about us
What Lab is an East Vancouver organization that supports artists and art-curious communities by providing a safer place to risk failure in creating, deepening, and sharing their artistic passions.
What Lab stands as an artistic incubator. We embrace newness and the fragility it takes to germinate the seed of an idea.
We are committed to offering supportive systems of care, generating opportunities of growth for arts communities including but not limited to dance, theatre, music, sound art, performance art, writing, and craft artisans.
We celebrate intersectional identities in the creators we support, including but not limited to cultures, races, queer and trans lived experiences, and physical abilities.
histoRY
What Lab’s history starts long before What Lab, on the land we exist on. Our studio resides, with gratitude and humility, on unceded Traditional Coast Salish Lands, belonging to the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations. We are uninvited guests on what is now the industrial area north of Hastings near Victoria Drive.
What Lab – the organization – began as This is What arts collective, founded in 2015. In 2018, member of the collective Jarin Schexnider, took over the lease of a longstanding performance art studio, (previously known as Dharmalab, and before that as memelab) incorporating as What Lab Society of Arts in 2019. It seemed like a great moment to start a performance arts space, until 2020 hit. Amidst lockdowns, and as Jarin, the Artistic and Executive Director, had their first child, we realized more isn’t always more. We slowed down, and adjusted our focus from being a performance venue towards a creative incubator space, honing in on process-led creation programming.
As we grow, our curiosity is how to centre care and slowness in creative practices while also inviting audiences to witness the work born out of that practice. How do we celebrate rough work without minimizing, and vulnerability without preciousness?
As of now, this means: residency research or rehearsal space for the artists we program, dedicated technical support and education opportunities, flexible timelines, guaranteed fees, compassion funds, and more.
team
Jarin Schexnider
Artistic & Executive Director
Jarin Schexnider is an arts administrator and performer who has built spaces of creative expression for fellow artists, explorers, and tinkerers since 2009. When they can, they create and perform site-specific, participatory, chaos-adjacent performance work.
Originally from the coastal swamp of south Louisiana, Jarin now calls the Coast Salish territory known as Vancouver home. They hold a Masters of Archival Science from UBC and worked in the art archives of The Cinematheque, Western Front, and BAM in Brooklyn, NY. They completed their undergraduate studies in Drama at Bennington College in Vermont. They call themselves a mom, a mover, a poet, a quilter, a bike-rider, and much more.
Shana 愛 Wolfe
Facility Manager
Shana 愛 Wolfe is a Japanese-Canadian freelance dance artist based in Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has collaborated with local companies including Company 605, OURO Collective, and Inverso Productions, as well as independent artists such as Cindy Mochizuki, Raven Grenier, Anya Saugstad and Shion Skye Carter. Thanks to these amazing artists, she’s had the privilege to perform at festivals such as Dancing on the Edge, Vines Art Festival, Guelph Dance Festival, Dance Deck, Hold On Let Go, Dance In Vancouver, and Coastal Dance Festival. Internationally, she has performed at Sadler’s Wells (UK), the Autostadt Theatre in Wolfsburg, and the Tanzbiennale in Heidelberg, Germany. Shana has been a part of the What Lab team for 3 years as the Studio Operations Coordinator. She is also currently pursuing Kinesiology at Langara College.
Brianna Bernard
Venue Technician
Brianna Bernard (she/her) is a theatre artist who takes interest in both the creative and practical departments of art. With a background in technical theatre, Brianna has taken on roles such as technical director, production manager and lighting designer. She holds a BFA in Theatre Production & Design from Simon Fraser University. Originally born and raised in Jamaica, Brianna is thankful to now work, create and reside on the stolen lands of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.
board of directors
Carolyn Chan
Carolyn Chan, Chartered Professional Accountant, dancer and choreographer, brings her financial proficiency and passion for the arts to not-for-profit organizations and registered charities. Carolyn produces her own dance work for stage and screen under her Chinese Zodiak tag, Metal Dog, finding expression from butoh dance of Japanese origin.
Ileanna Sophia Cheladyn
leanna Sophia Cheladyn is a dance artist and PhD candidate in sociocultural anthropology at UC Davis. She works slowly, sensitizing to the moments when theory and dancing kiss.
ileannacheladyn.com
Lamont
Lamont is a Montreal-born creator and contemporary mover exploring queer non-linearity, community-driven initiatives, co-directorship, drag, clown, Latin hustle, and youth engagement. Their work spans performance, facilitation, and collaboration, weaving playfulness with deep connection to place, people, and the transformative potential of collective artistry.
https://lamont.pixpa.com
https://selfcheckout.pixpa.com
Rio Trenaman
Rio is a freelance designer who employs a conceptual mind, a broad skill set, and a keen eye for detail. Particularly interested in projects that have cultural impact, I produce effective and engaging visual communication that speaks with a unique voice. Vancouver based.