Creative Crazy Asians

Crazy Creative Asians is a weekend long residency curated by J CHEN PROJECT, celebrating Asian excellence in the performing arts. Join us for a weekend of dance and music with works presented by J CHEN PROJECT, ARKAI, and Sugar Vendil.

J CHEN PROJECT (12/10, 12/11 + 12/12) is a modern dance company based in New York City exploring how we perceive and create identities within the collective human experience through innovative and culturally-based dance works.

Sugar Vendil (12/10 + 12/12) is a composer, pianist, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking, known as Brooklyn.

ARKAI (12/11) channels the diversity of the world through genre-bending music, forging new possibilities for what a violin and cello can be.

J CHEN PROJECT led by Artistic Director Jessica Chen, is a NYC-based 501c3 nonprofit modern dance company that uses culturally-based dance works and community engagement initiatives to explore identity within the collective human experience. JCP has been awarded funding from Dance/NYC, NY City Parks Foundation, LMCC, Jerome Foundation, and the Taiwan Ministry of Culture; and has been featured in The Huffington Post, Broadway World, Dance Magazine, SinoVision TV, amongst other media and publications. JCP’s new work ‘You Are Safe’ was recently presented at MoMA Museum of Modern Art for 2021 New York Fashion Week’s event organized by Rise, a nonprofit organization fighting for the rights of sexual assault survivors. This work was commissioned by the MoCA Museum of Chinese in America for their ongoing 2021-2022 exhibition ‘Response.’ This work was created with support from GALLIM Moving Women Residency. JCP is a 2021 Green Arts Live grantee, presenting outreach arts programs to underserved communities in Queens and Brooklyn. www.jchenproject.com

ARKAI channels the diversity of the world through genre-bending music, forging new possibilities for what a violin and cello can be. Winners of the 2021 Astral Artists National Auditions, their past engagements have included performances at The MET Breuer, Rockwood Music Hall, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the 92nd Street Y. Their electronic debut composition, “Letters from COVID”, was featured at TED@PMI for a global audience of over 30,000 people from 182 countries. ARKAI is currently creating its debut album, Aurora, in collaboration with seven-time Grammy-nominated producer Joel Hamilton. www.arkaimusic.com

Sugar Vendil is a composer, pianist, and interdisciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn, NY. Her compositions span acoustic and electronic music, and her interdisciplinary practice integrates music and movement. Her work is introspective, ruminating on memory and experience. Recent commissions include ETHEL 2019 Homebaked, ACF | Create, a solo violin work for Jennifer Koh’s 2020 “Alone Together”, and a Chamber Music America commission with her ensemble The Nouveau Classical Project. She was a 2020 Artist Fellow at The National Arts Club. Vendil enjoys collaborating with fellow artists. In 2021, she wrote music for a short film by Jih-E Peng for Amanda Phingbodipakkiya’s installation “May We Know Our Own Strength.” She danced in Emily Johnson’s “Being Future Being” site-specific performances at Bates Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow. Residencies include: Artist in Residence at High Concept Labs in Chicago and Target Margin Theater, Resident Artist at Mabou Mines, Marble House Project, Summer Labs at National Sawdust, Avaloch Farm, Earthdance, the A-Z West Wagon Station Encampment, Arts Letters & Numbers, and Yaddo. She has performed at: BAM Fisher, Dixon Place, Knockdown Center, Lincoln Center, MoMa PS1, National Sawdust, the New School’s Glassbox Theater, The Stone, Roulette, The Development Gallery, Milk Studios, and Spring Studios. http://sugarvendil.com