Moth All CUNY Grand Slam!

May 16, 2023 / irene shum

I stepped out of my comfort zone and shared a personal story in a Moth Grand Slam!

For the past six weeks, I participated in a writing workshop organized by The Moth and CUNY.

As a curator, I write and present the lives and work of artists and designers. More recently, I wanted to open up and share my story, hopefully with humor and insight. — It’s a shift in roles for me, from the omniscient/objective narrator to a messy all-too-human first-person narrator-character.

The theme was “Unchartered Territory,” and my story was my first meditation retreat.

I want to thank my instructors Nisse Greenberg and Nancy Ma; my workshop fellows - Nina, Shak, Amanda, Courtney, and Dahlia; and the Moth Education team, Melissa Brown Devin Elise Wilson, Ana Stern, and Producer Jonathan Cabral.

And, just in case, if you don’t know The Moth, listen on NPR. — You’ll love it! —https://themoth.org/

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In Memoriam of Ryuichi Sakamoto

April 13, 2023 / irene shum

Thank You Ryuichi Sakamoto

I owe my career as a curator to artists who put their trust in me, who have allowed me to work alongside them and produce something new, like Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ryuichi's performance with alva noto at the Glass House, which was subsequently pressed into the album Glass, was groundbreaking and breathtaking all at once. He wished to explore the resonance of glass and turned the entire Glass House into an instrument.

A few months following the performance, Ryuichi designed a new instrument, a large free-standing single pane of glass that he would use in async and his Park Avenue Armory performance, to my surprise, delight, and amazement.

Not many curators can say they have a project that was reviewed in Rolling Stone or Pitchfork, which was pretty damn cool. But what is most meaningful and humbling was learning the impact of the Glass House performance, that it could lead to new sounds and new creative avenues, even for a highly accomplished maestro like Ryuichi.

I knew Ryuichi's cancer returned, but he had beat it before; and I naively hoped we would work together again after this bout. Life is a fleeting, beautiful moment. Embrace it. 🖤 Ryuichi, I am grateful for the time I had with you, and I only wish I had more. You live on through your art. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.

Thank you Norika Sora and Alec Fellman. You are and remain my creative family. 🙏

async:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlxVAExh_bYbnN6c4q1EJxcv559obwOBt

Film of Park Avenue Armory performance by Stephen Nomura Schible:
https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/ryuichi-sakamoto-async-at-the-park-avenue-armory/umc.cmc.25hk26mftuuz7v0o81eg4sbrw

Glass:
https://youtu.be/yYGUQippj5o

Film of Glass performance by Derrick Belcham: https://vimeo.com/191205737

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Thanks for the shout out! Sign up! — Special Performance & Closing Party for The You Voice!

February 08, 2023 / irene shum

On February 11th, to celebrate the end of the two month run of Derrick Belcham's "The You Voice" at Mana Contemporary, dancer and choreographer Rebecca Margolick, musician David Moore of Bing & Ruth and Derrick Belcham will perform a new 45-minute piece based on the text of the exhibition. David Moore will play a solo electric organ set which activates a custom lighting system designed by Belcham as Ms. Margolick performs a new choreography as an audience watches in the round. Following the performance, the audience will be invited into the main foyer of Mana for drinks and one final walkthrough of “The You Voice” before it closes.

This event is free and open to the public.

Register for tickets!

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