The Missing Shift

The Hidden Shift was presented at the Mattress Factory in November 2025 as a site-specific installation developed by Ting-Tong Chang, Benny Shaffer, and Alex Abrahams in collaboration with the museum staff and the Pittsburgh Labor Choir. Grounded in historical and ethnographic research, the project reimagines the 1892 Homestead Strike through a hybrid of documentary and narrative approaches. The work takes the form of a two-channel video installation with spatialized sound, staged within the remnants of a film set that immerses viewers in the conditions of the work’s own production.

The installation centers on a narrative surrounding the death of a capitalist in a fictional macaroni factory. Using this premise, the highly collaborative project explores the entanglements of industrial history and contemporary cultural labor. Members of the museum staff form the central cast and perform scripted roles that blur professional and fictional identities, foregrounding continuities between industrial and artistic work in the region.

Developed through sustained engagement with local communities, archival research, and site visits, The Hidden Shift situates labor history within Pittsburgh’s post-industrial present. Installed within the Mattress Factory—a former industrial site turned contemporary art institution—the work reflects on how narratives of creativity and innovation obscure enduring structures of class, power, and labor. Research-driven, interdisciplinary collaboration and experimental production methods were central to realizing the project’s conceptual and aesthetic goals.

The exhibition is ongoing at the Mattress Factory until January 3, 2027. The work plays on loop every 30 minutes in the museum’s lower-level gallery.

This project was made possible with support from the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Grant #2025-062. Additional images available here.

Cast:

The Anarchist:
Anastassios Tzounopoulos, Visitor Experience Associate

The Capitalist:
Laurie Barnes, Director of Education + Community Engagement

The Detective:
Joe Praksti, Visitor Experience Manager

The Secretary:
Lizzie Ahlborn, Payroll + HR Manager

The Union Leader:
Kaya Cammerata, Visitor Experience Keyholder + Tour Guide

The Factory Workers:
Natalie Miczikus, Exhibitions Manager
Taylor Pate, Exhibition Installer

Production Crew:

Producer: Benny Shaffer
Director: Alex Abrahams
Assistant Director: Stephen Turselli
Screenplay: Alex Abrahams. Ting Tong Chang, Yang Cheng Su
Director of Photography: Stefano Ceccarelli
Camera Operator: Davis Rohrer
Gaffer: Pat Francart
Production Sound Recordist and Mixer: Chris Bell
Costume Designer: Bunny Brand
Set Designer: Ting Tong Chang
Set Design and Build: Natalie Miczikus, Taylor Pate, Bailey Lundmark
Art Director: Lucas Fauble
Makeup Artists: Ali Fleeman, Avery Ferrell, Hannah Reynolds
Script Supervisor: Alyssa Pearson
Documentary Camera Operator and Sound Recordist: David Bernabo / Bright Archives
Sound Design and Mixing: Ryan Stewart
Editors: Ahmed Ragheb, Lily Ekimian Ragheb
Colorists: Kory Pitkavish, Dan Duthie
TTC Studios Managers: Judy Lee, Rylee Cheng

Musical performance by Pittsburgh Labor Choir members:
Deyo Bucay, Maren Cooke, Jonathan Falk, Zach Frenchek, Regina Hendley, Tom Hoffman, Allie Petonic, Johanne Rokholt, Kira Yeversky.

Made with support from the National Culture and Arts Foundation of Taiwan, Taipei City Government, Contemporary Craft, and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.

Costumes and props provided by Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh.