isla hansen

River bed, 2024 pine, cotton, construction paper, glue, moving waves, casters A bottomless couch and puppet theater for riverside scenes in make believe (where Ffloyd the fish lives). Part of my show How to Get to Make Believe installed at the Mattress Factory 's Monterey building @mattressfactory photo 1 and 3 by Tom Little

Im not done yet but okay here goes.... 🐛my bumpy lumpy solo show at @mattressfactory opens March 8! I built a site-specific set for a kids TV show I'll be making over the course of the next year while the exhibition is up! It's called How to Get to Make Believe. I've been working on the set pieces for over a year 🫠 youll be able to check it out installed on the second floor of the Mattress Factory Monterey annex building , where there will be shows above me and below me by two artists I really admire, @marvintoure and @catalina_schliebener ! So grateful for @twelveoclocktails for bringing us together. And for everyone at MF for their help, especially @nat.miczikus and @dannyjbracken ! also couldn't have done it without @theheinzendowments , @dedalusfoundation , CMU CFA FRC + the Center for the Arts in Society, @cmuschoolofart , and also @follytreearboretum @caro_kroger @jamie_mcarthur @lydiarosenberg__ thank you thank you 🏔️ 🦋

Throwback to when my head was all the way inside this synchro swimmer puppet!! happy pride !!! i love people for who they are, not their gender. what you are to me and whats sexy to me has nothing to do with whats between your legs (unless it's my face, see above 😂). im in a hetero relationship now with someone I love more than anyone else I've ever met but it's taken me a long time to accept that that doesn't make me a "traitor" nor have i "switched teams" or "chosen sides." im still here to show up for all of us, those visible and those less visible, because its okay to love whoever you love ! you can't control it!!! 💜

There's a monster overlooking the Allegheny River... an adorable one! Ogua, created by artist Isla Hansen, is green and scaly but also lovable. They stand watch near the end of the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and you are invited to visit. Take photos. Hang out. Climb on Ogua. (Just be careful!) Ogua was commissioned by Shiftworks in collaboration with Riverlife and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s Tough Art Program. Funding for the project was provided by Let’s Play, PGH!, a program of Remake Learning. #pittsburgh #publicart #ogua 📸 Photos by Tom Little

Ogua (2026) is a river monster made from steel armatures covered in wool felt, installed in downtown pittsburgh overlooking the allegheny river. The piece was inspired by and named after a local legend, a story of a river dwelling monster, part-turtle, part-snake, first told by the allegheny river valley's indigenous peoples to frighten european settlers. Later the legend was adopted by immigrant laborers drawn to the valley's riverbanks in search of work. 🐛🪱🐉🐍🐊 Ogua consists of five separate pieces hand made, sewn, and quilted, and was commissioned by @pghkids @riverlifepgh + @shiftworkspgh Especially grateful to ben grubb @grubbstake for fabricating the steel armatures both when I was pregnant and with a newborn! and @kate_salke for fabrication assistance. Couldn't have done it without these two heroes, or without DAYCARE for my own tiny monster. 📸 Photos by Tom Little. and thank you to these strangers who let him photograph them! i love you pittsburgh people

we baked a little monster glow worm named Heron 🐛 like the bird 🐦 a collab work in progress w my best friend big glow worm @treefunguy 🪱 the lil bean may never be seen again on this app so as to delay his inevitable melt into the big gray network brain swamp 🕸️ but here he is at his smallest for ur bean peeping pleasure 🫛 sorry to those for whomest smallest beanses are triggering 🫘 We also call him herr-bear, herrybear, hericot vert, the tamagotchi, the boy, the child. May he grow up slowly in this too fast world, watch many good movies, see a lot of birds, and be a gentle peaceful man who eats vegetables 🙏

paddle puppet practice, never before seen footage from 2019 for ROCK BOTTOM w/ @treefunguy at @public_pool_gallery

Block Party (2025)  wood, recycled plant-based plastic, paint, crayons Made from over 60 individual blocks that can be stacked or taken apart, this is my 5th in a series of 3d block puzzles. Made this one for UPSIDE DOWN ZEBRA, an exhibition @watermillcenter curated by @brianbelotti  + Noah Khoshbin, featuring over 300 works of children's art from the Rhoda Kelogg collection @rhodakelloggarchive , as well as some amazing works by a bunch of artists I am honored to show alongside of. The show opened this summer june 28 at Watermill Center and will be up through Feb 15 2026. if you're anywhere near long island this fall or winter, come check out the show, so many amazing kids drawings !! Also it's for sale !! Lmk if you want it! grateful to @sashaoksh + @elise_herget and everyone who works at watermill for making this show happen!! also made this entirely while preggo and very sicko 🤢 couldn't have done it without sanding help from @jamie_mcarthur @jolieaboothart @avapolczynski 💚

can you find all 4 monsters in this pic? making at least two new creatures at once, both coming soon

a goose named lucas

Join us on Thursday, Feb 27 at 6 PM for a special screening of the pilot episode of artist Isla Hansen’s Mister-Rogers-inspired show, “How to Get to Make Believe,” followed by a Q&A with the artist! 🟣 After Hours: Screening of Isla Hansen’s ‘How to Get to Make Believe’ + Artist Q&A 📆 Thu, Feb 27 | 6 - 8 PM 🎟️ Free for members. $10 for non-members Hosted by Ratlet, “How To Get To Make Believe” is a children’s television show for all-ages shot inside of Hansen’s Mattress Factory exhibition of the same name. The pilot episode presents artist interviews and an adventure with Ratlet’s puppet friends. Episode 1: “Copies + Clones” features artist interviews with Imin Yeh and Tucker Marder. Imin and Tucker discuss how in their separate practices they make copies and clones. Ratlet takes a special field trip to the Folly Tree Arboretum. In Make Believe, Ratlet imagines that Mika shows Iris and Andy how to use a copy machine, but things quickly get out of hand. Flavia helps Mona the mountain, who is feeling sick. Starring: Imin @iminyeh Tucker @follytreearboretum 📸 Isla Hansen 🎵 Chase Ceglie @chaseceglie #mattressfactory #pittsburgharts #pennsylvania #contemporaryart #installationart #artmuseum #art #installation #localart #artmuseum #visitpittsburgh #installationart #contemporaryartist #mattressfactorycontemporaryartmuseum #pittsburgh #artistinresidence #pittsburghartist #artexhibition #installationartmuseum #islahansen #mrrogers #ratlet

Inspired by "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", the cult-classic education TV show shot in Pittsburgh, Isla Hansen’s exhibition "How to Get to Make Believe" creates a playful television studio set using unconventional materials, design, and new media. Each object, figure, and movement throughout the exhibition invites visitors to engage in a playful exploration reminiscent of the educational format of classic TV shows. Layered within a dreamlike fantasy environment, Hansen collaborated with artists, friends, and local partners to create “episodes” of a talk show hosted by the puppet, Ratlet, exploring topics from social issues to contemporary art. She situates her work in relation to her community and the cultural history of the city of Pittsburgh. Isla Hansen "How to Get to Make Believe" View Through March 30, 2025 📷 Tom Little #mattressfactory #pittsburgharts #pennsylvania #contemporaryart #installationart #artmuseumexhibition #art #installation #pittsburgh #localart #artmuseum #visitpittsburgh #exhibition #televsionshow #TVshow #TVset #misterrogers #episodes #design #newmedia #fantasy #dreamy #educational #playful #unconventional #mattressfactory #pittsburgharts #pennsylvania #contemporaryart #installationart