International Arrivals speaks with artist Lau Wai (Hong Kong/USA) (https://www.w-a-i-studio.com/) who discusses their video work, the growth of AI, and the relationship between virtual reality and our physical world. Their work explores identity formation through personal and historic archives, cinematic imagery, and emerging technologies. 

The recent exhibition entitled "Facial Recognition" at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York, featured Lau Wai's "Decrypted Sentient 02," a video work with two digitally generated entities discussing their existence and questioning which one of them is the original. Through this work, and others, Wai blurs the boundaries of virtual and physical realities while addressing the impact of AI and digital representation.

A special episode of the International Arrivals Podcast recorded live at Abrons Arts Center. International Arrivals brings together cultural workers to discuss the current political atmosphere and its threat to artists, arts organizations, and artistic freedom: Why is it important right now that arts organizations are focusing on social issues like global conflict, migration, and identity?

Participants include: International Arrivals (Anna Khimasia and Emily Lutzker); The Immigrant Artist Biennial (Katya Grokhovsky); IMPULSE Magazine (Jenny Wang); Immigrant Artist Program, New York Foundation for the Arts (Ya Yun Teng); and Artist Erika Harrsch. 

International Arrivals speaks with multi-disciplinary artist Lara Baladi (Egypt/Lebanon) (tahrirarchives.com). Baladi discusses Tahrir Cinema” an influential public pop-up cinema that served as a platform where filmmakers, artists, activists and civilians could share their stories during the 2011 Egyptian uprisings, aka Arab Spring. She talks about the current atmosphere in Egypt and censorship in the arts.

Emphasizing the voices of the people, Vox Populi, Tahrir Archives her continuing project, includes a series of artworks and publications. The culmination of which is  Anatomy of Revolution, an ABC and Archive of Revolting. This project (a website and series of installations), offers a visual lexicon of resistance and global protests and speaks to the importance of archiving as resistance itself. This discussion touches on the impact of social media, and artistic strategies employed during times of upheaval. 

Baladi’s project Anatomy of Revolution, which aims to reinterpret historical narratives through a collaborative platform, involves workshops in the context of art spaces, conferences, and universities, focusing on the importance of visual connections in making complex information accessible to facilitate research, and critical thinking.

International Arrivals speaks with artist and NYU professor, Linda Sormin (Thailand, Indonesia, China, Canada, USA) (https://www.lindasormin.com/) who discusses her journey from Bangkok to New York, her diasporic heritage, and her work exploring themes of upheaval, migration, and identity. 

She reflects on her family's history, along with the erasure of Batak language and knowledge. Sormin's art, which includes large-scale, site-responsive installations, incorporates found objects and traditional ceramic techniques as well as video and VR. 

Sormin also explores the physicality of clay as a decolonizing practice and the interplay between language, artistic production, and personal narrative. Her upcoming solo show at the Gardner Museum in 2025 will further explore these themes.

International Arrivals speaks with artist Hangama Amiri (Afghanistan/Canada) (http://www.hangamaamiri.com/) about her work that incorporates painting and textiles to memorialize her diasporic experience and elevate women’s spaces, voices, and experiences. Her journey has had many stops from Peshawar to Kabul, Halifax to New Haven. Amiri discusses glittery fabrics, life in the bazaar, and women’s roles in Afghan culture.

International Arrivals speaks with ceramic artist Michelle Im (Korea/USA) (https://ratxchicks.club)about her work that explores themes of home, displacement, and cultural identity. Her whimsical recent work focuses on the figure of the flight attendant, which she associates with a sense of home. She also explores the tradition of Korean ceramics, particularly moon jars, to symbolize her dual cultural identity. Im's work often incorporates humor and messiness, reflecting her personal experiences and the complexities of her heritage.

International Arrivals speaks with artist Christhian C. Diaz Silva (Colombia/USA) (https://christhiandiaz.com/) about his recent performance at Movement Research and his path from cleaning offices with his mother to his life as an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and legal immigration advocate.

International Arrivals speaks with performance artist Natacha Voilakovsky (Argentina/USA)(https://natachavoliakovsky.com/) about her move to the US and how she uses the materials of her body in her work as a symbol of social struggle, power, and control. 

International Arrivals speaks with interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia (Ethiopia/USA)(https://helinametaferia.com) about the Ethiopian diaspora in the US, her use of archives and collage in her work, and what it means to be radical and disruptive. 

International Arrivals speaks with visual artist Arleene Correa Valencia (Mexico/USA) (https://www.correavalencia.com/) about her latest projects, her family's journey from Mexico to California and their former undocumented status. She speaks about her textile work and the shared trauma of border crossing: love and suffering, the visible and the invisible.