Our Team
At the moment, our studio labor team consists of:
BOOK PRODUCTION / DESIGN + STUDIO DIRECTOR / FOUNDER
Matthew Austin (he/him) is an arts worker in Los Angeles who is still learning.
He has been working with books, furniture, and education in his creative efforts for the past several years.
Previous projects aligned with the efforts of this studio first began with The Chicago Perch in 2012 and evolved into Candor Arts in 2015. For the Birds Trapped in Airports is the current iteration of Matthew’s publishing practice.
STUDIO DIRECTOR + BOOK PRODUCTION
Kiki Lechuga-Dupont (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist who creates static and moving images and designs.
They are inspired by visual memory and its capacity for emotion and perspective. They strive to create pieces that evoke a sense of wonder and mindfulness, bringing the viewer somewhere safe and warm.
Kiki is a contributing illustrator at Sixty Inches From Center.
PARTNERSHIPS + CLIENT RELATIONS
EJ Hill (he/him) is a visual artist, musician, and educator born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles.
He has presented lectures at Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Irvine; Yale University; and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He was Co-Director of Hewn Oaks Arts Education Center in Lovell, Maine (2006-08), a Teaching Artist Fellow at Armory Center for the Arts (2014-15), and was a Fellow at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University (2018-19). His artwork is held in the public collections of the Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago (2011) and a Master of Fine Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (2013).
EJ is a frequent collaborator to The Tamir Rice Foundation, a current board member of Greetings From South Central LA, and was a founding member of Commonwealth and Council.
CLIENT RELATIONS + PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Lukas Markou (he/him) is a photographer and experimental film artist from Boston, Massachusetts.
A longtime collector of photobooks, he is stoked to be a new addition to the studio labor team.
His work is most interested in archiving personal histories, through photo or 16mm film. He can be found chirping opponents across the softball diamond or at miscellaneous pickup basketball games around LA.
BOOK PRODUCTION
Jessica Li (she/her/they/them) is an artist from Utah currently living in a low income artist housing project in San Pedro, the Port of Los Angeles.
Her hands and eyes are old mates that have worked together in food, care, art, and music. There’s a shimmery thread connecting each star in this constellation of work that eludes even her own understanding. She’s committed to a lifelong journey of learning to become a more responsible steward of both her body and the environment. Jessica labors in constant appreciation of ordinary life and hopes to spark meaningful conversations between friends and strangers.
Sometimes she gives an absurd lecture about the patron demon of scribes, Titivillus. Jessica was in a band with two friends, Picky Bunches, and they recently decided to retire the project. Ask her what she wishes to work on next and it’ll most likely be some sort of fiber or sewing project, needles or dye. Other times, Jessica organizes dumpling dinners where guests learn, teach, and feed each other. She is learning the harp right now and posts songs on Song a Day For a Month in January and July.
Adrienne Chang, born and raised in San Gabriel Valley, LA, has always had an itch for creation. From sculpting playdoh flowers and folding endless origami roses as kid, she now finds joy in more meticulous crafts — the kind that quiet the world and carry her deep into the twilight hours.
BOOK DESIGN + PRODUCTION STRATEGY
Jessy V. Castillo (they/she/elle) is a designer and strategist specializing in branding, visual, and UX solutions for arts, culture, and change. Their work balances simplicity with creative experimentation while prioritizing sustainability, trauma and accessibility informed practices, and equity for all. They are the founder of Rara Matter.