Umi Fangyu Hsu

Join us for Daydream Building: A Sound Performance by Umi Hsu ↑ Artist, musician, and ethnomusicologist Umi Hsu will bridge their current exploration of architectural acoustics with the exhibition ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN, creating a live assemblage of tape loops and everyday objects. Inspired by their soon-to-be-released experimental audio memoir, Hsu’s performance offers a fresh perspective on memory, space, and the exhibition. tickets at the 🔗 in bio ✨

What is the sound of a memory on loop? What is its arc and texture? What story is left? It’s been six months since my solo sound performance at LACMA. I made a two-minute video documentation of my performance at LACMA. Daydream Building is a solo sound performance that explores architecture and ambiences of diasporic memory in real time. I take apart the sonic and relational elements of memories that surround a place, foregrounding an immigrant sense of split time/space. Over the course of this 40-minute durational performance, I build a site-specific assemblage of memory as an ambient song that is composed in action, as a live confrontation with the vivaciousness and messiness of memory in the process of it becoming re-spatialized. Link in bio to read my short exposition on why I wanted to create an evolving architecture of memory and how I did it. Photos by Monica Orozco (@monicaorozcophotography ) Thanks to Holly M Crawford and @lacma AV for supporting the performance. Deep gratitude to Nateene Diu (@nateenediu ) for the collaboration and the super thougthful production guidance. Many more thanks to friends and families who supported me in this project. Full credits on the project documentation page via link in bio. #soundart #soundperformance #sound #experimentalsound #ricecooker #radio #tatung #tapeloop #cassettes #analog #performanceart #umihsu

This week, we are continuing to highlight works from our sound series, Post Pandemic Acts: Therapeutic Auditory Tell Tales. Sound artist and ethnomusicologist Umi Hsu (@wfumihsu ) set out to explore the ambiences and architecture of their memory. For “Departures / Arrivals”, an experimental audio memoir, Umi revisits sites significant to their childhood in Taipei before they immigrated to the US more than 30 years ago: the apartment building they grew up in, walks with family, and the school they attended. At each site, they use their memory as a score and their body, voice, and the built environment as instruments, to perform and unravel layers and clusters of memories. Dedicated to their grandparents, “Departures / Arrivals” contains five tracks. Each track presents a diasporic architecture, where a particular time/space is stretched and compressed at once. The album is a collection of relational audio meditations on memory with field recordings and unscripted dialogs. Umi said, “it’s an invitation to listen in and between the cracks of sound, language, and memory.” Visit the link in bio to listen to Umi Hsu’s audio memoir. Use 🎧 headphones for an optimum spatial listening experience 🔗 /en/departures-arrivals/ This series is curated and produced by 聽說 Ting Shuo Hear Say and funded by National Culture and Arts Foundation in Taiwan. Video by Salty Ian and Umi Hsu. #soundart #soundarts #ExperimentalSound #experimentalsound #fieldrecording #audiodocumentary #tingshuo #tingshuohearsay #audiomemoir #soundartmemoir #umihsu 這週，將繼續發表聽說線上出版《後疫情作為 聽覺療癒說謠》的精華再製。 聲音藝術家/民族音樂學家 Umi Hsu 以作品探索記憶的氛圍與建築聲景，透過《出境 / 入境》實驗自傳式聲音創作，Umi 走訪30多年移居美國前，生活具意義的台北地點：童年的公寓大樓、與家人散步的路徑、曾就讀的國小等。在每一個地點，將記憶視為譜曲，身體、聲音與建築成為樂器，進行表演，層層剖析、交織這些回憶。 《出境 / 入境》獻給 Umi 的祖父母，共收錄五首曲目，每首展現出一種離散的架構，在其中，特定的時空被同時拉長與壓縮。這張專輯透過田野錄音與臨場對話，呈現記憶的關係性聲音冥想。Umi 道：「我邀請你在聲音、語言與記憶的裂縫之間，仔細傾聽。」 點選連結有藝術家介紹並聆聽 Umi Hsu 的聲音自傳。建議使用 🎧 耳機，會有更好的空間性體驗。 🔗 /departures-arrivals-zh/ 此系列作品由 聽說 Ting Shuo Hear Say 聽說策劃與製作協助，財團法人國家文化藝術基金會贊助。影片製作：Salty Ian 與 Umi Hsu。 #聲音藝術 #實驗聲音 #田野錄音 #聲音紀錄片 #聲音自傳 #聽說 #台南

This fall, I’m returning to Occidental College to teach a course in the Art and Art History Department, as a part of my Curator-in-Residence role at Oxy Arts (@oxyarts ). Oxy Students: check out this course — ARN 391 Curating Trans History: Archives, Art, and Politics (CRN 1462), a theory-and-praxis class that explores how we can use the archives as a system for generating collective inquiries and provocations. (No prerequisites) This course explores the erased or undocumented cultural and artistic practices of transgender and gender-diverse people. Paired with “Hold Each Other?s Hands?”, an Oxy Arts exhibition, co-presented with @oneinstitutela , on trans mutuality and mutual aid curated by me, this course will offer opportunities for students to interact with the exhibition materials, featured artists, programming, and to create oral histories related to the exhibit’s themes. Together we will explore trans history while considering: Where can we locate often unsearchable documents and cultural production related to trans and gender-diverse people? How do we make sense of the violence of the archive such as archival omissions or repressive police records? What conceptual and storytelling framing can we use to understand what we know, and speculate what we could not know? What reparative strategies can we employ to fabulate memories for the future? We will consider curation as a reparative practice to remediate the violence of exclusion and omission and to build the foundation toward collective memories for the future. 1. Marsha P Johnson, 1982 Pride March, The LGBT Center in NYC 2. Vanguard, ONE Archives, 1967 3. Chloe Dzubilo, There Is Transolution, Visual AIDS 4. Moonshadow, 1973, ONE Archives 5. Vanguard, ONE Archives, 1969 6. News clipping, Transas City, 1956 7. Rupert Raj, The ArQuives, 1970s 8. Femme Shark Communique #1, Queer Zine Archive, 2008 9. Vanguard, ONE Archives, 1970 10. My goofy cat Winter to boost algorithmic promotion

Our 2026 visiting curator is Umi Hsu @wfumihsu , a scholar and practitioner whose work spans public and historical humanism, technology and sound. Oxy students! Enrollment is open for Hsu's Fall 2026 course "Curating Trans History: Archives, Art, and Politics" (CRN 1462), a theory + praxis course exploring the erased cultural and artistic practices of transgender and gender-diverse people. Hsu will be curating OXY ARTS’ fall exhibition entitled "Hold Each Other’s Hand" and co-presented with @oneinstitutela . The exhibition will explore historical practices of trans mutual aid and animate the spirit of mutualism through contemporary works of art. Part archival and part contemporary art, the show will draw from @onearchivesusc to foreground mutualism as a relational model to bring together art and politics, two pillars in trans and queer survival in history. To contextualize today’s practices of mutual aid, the exhibition will provide a space for expansive thinking and public dialogue around relationality, collectivity, co-existence, coalitions, support, and care. Commissions by contemporary artists Leslie Foster, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Salvador de la Torre, Xixi Edelsbrunner, Wesleigh Gates, and Whisper (fka Sammie Veeler) will respond to and extend these archival histories, treating the archive not as a static record but as a living resource for collective inquiry. A series of public programs will further extend the exhibition's reach, centering the work of contemporary mutual aid practitioners and cultural workers. Umi Hsu has published extensively on digital media, data, and Internet culture, taught at ArtCenter College of Design and the University of Southern California, and holds a PhD in Critical and Comparative Studies from the University of Virginia. Their fellowships and awards include recognition from the American Council for Learned Societies, Shuttleworth Foundation, LA Metro, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Photo credit: Clifford Pun

What if we could compost the multiple lives within our single lifetime to grow a world? Join sound artist Umi Hsu on 4/9 7PM for an artist talk and workshop to explore mushrooms, mycelium, and worldmaking. Hsu will give a performance lecture introducing their practice while playing sounds on a living fungi synthesizer that they built. Workshop participants will then have the chance to interact with the fungi synth and take part in speculative group activities inspired by fungal life. Fruiting Bodies: A Speculative Sound and Story Workshop with Umi Hsu April 9, 7:00-8:30pm 4757 York Blvd This event and exhibition are made possible by generous support from the Kathryn Caine Wanlass Charitable Foundation.

Sound artist-in-residence Umi Hsu exploring sound and mycelium as mediums of inquiry. We can’t wait to see…er…hear what you’ve discovered @wfumihsu 🌲🍄🍄‍🟫🔊 Learn more about The Artist Residency at nina Idyllwild ➡️Visit etonina.com/artist-residency #artistresidency #residency #california #idyllwild #lgbtqart #lgbt #cometonina

What if we could compost the multiple lives within our single lifetime to grow a world? Join Umi Hsu and collaborators on 11/9 for Fruiting Bodies: A Multisensory Worldbuilding Workshop, an afternoon guided by mycelial prompts, mushroom talks, and participatory sessions, with reishi tea and snacks. We will reflect on time and temporality in life and beyond. Umi Hsu (@wfumihsu ) will present their speculative fungi music project Fruiting Bodies, including a sound installation prototype with living fungi and oral history recordings centering trans lives and afterlives. Through writing and visual prompts, participants will have the opportunity to record their visions of a universe based on their own memories, language, stories, dreams, experiences, and relationship to loved ones. Workshop participants will also learn about mushrooms and deep time from author and conservation mycologist Aaron Tupac (@symbiomyconaut ). Somatics facilitator and coach Hia Phua (@hiaphua ) will guide an embodiment session inspired by mycological life to support further contemplation and healing. Reishi tea and snacks are complementary for ticket holders. A mushroom-themed box lunch menu and small bites made by Gu Grocery (@gu_grocery ) will be available via preorder (exploretock.com/gugrocery). This program is centered around the experience of trans and gender diverse individuals. And everyone is welcome to join. Sunday November 9 West Hollywood LIbrary, Community Meeting Room 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069 $10 RSVP $15 at the Door NOTAFLOF 1:00 Popup exhibition 1:30 An introduction to Fruiting Bodies 2:00 Somatics healing 2:30 Mycology talk 3:00-4:30 Speculative oral history recording RSVP link in bio. This program is made possible by a grant from the City of West Hollywood and Community Engagement. #fungiart #myceliumart #mushrooms #mycelium #mycology #somatics #somaticshealing #trans #lgbtq #tgi

*JUST ADDED-new vendor!* IT'S THE FINAL SHOW OF 2025. 💥 The nights are cooling down, we're deep in autumn, come warm up with us one last time before we hibernate until next April. . FEATURING @milckmusic @wfumihsu @kuni_rhythm @soulstuf @sarahsiiao DJ @thatflypinay RESIDENT HOST @farmerjohneric VENDORS *JUST ADDED🚨* @hannahkleeee @ttz.online @ubeforubae . ✨Soul Stuf is back with Sarah Hsiao as Soul Hsiao and they're bringing a harp! Kuniharu Yoshida is introducing a new project called "Sound of Calligraphy" and, according to his tech needs, he's bringing brush, ink, fabric canvas, and (ominously) sound equipment. Umi Hsu is solo this time and in conversation with various ferments. And MILCK...you never want to miss MILCK when she comes through TNC. . ttz* is BACK and Ube for U Bae is BACK BACK. Bring a tote to carry home zines and pastries. DJ THATFLYPINAY is closing out our season and we have a special guest host....jk it's our beloved resident host Johneric Concordia, back to bookend the season. . 🎤Want to perform for our Open Mic? Make sure to sign up for our lottery by 6:40 PM, there will only be 3 spaces available, two performances per performer per season please! We may ask to review your content. Please read the rules at /how-to-perform . 🤿As a reminder, masking is required in our space, and we will have masks available on site. If you can’t join us in-person, we will continue to stream our shows on YouTube in our link in bio.

🪩 WE’RE SO BACK 🪩 It’s been a minute, but we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to realise a multimedia variety show of a new issue. Introducing DiSCo Journal Issue 3: 𝓔𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓮𝔁𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓶 To celebrate the launch, we’re hosting a party and you’re cordially invited 💌 📍King’s X, London 🗓️13 Monday 2025 🕰️6:30PM - 9:00PM 🎟️Link in bio to RSVP With performances, screenings, and readings designed to expand your mind and stave off boredom ✨ See you there? Issue 3 features contributions from Assad Bokhari, @silviabombardini , Anand Subhash Borse, Marcus Gilroy-Ware, @wfumihsu , and Sandy Di Yu Managing editors April Wei-West and @hejsandy Journal website designed by the incomparable @andreaefebresm Invite graphics by wonderful @jennyjihh With generous support from CHASE AHRC

What is the sound of yeast while it’s waking up? 🫧 Join me this Thursday 9/18 evening for a polyspecies performance with live yeast and accordion as a part of the opening for HOWL, an exhibition curated by Ashton Philips at Human Resources in LA’s Chinatown. This performance is part of my exploration of Critical Yeast, a term coined by peacebuilding practitioner and scholar John Paul Lederach. As an alternative to critical mass, the concept refers to the catalytic coming together of a group of individuals who are not like-minded or like-situated, and can transform in a context of conflict. Featuring live yeast and amplified accordion, this performance makes audible the quiet transformative power of the sugar fungus. I also will present a sound installation – a living thought fermentation on catalytic impulse, relational transformation, and mycelial time with movement thinkers and doers. The installation features How To Grow A Movement, a work-in-progress audio ethnography about Critical Yeast. Based on participant observations of the more than human world through baking and fermentation experiments, this sound work investigates the quiet rising and multigenerational thinking behind social movements. This work features the voices of: Marcus Benigno, traci kato-kiriyama, Audrey Kuo, Kwanda Scott, Arden Stern, Aaron Tupac, Grace Umali., Jess Wang, and Kenneth Yates. The sound essay is accompanied by amplified live yeast as a part of an ongoing participatory fermentation. Human Resources LA Opening 7pm Live performance by Umi Hsu at 8pm Flash tattoos from Salvador de la Torre 7-9pm HOWL brings together more than a dozen artists and collectives working collaboratively and experimentally to defy the silencing, intimidation, and erasure of trans and trans-affirming voices from public life.

Join us this Thursday from 7-9 @humanresourcesla for the opening of Howl with a special performance from @wfumihsu and flash tattoos from artist @delatorre_artstudio At 8pm, Umi Hsu will perform an original duet with yeast and accordion from their ongoing investigation into the criticality and power of yeast as collective agents of transmateriality interwoven with a piece composed by Umi to help fortify the fungi living inside the Divine Portent joule bricks. Howl artist Salvador de la Torre will also be there offering T4T flash tattoos alongside his participatory chosen name tile installation. Bring your empty HRT vials to be ground into glass and transformed into a ceramic glaze as part of this work. Salvador de la Torre is a Mexican-born Texas-raised artist, educator and storyteller based in Southern California. Their drawing and performance work invoke the power of personal experience and family history to create artworks that exist at the intersection of activism, art production and praxes of self-acceptance. Their work engages politics of migration, memory, queerness, and gender in ways that remind us of the power and solidarity that can exist in quotidian gestures. De la Torre’s production opens channels for theorizing vulnerability, intimacy, and proximity as radical undertakings in the space of the borderlands and beyond. In doing so, their work forges complex narratives of joy, struggle, adaptability, exhaustion and tenderness, as counternarratives that assert the wholeness, nuance, and humanity of immigrant communities, and queer subjectivities. Umi Hsu is a Taiwanese American sound artist and ethnomusicologist who traces the contours of migration, memory, and transformation. Combining experimental performance, field recording, ethnographic writing, audio narrative, oral history, and songwriting, they make sound art and audio experiments to trace the contours of migration, stories, and memory. Their work has been presented by LACMA, CTM Festival in Berlin, and TingShuo Hear Say in Tainan; featured in LA Times, LA Weekly, and Arts at MIT; and recognized by NEA, Mellon Foundation, and City of West Hollywood Video by @ashtonsphillips