Xena Ni

What do you dream for America for the next 250 years? 🌸⭐💭 "A [New] American Dream" won't give you the answers. Every gathering will put you in the room with others who care about what comes next. We'll figure it out together, in conversations sparked by cabaret, storytelling, screenprinting, panel discussions, poetry, and more. Because none of this works unless we're in relationship with each other, and relationships begin with conversation. And art is how we create the space for those conversations. The American Dream isn't over. That choice gets made in rooms like this one. Join curator @philippahughes_ and the Museum for a series of gatherings from May 20th - August 7th as America (and DC) marks its 250th year. While visiting, you'll engage with two art interactive installations: “these dreams belong to you and me” by Xena Ni (@msknee ) and “Hey, We Still Need To Talk!” by Philippa Pham Hughes. Gatherings: 🌸 More Parties Makes Politics More Fun Break the two party system & create your own party with Author Lee Drutman + Artist @ashleyjayewilliams . Wed May 20 | 6-8p | Free, RSVP 🌸 Opening Night Celebration + Open House + Voter Registration Fri Jun 5 | 6-8p | Free 🌸 “So Long, American Century” Basement Cabaret Produced by Gus Nordhielm Fri Jun 12 | 7-9p | $20 🌸 FREE-ISH: Stories of Joy and Resistance An interactive storytelling show produced by @dianaveigatells Thu June 18 | 7-8:30p | $10 🌸 Cut Fruit + Open House Fruit as an act of abundance and love by artist Adele Yiseol Kenworthy (@themeowingbird ) Fri Jul 3 | 6-8p | Free 🌸 A Home Theater Festival Salon Share a meal, experience transformative art, envision the future with your neighbors. Produced by Laley Lippard. Fri Jul 10 | 5:30-8p | $20 🌸 DC Statehood NOW: Screenprint Anything Bring anything you want to screenprint with a message about statehood with artist @josephorzal . Wed Jul 22 | 6-8p | Free, RSVP 🌸 DC Statehood: The Unfinished Business of the Voting Rights Act An interactive discussion and poetry with Teri Ellen Cross Davis (@haint_poet ) Thu Aug 6 | 6-8p | Free, RSVP 🌸 Closing Night Celebration + Open House Fri Aug 7 | 6-8p | Free

What happens when you give a bunch of artists a new material and tell them to go play? Join us at @glassclassdc Friday the 13th from 6:30-8:30 to find out. Comment “RSVP” to have the link DMed to you or hit the 🔗 in bio Featuring @mollyfmccracken @marcsart_ @msknee @byshelbyhubbard and more ✨

Artist Xena Ni (@msknee ) made this artwork thinking about her family’s escape to America in the 1990s. Art planted the possibility of flourishing here. We’re grateful to share her radiant message with the neighborhood through the 2025 Foggy Bottom Biennial, 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. ~~ Come see it before the show closes! #ArtsInFoggyBottom #FoggyBottomBiennial #HomelandHostland #DCArts #PublicArtDC

From day to night, this artwork transforms with time ⏳ A reminder that care and kindness glow beyond the moment ❤️✨ #ArtsInFoggyBottom #FoggyBottomBiennial #HomelandHostland #PublicArtDC

Take a trip to the Discovery Lounge to immerse yourself in otherworldly art inspired by A WRINKLE IN TIME. Hear from artists Maps, Xena, and Katie about their installations! 🎟️: arenastage.org/wrinkle #ArenaWrinkle #ArenaStage #DCTheatre

Xena Ni’s illuminated signs delve into Asian-American archives, and use language as a force of intention and hope. Glowing with quiet strength, they reflect the intertwined legacies and futures of communities in the US, inviting us to consider how our actions ripple across generations. Every choice shapes not just our own path, but the possibilities of many; calling us to be active participants in building a more connected, thriving world. On this 4th of July, her work reminds us that true freedom comes with responsibility—one to shape a future where all can flourish. 📍Find this piece on 26th St. NW, between I St. and Queen Annes Ln. #ArtsInFoggyBottom #FoggyBottomBiennial #HomelandHostland #PublicArtDC

Meet Xena Ni 🍀 She’s a socially engaged artist, using public archives, time travel, and interactive experiences to unearth hidden stories. Her installations explore the role of luck in American life, inviting people to rethink the structures that shape our world. “Imagining ourselves flourishing in the future is a necessary act. In the neon glow of my piece, I hope you’ll find a bright reminder that your visions for the future matter” 🔗 Learn more about Xena and the Foggy Bottom Biennial at the link in our bio. #ArtsInFoggyBottom #FoggyBottomBiennial #HomelandHostland #PublicArtDC

❤️A few nights ago, my future self and I stopped by my piece in “Homeland | Hostland”, the 2025 @artsinfoggybottom Biennial. Imagining ourselves flourishing in the future feels like a radical act these days. I believe it’s a necessary one. In the neon glow of my piece, I hope you’ll find a bright reminder that your visions for the future matter. Find my signs at 916 25th St NW! 🍷Bring your past, present, and future selves the Biennial opening on Saturday, May 3 from 2–6pm! Come celebrate with a guided tour by my friend, fearless arts leader, and Biennial curator @fabiola.rdelgado and a reception at The Watergate Gallery. 🎟️ RSVP at the link in my bio! ♥️ Many thanks to my install crew (Alex, @trishaguptaart , and Rachel) and @artsinfoggybottom ! 🌹I’m very honored to be part of this year’s Biennial, alongside a tremendous cohort of artists, listed below. Take a walk around Foggy Bottom and try to find all of our pieces! Inga Adda @inga.adda Miguel Braceli @miguelbraceli Annie Broderick @anniebroderickart Gerardo Camargo @gerardocamargoartist IceBox Collective @iceboxcollective Victor Ekpuk @victorekpuk Brandon Hill @chickens.of.insta Rose Jaffe @rose_inks Njena Surae Jarvis @njena_reddd_foxxx Jean Jinho Kim @jeanjinhokim Neha Misra @nehamisrastudio Jordan Hamlett Sanders @jordanhamlettsanders Steve Wanna @steve_wanna

It’s one of DC’s most interesting new exhibits—dedicated to those forgotten items you take out to the curb when you’re clearing the clutter away. In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax strolled over to the Anthony Bowen YMCA on W St. NW to visit the Museum of Sidewalk Stuff! Come along with Matt as he uncovers the beauty in spotlighting the ordinary, and finds deeper meaning in repurposing every day items to help out neighbors in the DC community. The Museum of Sidewalk Stuff, affiliated with Humanities DC, is at Gallery Y at the YMCA Anthony Bowen until September 6th. They also have a community organizing workshop there on August 17th. Find more episodes of “Matt About Town” on wtop.com, inside the WTOP News app, or on 103.5FM. (🎥: WTOP/Matt Kaufax)

Hello from the DC Museum of Sidewalk Stuff! Our next event at our current exhibit at Gallery Y is Community Organizing 101: a free workshop on Saturday afternoon, August 17th, facilitated by the wonderful @sierra.ddi . Join us for a reflective hang in the gallery, where you’ll learn how to create a buddy system with your neighbors, talk about collective needs in your neighborhood or building, and rally to help each other. 🔗 Sign up for the workshop at the link in my bio! We have 10 spots left as of Sunday 8/11. ⭐️@sierra.ddi is a full-time organizer and facilitator within @woodnerunion (a tenants’ union in DC’s largest apartment building) as well as leader of the Direct Democracy Institute, a nonprofit offering workshops, classes, coaching, and healing services for organizers & advocates. 📸 First photo is by @reallyfarrah & second from @sierra.ddi 🙏 Many thanks to Gallery Y Director @the.art.island & @ymcabowen for providing the perfect community-centered space for our exhibit!

Thank you to everyone who came to the opening a few weeks ago. The world is heavy, but we hope this little museum shows that the seemingly mundane ways we care for each other matter. It’s an everyday act of love that’s a small but necessary step toward any meaningful social change. If you haven’t gotten to visit yet, you have time! The exhibit is up at Gallery Y at @ymcabowen until September 6. We’d love to hear what you think and even offer you a private tour 💅🏻 🗓️If you have visited but left thinking, “how can I support my neighbors?” @sierra.ddi has answers! She’ll be leading a 🌈Community Organizing 101 🌈 workshop about exactly this. It’s on Saturday, August 17 from 3-5pm. More on that soon! An immense thank you to the organizers featured. Their wisdom, compassion, and know-how made this show possible: Angela and Pablo Salazar @fepac101 @new_caregiving @j_giovanniello @kkneely @swiftskylark @noel.schroeder @bigqe @sierra.ddi Gratitude too to Gallery Y director @the.art.island for her collaboration, @reallyfarrah for these sick photos, and @humanitiesdc for funding this endeavor. #madeindc #202creates #dcart #dcartist

So many of you have been a part of this burgeoning neighborhood history project we call the DC Museum of Sidewalk Stuff. From showing up to our various pop-ups to contributing your own stories to the “museum.” We’d love for you to join us to celebrate DCMoSS’s first gallery show. ¡La exposición estará en inglés y español! 🗓️ The opening reception is on Thursday, July 11 from 6-8pm at Gallery Y: YMCA Anthony Bowen (1325 W St NW). DCMoSS started as a way to meet our neighbors. We asked people to share the stories behind the free stuff they left on the curb. It’s become a way to celebrate mutual aid efforts across DC. Giving away stuff you don’t need anymore is a first step in taking responsibility to care for each other. This exhibit features stories from local organizers who took to the sidewalk to care for their neighbors, and the relationships they cultivated as a result. A deep thank you to the Gallery Y director @the.art.island , @ymcabowen , and @humanitiesdc for making this exhibit possible. 😷 In the spirit of keeping us all safe, please take a rapid test before coming to the reception! Thank you and free Palestine.