Drop in for Our Sonic Love, a lineup featuring queer, trans, gender-non-conforming performers of Asian diasporic identities connecting heritage, culture, and traditions. Ranging from Asian-pop drag sets to cross-cultural musical performances on traditional Asian instruments, and a guided QiGong healing breath session, this performance event celebrates our visibility, community, and connection to our heritage. 

This event’s focus is to create a generative and joyful space for us as queer, trans, gender-non-conforming folks of Asian descent. Our gender and sexual identities don’t mean we reject our cultural identities, if anything it makes the connection all the more important. There is an inherent queerness to Asian cultural traditions, a history of gender bending, drag-esque performances, and underlying stories with queer themes that we are honoring as performers. Our goal is to be curious and playful with the ways in which Asian cultural traditions are seen and performed, whether it be the instruments, songs, or practices.

Free; included in garden admission: Adults $6; Seniors (age 62+) $4; Students with ID $4; Individuals with Disabilities $4; Children (ages 4 to 12) $2; Children (3 and under) FREE; Members – FREE

Drop-in; advance registration not required.

Location: Visitor & Administration Building Terrace

About the Performers

Clae Lu (they/them) is a queer, second generation Han Chinese American from Queens, NY. They identify as an artist, designer, cultural worker, and 古筝 (gu zheng) musician working on land that is unceded territory of the Lenni Lenape. Lu believes in the power of arts and grassroots activism to create spaces for conversation, reflection, and action. They have performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; MoMA PS1; Elsewhere; Brooklyn Museum; Movement Research; Symphony Space; and Abrons Art Center. They have shown work at The W.O.W. Project, Wook + Lattuada Gallery, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. They currently have a show at ISCP through June 9th titled Playroom.

Daria (he/him)is an anti-disciplinary artist transmuting pain in the space between dance and exorcism. At Accountability Mapping, Daria teaches transformative justice through the body. At Red Rabbit Astrology, Daria helps BIPOC chart the course of their own destiny.

Tuxedo Masc is Monica Chen (they/them), a genderqueer drag performer of the Taiwanese diaspora currently residing on unceded Lenape land. Their performance brings tunes from the karaoke box of Asian elders into a world of drag.

Elly T. Day (they/them, chanh/anh) is taken by how we tell stories in a messy world. They are finishing up their training as a mental health clinician, most recently via work in NYC public schools and at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

This project is a part of the What Can We Do? micro-grant program, presented by Asian American Arts Alliance (A4), and is supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Special thanks to Council Members Christopher Marte and Sandra Ung.