Lauren Hana Chai: Messages of Faith, Hope and Love through Art

Grace Cho, CEO of Artrepreneur talks with Lauren Hana Chai, long-time Artrepreneur member and our first Open Call winner of the company! Join them for a conversation about how heritage, childhood trauma, and self-discovery can be navigated through art.

Lauren Hana Chai is known for contrasting her traditional Korean upbringing with her modern American life and including a personal story or cultural narrative to accompany each piece. As the first in her family born in America, she was raised by her South Korean grandparents in Hawaii. She moved across the Pacific to San Francisco to study at the Academy of Art University graduating in 2015 with her BFA in painting and drawing. After some time following the technique-based curriculum, Lauren says she relished breaking the rules and mixing abstract elements into the work. Her current series places side by side traditional elements, such as Korean folk art and Buddhist temple architecture, and modern elements such as interracial relationships or sexually charged figures. She has been featured in NBC News, KBS World Radio, Houston NPR, and the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Lauren most recently completed her residency at Chautauqua Institute in 2021 and has recently won 1st place at the juried show “Intersections” at the Kahilu Theatre.