Come hang out at Fugue Gallery this Friday. Artists only and BYOB. Sounds provided by @sroddriguez . Ginger beer by Kasé
Limited space. RSVP in Bio
141 Canal St 3rd Floor
6-9pm
Our ceiling is ready to be seen, we are so excited to invite all of you to our opening tomorrow at 6PM, at @fugue_gallery 141 Canal Street, at the 3rd Floor. This is our first gallery show on a ceiling!
Curated by Macy Castaneda Lee & @mengwencao with Creative Direction by @llizwood
Complimentary refreshments are provided, with the work presented + more prints for sale hosted by us. Music, some food, and good vibes will also be here. Walk ins welcome, but RSVP is highly preferred at lu.ma/gkstsvxu
See you all tomorrow!
Image by contributing artist @sammykjaay
dear international creatives navigating O-1/EB-1 artist visas, let’s break free.🫵🧚🌎
let’s co-create a world where we are unbound by borders.⛓️💥 let’s tend to the inner fire that brought us here.🔥 let’s remember the why behind our art.🖼️ let’s reimagine this scavenger hunt as a path of radical belonging.💓
☯︎ UNBOUND: Navigating Artist Visas & Reimagining Radical Belonging hosted by Mengwen Cao @mengwencao + Sunset Studio @sunsetstudio.love in collaboration with @accentsisters
☯︎ Intro Session: Creative & Somatic Workshop (Zoom) 📅 June 2nd | ⏰ 7–9PM ET
☯︎ Two-Month Intensive (Zoom) 📅 June 16 – July 28 | ⏰ Every other Monday, 7–9PM ET
Registration open!
🔗 link in bio
you don’t have to walk this path alone.
#o1 #eb1 #artistvisa #internationalartist #queerasian #creativeimmigrants #diaspora #somatichealing #alienwithextradinaryabilities #immigration
Imaginary ceilings exist in our minds, communities, and the world around us. They are metaphorical barriers that keep us confined and limited. 8 Wall Gallery invites photographers to give imagery to these invisible limits, using their lens to capture the barriers we strive to shatter and the spaces just beyond them we desire to explore.
Through this open call, we invite artists to submit new works that interpret the idea of the “ceiling” in all its forms: physical, psychological, emotional, or societal. Submissions may depict literal ceilings—be they walls, glass, sky—or figurative ones, such as social structures, personal fears, or conceptual constraints. The exhibition will be a collective exploration of the dreams and quiet struggles that fuel our ambition to move beyond what limits us.
Hosted by Worlds Through Minds, 8 Wall Gallery, & Sunset Studio, and curated by Mengwen Cao and Macy Castaneda Lee - we hope to bring New York lens based artists together for a meaningful gathering of conversation, somatic healing, and meditation through the medium of photography. All visual works will be installed on the 8 Wall Gallery Ceiling. All selected artists will be invited to join 8 Wall Gallery’s artist network.
*All printed works must be 25in x 25in in size.*
Deadline: June 8, 2025
Apply on 8wallgallery.com
𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 & 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢-𝟭 & 𝗘𝗕-𝟭 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗲𝗿𝗮
Hosted by Mengwen Cao @mengwencao and Sunset Studio @sunsetstudio.love
in collaboration with @accentsisters
Info Session and Somatic Workshop （ zoom )
June 2nd 7-9PM
Two-Month Intensive ( zoom )
June 16 – July 28, Every other Monday 7-9PM
♋︎♋︎♋︎
So many of us came to the U.S. with a dream—to create, to thrive, to be free. But the visa journey? Confusing, isolating, full of uncertainty.
On June 2, we’ll gather for a creative somatic workshop for anyone just beginning the O-1/EB-1 process, or already deep in it. We’ll ground ourselves in our bodies and intentions, guided by Mengwen’s own 13-year journey—from F-1 student to 3 times O-1 artist visa holder to EB-1 green card.
For those who already signed a lawyer and ready to navigate & prepare for the “jailbreak” and “unbound”, may this small-group, 2 month intensive starting in June take care of you:
Expect: • somatic grounding practices to clarify your “why” • A detailed walkthrough of the O-1 & EB-1 journey • Tips, resources & mindset tools for navigating the process • Intimate community sharing, support, & resource exchange
This is for you if: • You’re an artist/creative navigating or struggling with O-1/EB-1 • You crave space to reflect on the why—not just the paperwork • You’re tired of going it alone & ready for community
𝖭𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗐𝖺𝗅𝗄 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗁 𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖾.
𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗢 (they/them): Queer photographer, artist, educator & somatic coach. Born & raised in Hangzhou, China, they are based in between New York and Asia. They use photography as a vehicle for healing & visualizing the future. Their work’s been featured in @aperturefnd@vogue@nytimes@npr & exhibited worldwide.
What if the reason we are afraid of being seen
is because we are afraid of our power?
We’ve learnt that power could be abusive.
We are taught that standing out can be dangerous.
We’re scared our fullness might push people away.
We carry shame like it’s our skin.
But have you considered the ripple effect of you stepping into your power?
What if that help others embody their aliveness?
Shame is not a reflection of our truth.
It’s the residue of someone else’s fear living inside of us.
I’ve lived most of my life in the in-between.
In-between genders and cultures.
In-between being “authentic” and being “acceptable”.
Being seen as our full self is terrifying.
It means we are no longer hiding.
And when we’re no longer hiding,
we have to risk being loved.
For real. As we are.
If you’ve ever felt like you had to edit yourself to be seen,
this is your invitation to stop.
Not in rebellion, but in devotion.
You are allowed to be witnessed in your wholeness.
Multimedia Love Letter Creative Somatic Retreat isn’t for everyone. It’s for the brave ones who are ready to feel their full range.
The ones who are ready take off their armor to play, share, create and be visible.
This Sunday, I’m hosting a free portal: HOW TO BE SEEN
for creative souls, sensitive rebels, quiet disruptors. who are ready to turn visibility into a liberation practice.
🗓️ April 27 | 6–7:30pm ET 📍 RSVP: howtobeseen.eventbrite.com
💌 sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter
I don’t need everyone to understand. I just need the right ones to arrive.
We are co-creating a field of love.
If that’s you—come through.
self portraits made in @air.hue where i’m surrounded by love. 💖
#somatic #portraits #asianqueer #disapora #creatives #creativeretreat #somaticexperiencing #queerutopia
This is what it feels like to be witnessed.
This is what it looks like when tenderness becomes power.
This is the beginning of homecoming.
Multimedia Love Letter isn’t about performance.
It’s a return to your essence.
It’s the art of being seen with your whole self,
unfiltered, unapologetic, alive.
You’re not here to fit into anything.
You’re here to take up space,
to let your energy speak before your words ever do.
You’re invited.
Join us this Sunday for HOW TO BE SEEN:
a *free* intro workshop for creative souls
who are ready to turn visibility into a liberation practice.
🗓️ April 27 | 6–7:30PM ET
📍 RSVP: howtobeseen.eventbrite.com
💌 MML starts on May 4. Door closes on May 3. Gift yourself permission to be felt: sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter
If your body is buzzing, aching, opening—
trust it.
This portal is for you.
#somatic #portraits #asianqueer #disapora #creatives #creativeretreat #somaticexperiencing
I dream of a world
where we invest in self love and healing
even when we’re told to hustle harder
I dream of a world
where we create for the joy of it
not just for algorithm or the paycheck.
I dream of a world
where we claim the power to design our own ecosystem of thriving,
even when we feel trapped in the ones we’ve inherited.
I dream of a world
where it’s safe to be the conduit of love
even when love has hurt us before.
We carry generational trauma.
We carry societal shame.
But what if we can alchemize them all of it
Into visibility, intimacy and creative power?
What if being witnessed as who you are
Is the kink that finally sets you free?
This is the world we are building through Multimedia Love Letter,
A 9-week virtual retreat for creative souls
who’ve had to fight to feel seen,
who know what it’s like to live in-between,
and who are ready to
reclaim your expression, truth and power.
ready to reclaim your expression, truth and power.
💌 sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter (link in bio)
We begin on May 4. Doors close on May 3.
Come to the *free* intro portal workshop on 4/27 6-7:30pm ET
RSVP 📍howtobeseen.eventbrite.com
#creativeretreat #somaticretreat
#somaticexperiencing #asianqueer #diaspora #multimedialoveletter
Ok y’all, I’m coming clean.
I’m not just teaching you how to take a good photo.
I’m not just teaching you how to make a cool website.
I’m not just teaching you somatic practices.
I’m leading you on a journey back home to yourself. I’m showing you how to vision a world beyond fear. I’m inviting you to embody that future right here and now.
I dare you to take a loving leap of faith.
Say yes to yourself. NOW.
We Begin: Sunday, May 4, 2025, 6 PM ET
Doors Close: Sunday, May 3, 2025, midnight ET
Save 50% on enrollment today
by registering at our Founding Member pricing.
🔑Step in: sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter (link in bio)
#creativeretreat #loveletter #idareu #worldbuilding #queerasian
happy trans and nonbinary visibility day! 🏳️⚧️
i’m a gender nomad traveling between mr., ms., phuu-chai, phuu-ying, 先生，小姐，帅哥，美女，she/he/they，她他ta, rebellious teenager, tender auntie, ambitious uncle, wise grandma and asian grandpa
may i be a mirror to this gender confusing era🪞
may i enter bathrooms with the least waiting time 🚽
may i cross airport security checkups no matter how much i look like my passport photo of my 16 year old self 🛂
may i get my american alien visa approved no matter what pronouns i use in my application 📜
may my trans and nb friends all over the world feel safe to explore and express their most vibrant and authentic self💐
i invite u to check out, signup or share my upcoming 💌multimedia love letter💌virtual retreat assisted by another gender rebel @macycastanedalee , i appreciate you supporting an asian queer led space made with love.
we will walk you home to your magical essence and reclaim your energy from all the noise trying to repress you through multimedia storytelling and somatic practices 💖
enrollment close this sunday!!
📍sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter (link in bio)
@sunsetstudio.love
thank u @wanwanlifealchemy for the beautiful photos of me 🌸
#asianqueer #transvisibilityday #nonbinarypride #creativeretreat #gendernonbinary #somatichealing #transformation #selflove❤️
How do you love? Where did you learn it?
Was it from family? Friends? Partner? Heartbreak? A song? A letter you wrote but never sent?
For me, I’ve realized that learning to love is a spiral process—it starts with self-love, ripples out to the people in our close circle, and then extends even further to the world. 🌀✨
That’s why Multimedia Love Letter Retreat is designed as a 9-week creative & somatic journey, moving through self-love, intimacy, and connection—using photography, audio, video, and website-making as portals to deepen your understanding of love.
🌀 Experiential. Scaffolded. Transformative.
You will:
💌 Make intimate creative works that reflect your authentic self 🎙️ Develop somatic and storytelling skills in photography, audio, and video 🌐 Build a multimedia website as a love letter to yourself and your people 📦 Create personalized digital care packages 💃 Embody new patterns of love and connection in your life
Big love to @macycastanedalee for weaving weekly collages with the last cohort! 💖 Slide to the last to see the full framework.
Last chance to join the alumni meetup & final live Q&A before Spring 2025 MML officially starts.
📅 3/30/2025 | 6-7:30pm ET 📍 RSVP: mmlalumni2025.eventbrite.com
💌 Spring Season Enrollment open. Join us
https://sunsetstudio.love/multimedia-love-letter
First 10 participants get 50% off 🫰
(links in bio)
#creativeretreat #somatic #experientallearning #love
