Eleni Wagner's Community Spotlight

Eleni Wagner (they/them) is an artist, educator, and a program assistant to our 2026 Artist in Residence Corey Watanabe. They recently graduated with a Master of Art in Teaching from Mass Art where they previously completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. This summer, they worked with our Teen Bridge Artists and Corey on his residency project Gardens of Resonance. 

We sat down with Eleni for this month’s Community Spotlight to discuss what they have enjoyed about working at the Eliot School this summer and how they have been inspired by our mission. 

You’ll be able to see the art Eleni helped Corey and our Teen Bridge Artists create during the residency intensive at the Piano Craft Gallery Gardens of Resonance exhibition from Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23. Learn more about the work at the exhibition's Opening Reception on August 21 from 6 to 8 PM! RSVP to let us know that you’re coming HERE.

Transcript

My name is Eleni Wagner. I'm a youth art assistant for Teen Bridge this summer.

What is your favorite artistic medium?

I have a background in illustration, but I started doing woodcarving a couple of years ago. What got me really excited about art when I was a teen and why I ended up going to school for it is that it gave me a personal voice and it gave me an opportunity to represent myself and also process these big things that were happening in my life.

What initially drew you to the Eliot School?

I think what really drew me in was just the youth that I would be working with. The Eliot School is giving these teens a really great opportunity to develop professional skills but also to experiment with more art mediums and get more access to that. We've explored things that I never had access to when I was a teen. So, it's really exciting to see that happen.

What has been your favorite part of the residency so far?

I think it is watching all the teens explore new mediums. It's so funny to see how apprehensive they first were about cyanotypes. And now, for a lot of their personal projects for the summer, they're all doing cyanotypes or the eco printing or the shibori that we've been doing. And it's really interesting to see them weave this medium that they're not so familiar with, with things that they are familiar with.

What are your hopes for the future of the Eliot School?

I think I just hope that the Eliot School continues to give any youth, and really anybody, the opportunity to get experience with art. I think we have this idea that you have to be talented in order to engage with art, but art is all around us, and everybody is capable of doing it.