Artist Talks
Here at LA Tactile Lab we offer a dynamic set of artist lectures. These talks are offered in person at our LAB in DTLA, some will be offered virtually and hybrid. Please check to see the format. Every lecture is a suggested donation $10 to raise funds for those impacted by the recent fires and to help support artists.
February 22nd 4PM
Minga Opazo
Minga Opazo is a fourth-generation textile crafter who explores the relationship between climate change, contemporary textile production, and Chilean textile history and design. Born in Chile, Minga immigrated to Los Angeles at the age of 16. Opazo recent works, questions the textile industry by creating a series of cultural works that explore the idea of solastalgia, a term which describes the mental or existential distress caused by environmental change and living in an era of excess, constantly consuming and throwing away.In her practice, she is dedicated to research the textile industry further and to create work that exposes, reflects and finds a solution to the current situation of the textile waste industry. She completed her BFA at University of California, Berkeley in 2016 and her MFA at California Institute of the Arts, 2020. Opazo exhibited works across the US and Latino America, including the Museum of Visual art of Santiago, Chile,ACRE gallery in Chicago and the Bunker Art Space part of the Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. In Los Angeles, her work has been shown at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Craft contemporary, and Sargent’s daughter gallery.She has been awarded with various residency including Banff art center, ACRE residency and Haystack mountain school of craft, Anderson Ranch Art center, Mass Moca and Bemis Art center. She recently had her work published at Artforum, Lum art magazine and American Science magazine.
March 1st 4PM
Sasha Fishman
Sasha Fishman is a sculptor and researcher based in New York. She is particularly interested in marine biomaterials, toxicology and energy harvesting as points for critical analysis and mechanisms for sculpting. She is a recent MFA Sculpture graduate from Columbia University where she collaborated with labs on salmon, fountains, and carbon capture materials. Sasha is a 2024 Puffins Grant recipient and a current Artist in Residence at Smack Mellon.
Fishman has exhibited her work at Below Grand (New York), Resort (Maryland), Hesse Flatow (New York), Bozomag (Los Angeles), ILY2 (Portland), The Jewish Museum (New York), and The Indian Ceramics Triennale (New Delhi, India). She has participated in residencies at Smack Mellon (New York), Art Ichol (India), Acre (Wisconsin), NAHR (Italy) and the High Desert Observatory (California). Fishman has presented her work and run workshops at Printed Matter (New York), Genspace (New York), Navel (Los Angeles), Carnegie Mellon, UCLA (Los Angeles), UDenver (Colorado), UColorado Boulder (Colorado), Kenyon College (Ohio), MICA (Maryland), Caltech (California), and CSULB (California).
Sasha will teaching an Experimental Bioplastics workshops March 1st prior to her lecture. Sign up for both!
March 29th 4PM
Molly Haynes
Molly Haynes (b. 1992) is an artist and weaver based in San Pedro, California. Her material-driven works blur the line between humans and the natural world, often appearing both organic and mechanical. Haynes earned her B.F.A. in Textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to design for the interior textiles industry, where she gained a deep understanding of fibers and the construction of cloth. After several years, she delved into her personal practice to focus on handmade works that are free of utilitarian constraints. Her work has been exhibited internationally including Egg Collective, New York, NY; Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran, Montreal, CA; Compound, Long Beach, CA; and la BEAST Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been featured in magazines including Luxe, W Magazine, and Dovetail Magazine. She has given artist talks at schools and institutions, most recently at Craft in America in Los Angeles. She attended the Open Studio Residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2019 and returned in 2024 as teaching faculty.