Jukebox of Dissonance

Jukebox of Dissonance - UAAD Art Festival is a dynamic two-day event in the heart of Soho, New York, featuring over 50 international artists. The festival includes an immersive virtual art exhibition, live new media performances, artist talks, short film screenings, and workshops. Our event draws a diverse, art-loving audience of young professionals, including visual and new media artists, designers, and performers.

Underground Art and Design (UAAD) is an artist-led organization that empowers change-provoking artists and designers, encouraging dialogue through visual arts, while breaking down disciplinary and geographical boundaries. Through virtual exhibitions and interdisciplinary projects, UAAD fosters works that drive social, cultural, and ecological change.

Collaborators:

Li Tang - Exhibition & PR Partner; Summer Breeze - Performance Partner; Oreadespress - Public Workshop Partner (All are Asian-led Organizations)

Event Schedule
Oct 19

13:00 -13:30 Reception
13:30 - 14:30 Opening of the Virtual Exhibition
14:30 - 17:00 Panel Talks & Discussions
19:00 - 22:00 Performance

Oct 20

12:30 -13:00 Reception
13:00 - 15:30 Performance & Short Film Screening
15:30 - 17:00 “Seed Mapping: Urban Planting Through Digital Cartography” by Oreades Press (Irene Lee and Rachel TonThat)

🔻Oct 19 13:00-17:00
Virtual Exhibition Opening featuring a curator-guided tour, followed by Panel Talks with leading creatives in tech, design, and the arts. We’d like to thank Li Tang for their collaboration and support in the virtual exhibition!

Exhibition Artists:
A.J. Cincotta-Eichenfield, Alexandre Vianna, Alina Nazmeeva, Angie Lin Boyer, Camilo Salas, Caren Wenqing Ye & Shiqing Chen, Cecilia Villaverde, Deven Verma, Flâneuse du Mal, Hong Huo, Candice Wu, Juan Alvarez, Kevin Peter He, Ker Chen, SPLACES.STUDIO, Mu Tuan, Rachel TonThat & Victoria Cheredeeva, Schuyler Dragoo, Seitaro Yamazaki, Sutanuka Jashu, Tiffany Wei, and Vidmina Stasiulyte.

Panel Talks
The talks will focus on the intersections of immersive technology, art, and ecological futures, featuring artists and designers who explore themes like human and non-human interaction, AI, and speculative futures through interactive media, XR technologies, and multidisciplinary installations.

Panelists:
Yiou Wang is a multimedia artist and designer who creates immersive experiences using interactive media and technology, exploring the intersection of human and non-human perspectives.

Whitt Sellers is an XR technologist, artist, and fire performer in NYC, blending immersive technology with live performance using real-time render engines and XR tools.

Wei Wu is a multi-disciplinary designer specializing in computational design, AR/VR, and digital fabrication, contributing to innovative projects with interactive and immersive experiences.

Sutanuka Jashu creates immersive installations that merge art, technology, and culture, exploring history, AI, and ecological futures with a blend of traditional and modern aesthetics.

Schuyler Dragoo is a Boston-based interdisciplinary artist whose work explores human and non-human interaction through painting, sculpture, video, and performance, challenging societal norms and encouraging introspection.

Rachel TonThat is a multidisciplinary artist and writer working with narrative structures around themes of possible futures, memory, and space-time.

🔻Oct 19 19:00-22:00
New-Media Performance

Yilun Zhan & Zhaonian Li - “Through Limits”
Yiou Wang & Hsiao-Chu Hsia - “Co-Life/Co-Demise”
Yanran Bi - “Near Light”
Ker Chen & Daniel Mangosing - “Hold on no more”
Whitt Sellers - “Underpass Overgrown”
Kevin Peter He - “Passage_Redux”
Summer Breeze - “Fully, Lively”

🔻Oct 20 13:00-15:30
New-Media Performance

Caren Wenqing Ye, Shiqing Chen & Audrey Chou - “Rhizome”
Hong Huo & Mayu Nakaya - “Strange Dwelling”
Yiou Wang & Hsiao-Chu Hsia - “Co-Life/Co-Demise” (Alt Ver.)
Summer Breeze -“Fully, Lively” pt.2

With a selection of provocative short films including:

Cecilia Villaverde - “La Bruja de Texcoco”
Ker Chen - “Hunting”
Splaces - “Dendro Sonic”

Sutanuka Jashu, Lorena Patricia Garcia Espino, Denise Ackerl, Rocío Palacin Rotbarg, Owen McAteer, Laura Hernández - “Unlovable Creatures”

🔻Oct 20 13:00-15:30
“Seed Mapping: Urban Planting Through Digital Cartography” by Oreades Press (Irene Lee & Rachel TonThat)

In an era when the pace of technological advancements is matched only by environmental decline, how can we bridge the gap between the digital and the environmental worlds? Oreades Press, an art book duo composed of Rachel TonThat and Irene Lee, is addressing the climate crises through storytelling and community outreach and are currently working on their third book around this question.

In this workshop, participants will discuss their own relationship with technology and the environment. To better exemplify this question, they will also learn and participate in “guerilla gardening” with a geo-mapping component, inspired by the work the Green Guerrillas began in New York City in the 1970’s seeing potential for growth in the crevices of busy streets. After making our “seed marbles”, the workshop will disperse to plant the seeds and then reconvene to celebrate the end of the UAAD digital festival.

All materials provided for, but visitors may handle dirt and seeds.

About Oreades Press:

Oreades Press is a collaborative publishing project between Rachel TonThat and Irene Lee. Named after the nymphs of the mountains who protected travelers in Greek mythology, the press publishes handbound fine art books composed of visual art and fiction influenced by folklore.