About

Giana Pilar González (b. Republic of Panamá) is an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, photography, drawing, and digital media. Her practice explores how cultural systems shape identity—searching for the underlying "code" through movement and the mapping of personal geographies. Her work has been exhibited at Eyebeam, MIT, and Milan Design Week, and featured in WiredUK, Hurriyet, and Fashion Practice.

As a designer, Giana brings 19+ years of experience creating meaningful digital experiences for Fortune 500 brands. Her career began at R/GA and MRY-LBi, working with clients including Benjamin Moore, Macy's, Johnson & Johnson, and Coca-Cola. In 2013, she founded TEOSANTOS, a design consultancy focused on strategy, UX/UI, and cross-cultural product development. Born and raised in Panama, she bridges US and Latin American markets with bilingual fluency and deep cultural intelligence, helping teams navigate complexity with clarity and creativity.

  • 2019
    “Hacking Couture: PRAKA” Pop-up Exhibition, Panama Fashion Week, Panama City, Panama


    2017 - 2018
    "Agua de Carnaval”, Casasola Non-Conventional Art + Design Space, Panama City, Panama

  • 2024

    Exquisite River, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT

    2023

    SOMOS / We Are, Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, US —2024 Distinction Award from the Museum Association of New York

    Loving My Mirrors / Amando a Mis Espejos, Inside / Out, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna, FL


    2021

    Dissolving Borders II, New York City, US

    Think About Water, Online Exhibition

    2019

    Design Collisions, Milan Design Week, Cascina Cuccagna, Milan, Italy

    2017

    Hacking Arts, Media Lab, MIT, Boston, MA

    2016

    Hacking Arts, Media Lab, MIT, Boston, MA

    2010

    Re-Group: Beyond Models of Participation, Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, New York, NY

    WW5: Ah Motherland, Bronx Art Space, New York, NY

    2008

    Pop-Purri, Diablo Rosso Gallery, Panama City, Panama

    Threadless,  Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ

    2007

    Hackers & Haute Couture Heretics, Garanti Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey 

    DIY Chicago, A+D Gallery, Columbia College, Chicago, IL

    2005

    Algorithmic Composition Showcase, Diapason Sound Gallery, New York, NY

  • 2013 - Present.
    Teosantos, User Experience and Strategy Consultant

    2010 - 2013
    LBi NY (Digitas), Lead User Experience Architect

    2008 - 2010
    R/GA NY, Interaction Designer

    2006 - 2008
    Freelance, Interaction Designer

    2003 - 2004
    Division One Architects, Junior Architect

  • 2023
    Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency Program curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah and Helina Metaferia, New Smyrna, FL

    2019
    Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency Program curated by Deborah Hay, New Smyrna, FL

    Idea Furnace Residency, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA

    2017
    Associate Artist, Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency Program, New Smyrna, FL

    2016
    Best Documentary, Panama Fashion Film Festival, Panama

    2013
    Bronze Metal on Digital/Mobile Techniques, Clio Awards 

    Official Honoree in the Social Media Campaigns and Food & Beverage, Webby Awards

    2004-2006
    ITP Fellowship and Tisch Gala Scholarship, New York University, New York, NY

  • 2024
    "Ríos", Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT

    2023
    "Mirror Dancing PTY" at ESTAMOS Symposium, Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, NY
    The performance was a key element of the public programming. The museum earned an award from the Museum Association of New York for its exhibition programming.*

    Performer as part "A Mother's River of Tears" by María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

    Loving My Mirrors / Amando a Mis Espejos, Inside / Out, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna, FL

    2022
    Panel Discussion “Visions for Representation”, Sustainability Conference, FIT, New York, NY

    2021
    Map Your Code: Music, Places and Things, Dissolving Borders Exhibition, New York, NY 


    2020
    Everybody: Map Your Code, Online, Nobody’s Fashion Week, Flux Factory, New York, NY


    2019
    PRAKA performance, Touch the Sky, The New School, New York, NY

    Hacking Couture Workshop, Milan Design Week, Cascina Cuccagna, Milan, Italy 

    FATE’s 17th Biennial Conference Foundations in Flux, Columbus, OH

    2017
    Guest Lecturer, MA Fashion Studies, Parsons School of Design – The New School, New York, NY 


    2016
    Workshop Facilitator, Holiday Hacking Workshop, Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, New York, NY

    Guest Lecturer, School of Design Strategies, Parsons School of Design – The New School, New York, NY 

    Guest Critic (Thesis), ITP New York University, New York, NY


    2015
    Hacking Couture Workshop, Hacking Heights Fashion, Jersey City, NJ


    2014
    Hacking Couture Workshop, Hacking Heights Fashion, Jersey City, NJ  


    2013
    Guest Critic, MFA Social Innovation, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY

    Guest Lecturer, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

    Wearable Technology Showcase, HUGE INC, New York, NY

    Hacking Couture Workshop, Dobbin Project Space, Brooklyn, NY

    Hacking Couture Workshop, Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI


    2010
    Hacking Couture Workshop, Fashion Night Out, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY

    2008
    Threadless Fashion Show, Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ


    2007
    Swap-o-Rama-Rama Panama, Diablo Rosso Gallery, Panama City, Panama

    Artist Lecture, Viral Media Symposium, Columbia College, Chicago, IL

    Hacking Couture Workshop, Columbia College, Chicago, IL

    Unravel Fashion Show, Siggraph Conference, San Diego, CA

    Hacking Couture Workshop, Maker Faire, San Mateo, CA


    2006
    Holiday Hacking Workshop, Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, New York, NY

    Artist Lecture, Electronic Etherealism & the Digital Perfume, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY


    2005
    Performance, NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression), Tonic, New York, NY

  • 2015

    Gonzalez, G. “Fashion Codes Hacked, Indexed and Shared,” Journal of Design Strategies, Vol. 7 (2015). Parsons School of Design – The New School, New York, NY.


    2014

    Ryan, Susan Elizabeth. Garments of Paradise: Wearable Discourse in the Digital Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2014.


    2013

    Mustonen, Natalia. Fashion Openness: Applying an Open Source Philosophy to the Paradigm of Fashion. Masters Thesis in Fashion and Clothing Design, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, Finland, 2013.


    2012

    Thorpe, Anne. Architecture & Design versus Consumerism: How Design Activism Confronts Growth. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2012.


    2011

    Ruiz-Schmidt, Oscar. Refashioning a System: How Open Source has Influenced Fashion Design. Masters Thesis in Fashion Design, Weissensee School of Art, Berlin Germany, 2011


    2009

    Von Busch, Otto. “Engaged Design and the Practice of Fashion Hacking: The examples of Giana Gonzalez and Dale Sko,” Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Berg, London, UK. 2009.


    2008

    Von Busch, Otto. Fashion-able: Hacktivism and Engaged Fashion Design. Doctor in Philosophy Thesis in Design, School of Design and Crafts (HDK), Gothenburg, Sweden, 2008.


    2006

    Scaturro, Sarah. “Open Source Fashion: for the masses, by the masses,” Fashion Projects Blog and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center Blog, 2006.

  • 2006
    Master of Professional Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, New York, NY


    2003
    Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Catholic University, Washington, DC