote Residency, Media Archaeology Lab, Boulder
Bibliography
2021
Meyer-Brehm, Julia. “DOUBLE TAP #18: Hannah Epstein,” Gallerytalk, February 3
2020
Mary Lynn Buchanan, “Hannah Epstein at Steve Turner Gallery,” Mary Lynn Buchanan Blog, April 27
2019
“Hannah Epstein on how her rug hooking art is influenced by comics, the internet and after-school television,” CBC Radio, September 23
“Hannah Epstein: Do You Want A Free Trip To Outer Space? / Steve Turner, Los Angeles,” VernisageTV, February 20
“Interview: Hannah Epstein,” Artland, January 18
Zellin, Jody. “Hannah Epstein: ‘Do You Want A Free Trip To Outer Space?’—Blending the Tactile and the Digital,” Art Now LA, January 15
2018
“Textile Museum Profile: Hannah Epstein,” Now Toronto, May 24
Hampton, Chris. “Turning floors into folklore: Hannah Epstein is telling incredible stories…with debaucherous rugs,” CBC Arts, April 20
Mizota, Sharon. “Rugs that hook you,” Los Angeles Times, February 4
Mizota, Sharon. “The sweet hooked rug, gone bad: How artist Hannah Epstein gives a retro craft some bite,” Los Angeles Times, January 20
2017
“Textile Museum of Canada announces the 2017 Melissa Levin Emerging Artist Award Winners,” Galleries West, September 26
2016
Urquhart, Emily. “Modern Hookers,” The Globe & Mail, January 27
“Blanket Fort Chats: Game Making with Hannah Epstein,” FemHype, January 8
2015
“YYZ Gameshow,” (Interview), Bell Local Toronto, February 9
2014
“Meantime to Upgrade at InterAccess,” Daily Serving, November 9
2013
“Have Surrealist Video Game Critique of Identity Politics Will Travel,” Now Toronto, August 6
“Queer Arcade,” Broken Pencil, August 2
Kotzer, Zack. “Hannah Epstein Wants to Get Sued,” Killscreen, May 7
2012
Poplar, Raven. “The Difference That Women Make,” LevelSave, February 9
