The "Syncope" exhibition which will be presented at both the Main Gallery and the Rooftop Garden, will bring together the diverse community of immigrant artists whose work addresses challenges posed by immigration, cultural transition and the change of environment. From fictional storytelling to activism, from gestures of solidarity to idiosyncratic personal experiences artists work in a variety of interdisciplinary practices of visual and performance arts, reflect on their experiences of immigration and suggest ways to live through and with this experience.

During the opening reception, "The Syncope" exhibition is delighted to feature a special program of four live performances by Katya Grokhovsky, Yali Romagoza, Jean Carla Rodea, and Pei-Ling Ho in collaboration with Emily Smith. These women artists from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds will share their interdisciplinary practices of performance art, sound, experimental music, movement and dance with the community and present their pieces at the Main Gallery and at the rooftop garden.

This special program also includes screenings of short videos produced by the artists in this show. The screenings will be featured at the rooftop garden during the opening reception. The videos center around the experiences of immigration and highlight the issues of memory, identity, belonging and labor. 

The "Syncope" exhibition which will be presented at both the Main Gallery and the Rooftop Garden, will bring together the diverse community of immigrant artists whose work addresses challenges posed by immigration, cultural transition and the change of environment. From fictional storytelling to activism, from gestures of solidarity to idiosyncratic personal experiences artists work in a variety of interdisciplinary practices of visual and performance arts, reflect on their experiences of immigration and suggest ways to live through and with this experience. 

Opening Night Performances

Yali Romagoza 

"The Mistress of Loneliness" is an ongoing multidisciplinary project based on Romagoza's experience growing up in Cuba and as a recent immigrant to the US. Romagoza will present a version of the video installation "The Mistress of Loneliness"-Chapter 1: The Departure as a live performance using her alter-ego Cuquita The Cuban Doll to explore the idea of the body as a nation. 

Katya Grokhovsky The Future is Bright, 2017 Photo by Miao Jiaxin

Katya Grokhovsky 

In her multi-media project "The Future Is Bright" , Katya Grokhovsky explores disillusion, migration, identity, re-discovery and the failed utopian promise of ideology through the artist's family history. Focusing around the narrative of the character of Grokhovsky's 94 year old only surviving grandmother, a veteran of World War II, the project investigates formation and de-construction of migrant identity through an extraordinary story of survival, humanity and legacy. 

Jean Carla Rodea 

In her multi-media installation "Looking For Maria"Jean Carla Rodea focuses on the life of a Mexican woman known as "Malinche". Her name was transformed in the term "malinchismo" which is used by Mexicans and Mexican origin populations in the U.S. to refer to community members who "sell out," adopt the value system of the dominant culture. Jean Carla argues that Maria had the agency to speak up and challenge those in power, therefore starting a de-colonial practice and disrupting normative narratives still assigned to women.

Pei-Ling Ho and Emily Smith

In "Noodled Pioneers", Pei-Ling Ho and Emily Smith use their bodies and objects as vehicles to reflect and rethink the complex identities in the US as women and witnesses. From two perspectives and backgrounds, they respond to the same anxieties and confusion through nationality and daily lives. 

September 14th, 6-9PM