Happy Unbirthday! (2025) 🎁🪅by Victoria
@onlinebedroom debuted at Roskilde Festival in Denmark as part of our CopenhAustin international residency program in partnership with
@warehouse9.dk and
@themuseumofhumanachievement .
(Wanna learn more about our residency programs, and meet local artists over a tasty & free dinner? RSVP to Sunday's Artist Meet UP or comment “Happy Birthday” to get the link straight to your DMs 📨)
As Victoria frames it, “Happy Unbirthday! is a joyful celebration where we all join the party – wearing birthday hats, singing Happy Birthday, sharing our wishes, and taking turns smashing a giant piñata. No one’s the center of attention – and somehow, everyone is.
At the heart of this playful performance is a handmade piñata, created from recycled materials and filled with messages from previous workshops: memories, dreams, and notes waiting to be passed on. Crack it open and take a message with you – a birthday gift from a stranger.
Happy Unbirthday! was created in the wake of personal grief and rising anxiety around aging and mortality. Birthdays mark time – moments to pause, reflect, wish, and gather. In Mexican culture, the piñata is central to these rituals, fostering communal participation and emotional release. By bridging Mexican, American, and Danish traditions, the work becomes a space for cultural exchange, celebration, and (queer) joy.” —
@onlinebedroom 🎈
RSVP to meet & learn more about this incredibly talented local artist, whom we’re proud to call our 2025 CopenhAustin resident, at Sunday's Artist Meet-Up!
Did you grow up with piñatas at birthday parties?
• This project is supported by the City of Austin Economic Development Department.