curated exhibition

Queer Horizons

Queer Horizons features work by Asian diasporic artists that envisions a queer future that unsettles the past, disrupts the present, and imagines new worlds beyond the limits of the horizon.

 

We take inspiration from José Esteban Muñoz, the late queer studies scholar, and his conception of a “not yet here.” As he explains in Cruising Utopia, the “not yet here” is a phenomenon of queer futurity that “allows us to see and feel beyond the quagmire of the present.”

 

Within the last ten years in the US, we have celebrated the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the formal acceptance of gays in the military, and increased visibility of LGBTQ bodies and personalities in popular culture. In our present moment, however, LGBTQ rights, safety, and health care are increasingly under threat. Simultaneously, the current administration frames Asian American communities as “un-American,” the after tremors along old Yellow Peril fault lines. They are foreign, unassimilable, undocumented: Muslim “terrorists,” hordes of H1B visa techie taking over American jobs, or “model minority” students taking up too much space in classrooms.

 

However, the artists and works in Queer Horizons name a possibility beyond the "model minority”: as queer Asian American artists, they disrupt the model minority narrative defined by heteronormative notions of success. Each artist engages a non-linear temporality moving between pasts, presents, and futures, and each work gestures towards a queer history that we, as Queer Asian Americans, can excavate, (re)create, and (re)produce in our pasts, presents, and futures. For example, Greyson Hong's Costco photos, Việt Lê's productions of club scenes/ online performances, and Tina Takemoto's unconventional short film all tell of an alternative past to inform a queer alternative future. As we think of these experiences at the intersections with undocumented status, foreignness, and Islamophobia, their highly experimental and queer aesthetic in storytelling suggests further radical potential.

 

It is in this dangerous political climate that the artists in Queer Horizons insist on claiming liminal and hybrid spaces and lives, queer collectivity, and intersectional solidarity. Embracing failure, misbehavior, non-normativity, and defiant joyfulness thus becomes a radical form of resistance. This is the kind of utopian horizon that we call forward. In the spirit of artist Jeffrey Augustine Songco’s video, “Let’s Dance America!”

 

Queer Horizons appears in conjunction with the publication of Laura Kina and Jan Christian Bernabe’s book, Queering Contemporary Asian American Art (University of Washington Press, 2017). http://www.queeringcontemporaryasianamericanart.com/

 

Curated by Jan Christian Bernabe and Laura Kina

 

Curatorial Assistant: Mads Le

 

Contributors: Anida Yoeu Ali, Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Kim Anno, Wafaa Bilal, Greyson Hong, Kiam Marcelo Junio, Việt Lê, Maya Mackrandilal, Zavé Martohardjono, Genevieve Erin O'Brien, Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Tina Takemoto, and Saya Woolfalk.

 

Contributors’ works are published in staggered waves from late-June to late-July 2017, after which the whole exhibition are archived permanently on CA+T’s website.

 

Special thanks to the Andy Warhol Foundation and the California Institute of Contemporary Arts for fiscal support.

 

Summer 2017

The Red Chador: Threshold

Anida Yoeu Ali

2016 Vinyl Window Mural 188.75” x 89” Courtesy of Studio Revolt Photographer: Masahiro Sugano

contributor

X

Anida Yoeu Ali

b. 1974

Anida Yoeu Ali is an artist, educator and global agitator. Ali’s practice spans performance, installation, videos, images, public encounters, and political agitation. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to art-making, her installation and performance works investigate the artistic, spiritual, and political collisions of a hybrid transnational identity. In 2015, Ali won the top prize of the Sovereign Art Prize, Hong Kong. Her work is exhibited internationally, most notably with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Palais de Tokyo, and the Asia Pacific Triennial 8. She is a collaborative partner with Studio Revolt, a trans-nomadic artist-run media lab whose controversial works on deportation have caused White House interns to be fired. Ali earned her B.F.A. from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and an M.F.A. from School of the Art Institute Chicago. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington, Bothell where she teaches art, performance, and global studies courses. Ali resides in Tacoma and spends much of her time working between the Asia-Pacific region and the US!

My artistic vision requires an element of risk and belief that performance art, humor, and religion can fuse conceptually and aesthetically. Through an interdisciplinary approach, my work maps new political and spiritual landscapes. Often meters and meters of textile act as skin, as a way for the surface of my body to extend into public spaces, and as a metaphorical device for stories to spread across an expanse.

In The Red Chador: Threshold, performed in Washington, DC, I pose the question: Can we accept a Muslim woman as an American patriot? The Red Chador: Threshold was a commissioned performance for Crosslines Culture Lab and hosted by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Covered from head to toe in a red sequined chador, I sat, stood, and walked silently around for eight hours over three days during Memorial weekend. For me, The Red Chador embodies how the mere existence of a Muslim woman can be misinterpreted in an era of heightened Islamophobia. For two days, I was installed in the building’s rotunda, where the Statue of America stood over a century ago at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Ninety-nine American flags as well as ninety-nine white flags printed with Salaam—Arabic for peace—surrounded me, challenging the idea that my Muslim and American identities are at odds. On Memorial Day, I took The Red Chador out to the streets of [Washington,] DC, walking amongst the everyday people at famous historical sites and memorials. Concurrent to my appearance, the Rolling Thunder annual motorcycle rally of veterans also rolled into town. Since 2015, The Red Chador has appeared in Paris, Hartford, CT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Hong Kong.

location

X
  • Born: Cambodia
  • Based: Tacoma, WA, USA
  • Also Based in: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

The Red Chador: Threshold / Triptych

Anida Yoeu Ali

2016 Wall Mural 9' x 11' Courtesy of Studio Revolt Photographer: Les Talusan

contributor

X

Anida Yoeu Ali

b. 1974

Anida Yoeu Ali is an artist, educator and global agitator. Ali’s practice spans performance, installation, videos, images, public encounters, and political agitation. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to art-making, her installation and performance works investigate the artistic, spiritual, and political collisions of a hybrid transnational identity. In 2015, Ali won the top prize of the Sovereign Art Prize, Hong Kong. Her work is exhibited internationally, most notably with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Palais de Tokyo, and the Asia Pacific Triennial 8. She is a collaborative partner with Studio Revolt, a trans-nomadic artist-run media lab whose controversial works on deportation have caused White House interns to be fired. Ali earned her B.F.A. from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and an M.F.A. from School of the Art Institute Chicago. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington, Bothell where she teaches art, performance, and global studies courses. Ali resides in Tacoma and spends much of her time working between the Asia-Pacific region and the US!

My artistic vision requires an element of risk and belief that performance art, humor, and religion can fuse conceptually and aesthetically. Through an interdisciplinary approach, my work maps new political and spiritual landscapes. Often meters and meters of textile act as skin, as a way for the surface of my body to extend into public spaces, and as a metaphorical device for stories to spread across an expanse.

In The Red Chador: Threshold, performed in Washington, DC, I pose the question: Can we accept a Muslim woman as an American patriot? The Red Chador: Threshold was a commissioned performance for Crosslines Culture Lab and hosted by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Covered from head to toe in a red sequined chador, I sat, stood, and walked silently around for eight hours over three days during Memorial weekend. For me, The Red Chador embodies how the mere existence of a Muslim woman can be misinterpreted in an era of heightened Islamophobia. For two days, I was installed in the building’s rotunda, where the Statue of America stood over a century ago at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Ninety-nine American flags as well as ninety-nine white flags printed with Salaam—Arabic for peace—surrounded me, challenging the idea that my Muslim and American identities are at odds. On Memorial Day, I took The Red Chador out to the streets of [Washington,] DC, walking amongst the everyday people at famous historical sites and memorials. Concurrent to my appearance, the Rolling Thunder annual motorcycle rally of veterans also rolled into town. Since 2015, The Red Chador has appeared in Paris, Hartford, CT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Hong Kong.

location

X
  • Born: Cambodia
  • Based: Tacoma, WA, USA
  • Also Based in: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

The Red Chador: Threshold

Anida Yoeu Ali

2016 Archival Ink Jet Print Courtesy of Studio Revolt Photographer: Les Talusan

contributor

X

Anida Yoeu Ali

b. 1974

Anida Yoeu Ali is an artist, educator and global agitator. Ali’s practice spans performance, installation, videos, images, public encounters, and political agitation. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to art-making, her installation and performance works investigate the artistic, spiritual, and political collisions of a hybrid transnational identity. In 2015, Ali won the top prize of the Sovereign Art Prize, Hong Kong. Her work is exhibited internationally, most notably with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Palais de Tokyo, and the Asia Pacific Triennial 8. She is a collaborative partner with Studio Revolt, a trans-nomadic artist-run media lab whose controversial works on deportation have caused White House interns to be fired. Ali earned her B.F.A. from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and an M.F.A. from School of the Art Institute Chicago. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington, Bothell where she teaches art, performance, and global studies courses. Ali resides in Tacoma and spends much of her time working between the Asia-Pacific region and the US!

My artistic vision requires an element of risk and belief that performance art, humor, and religion can fuse conceptually and aesthetically. Through an interdisciplinary approach, my work maps new political and spiritual landscapes. Often meters and meters of textile act as skin, as a way for the surface of my body to extend into public spaces, and as a metaphorical device for stories to spread across an expanse.

In The Red Chador: Threshold, performed in Washington, DC, I pose the question: Can we accept a Muslim woman as an American patriot? The Red Chador: Threshold was a commissioned performance for Crosslines Culture Lab and hosted by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Covered from head to toe in a red sequined chador, I sat, stood, and walked silently around for eight hours over three days during Memorial weekend. For me, The Red Chador embodies how the mere existence of a Muslim woman can be misinterpreted in an era of heightened Islamophobia. For two days, I was installed in the building’s rotunda, where the Statue of America stood over a century ago at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Ninety-nine American flags as well as ninety-nine white flags printed with Salaam—Arabic for peace—surrounded me, challenging the idea that my Muslim and American identities are at odds. On Memorial Day, I took The Red Chador out to the streets of [Washington,] DC, walking amongst the everyday people at famous historical sites and memorials. Concurrent to my appearance, the Rolling Thunder annual motorcycle rally of veterans also rolled into town. Since 2015, The Red Chador has appeared in Paris, Hartford, CT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Hong Kong.

location

X
  • Born: Cambodia
  • Based: Tacoma, WA, USA
  • Also Based in: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

The Red Chador: Threshold

Anida Yoeu Ali

2016 Archival Ink Jet Print Courtesy of Studio Revolt Photographer: Les Talusan

contributor

X

Anida Yoeu Ali

b. 1974

Anida Yoeu Ali is an artist, educator and global agitator. Ali’s practice spans performance, installation, videos, images, public encounters, and political agitation. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to art-making, her installation and performance works investigate the artistic, spiritual, and political collisions of a hybrid transnational identity. In 2015, Ali won the top prize of the Sovereign Art Prize, Hong Kong. Her work is exhibited internationally, most notably with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Palais de Tokyo, and the Asia Pacific Triennial 8. She is a collaborative partner with Studio Revolt, a trans-nomadic artist-run media lab whose controversial works on deportation have caused White House interns to be fired. Ali earned her B.F.A. from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and an M.F.A. from School of the Art Institute Chicago. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington, Bothell where she teaches art, performance, and global studies courses. Ali resides in Tacoma and spends much of her time working between the Asia-Pacific region and the US!

My artistic vision requires an element of risk and belief that performance art, humor, and religion can fuse conceptually and aesthetically. Through an interdisciplinary approach, my work maps new political and spiritual landscapes. Often meters and meters of textile act as skin, as a way for the surface of my body to extend into public spaces, and as a metaphorical device for stories to spread across an expanse.

In The Red Chador: Threshold, performed in Washington, DC, I pose the question: Can we accept a Muslim woman as an American patriot? The Red Chador: Threshold was a commissioned performance for Crosslines Culture Lab and hosted by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Covered from head to toe in a red sequined chador, I sat, stood, and walked silently around for eight hours over three days during Memorial weekend. For me, The Red Chador embodies how the mere existence of a Muslim woman can be misinterpreted in an era of heightened Islamophobia. For two days, I was installed in the building’s rotunda, where the Statue of America stood over a century ago at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. Ninety-nine American flags as well as ninety-nine white flags printed with Salaam—Arabic for peace—surrounded me, challenging the idea that my Muslim and American identities are at odds. On Memorial Day, I took The Red Chador out to the streets of [Washington,] DC, walking amongst the everyday people at famous historical sites and memorials. Concurrent to my appearance, the Rolling Thunder annual motorcycle rally of veterans also rolled into town. Since 2015, The Red Chador has appeared in Paris, Hartford, CT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Hong Kong.

location

X
  • Born: Cambodia
  • Based: Tacoma, WA, USA
  • Also Based in: Chicago, IL, USA

comments

X

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
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Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Vietnam More
Than Love on the
Horizon West Coast Remix

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

2016 Video performance of holograms of LGBTQ
Vietnamese in Vietnam
and the diaspora
Duration: 3 min. 26 sec. Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X

Vietnam More
Than Love on the
Horizon Hanoi Remix

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

2016 Video performance of holograms of LGBTQ
Vietnamese in Vietnam
and the diaspora
Duration: 3 min. 28 sec. Courtesy of the artist

contributor

X

Genevieve Erin O'Brien

b. 1974
image description
  • See All Works
  • facebook
  • visit website

Genevieve Erin O'Brien is a Queer mixed race Vietnamese/Irish/German/American woman. She is an artist, a filmmaker, an organizer, a cook/private chef, and an educator who lives and works in Los Angeles. O'Brien has spent 20+ years working with and organizing in communities for social justice. She was a founding member of Arts In Action, a Los Angeles political arts collective, and she has worked for Californians for Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, where she coordinated the Summer Internship Program.

She holds an MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. O'Brien was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam in 2009. She returned to the U.S. and taught as a lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine, Claremont Colleges, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her films have screened at film festivals internationally, including her most recent short film For the Love of Unicorns. O'Brien was a recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and Center for Cultural Innovation's Creative Economic Development Fund. In 2016 she went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a US Department of State/ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist for a project highlighting LGBTQ visibility and equality. Her newest works, More Than Love on the Horizon: West Coast Remix and Sugar Rebels, were commissioned and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. More Than Love on the Horizon hologram installation has been presented in San Jose and New York City. Sugar Rebels has been performed and installed at the Hammer Museum, the Cathartic Carnival, and was recently installed at SOMArts as part of Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life & Activism of Yuri Kochiyama. In collaboration with Pigeon Press, she is releasing a limited-edition artist cookbook, Seasonal Ruminations on Love. She will be featured at the Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC. O'Brien is a trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy, working with social justice organizations nationwide to harness the power of narrative for social change.

Her work is also available at the following websites: www.vietnammorethanlove.com and www.sugarrebels.com.

location

X
  • Born: Alexandria, VA, USA
  • Based: Los Angeles, CA, USA

comments

X