Ahead of the three premiere performances of Hagay Dreaming, artist Shu Lea Cheang, artist and shaman Dondon Hounwn and producer Ping-Yi Chen come together in conversation with Rosalie Doubal, Senior Curator, International Art (Performance and Participation) and Demelza Watts (Production Manager, Performance).
The artists will discuss their artistic vision for the world presented in their new theatrical production Hagay Dreaming. This is based on the Gaya living principle of the Truku Indigenous culture of Taiwan. As an inheritor of Truku tribal ballads, instruments and rituals, Hounwn will share his own artwork and experience of establishing a centre for research on Truku cultural heritage.
The conversation is followed by an audience Q&A.
Hagay Dreaming is an Elug Art Corner production directed by Shu Lea Cheang with artistic direction by Dondon Hounwn.
Presented by Tate and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
Shu Lea Cheang
Shu Lea Cheang (b.1954) is an artist and filmmaker who engages in genre-bending, gender-hacking art practices. Celebrated as a net art pioneer with BRANDON (1998-1999), the first web art commissioned and collected by the Guggenheim Museum, New York, Cheang represented Taiwan with the mixed media installation, 3x3x6, at the Venice Biennale in 2019. Crafting her own genre of Sci-Fi New Queer Cinema, she has made four feature films: FRESH KILL (1994), I.K.U. (2000), FLUIDø (2017) and UKI (2023). In 2024, she received the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Award. In 2025, she will have a survey show at Haus der Kunst, Munich.
Dondon Hounwn
Truku artist Dondon Hounwn (b. 1985) was born in the Dowmung tribe in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. Hounwn’s work cuts across media, generational and cultural lines, blending ancestral knowledge with avant-garde, cross-gender aesthetics. An inheritor of tribal ballads, instruments and rituals, he works in performance, installation, video and environmental theatre. In 2015, Dondon Hounwn founded Elug Art Corner where indigenous youths research Truku cultural heritage. Since 2023, Dondon Hounwn holds the annual GAYA Cosmos gathering with artists and researchers in exploring Gaya living principles.
Ping-Yi Chen
Ping Yi Chen (b. 1986) has worked at the Digital Art Center Taipei, the National Taiwan Science Education Center, and C-LAB Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab, serving in roles such as international collaboration officer, producer, and collaborative curator. Chen is dedicated to interdisciplinary projects that integrate art, technology, and science. Recently, Chen has been involved with Dimension Plus Taiwan on research projects in technology and art. Since 2021, Chen has been the producer of Hagay Dreaming.
These performances are part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels festival running across London from 12 March to 8 April 2025. Built on the values of creation, transmission and education, this wide-reaching celebration of choreography features 15 modern and contemporary dance performances highlighting both major repertoire works and new productions.
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