If The Sky Could Dream

February 9, 2024 - February 8, 2025
Interactive Installation | Performance | Workshop Series

About

Heritage Museum of Asian Art is collaborating with 2024 Resident Artist Irene Hsiao to create a new interactive installation, performance, and workshop series called If the Sky Could Dream. Coinciding with the Lunar Year of the Dragon, the museum will showcase dragon artworks from throughout Asia, as well as include an original, contemporary vision of the dragon from an Asian American perspective by Hsiao.

If the Sky Could Dream combines drawing, painting, dance, found materials and found spaces at the museum to reveal and celebrate the dragons among us—structural, ancestral, architectural, internal, and environmental. Because the dragon is a water deity in Chinese culture, this work also features projections of the waters of Chicago: Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and the lakes, ponds, and lagoons of Chicago Parks.

If the Sky Could Dream is supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

Dates

Friday, Feb 9, 6:00 - 8:30 PM: Year of the Dragon Exhibition Preview

Saturday, Feb 10, 11:00 - 12:00 PM: Dragon Exhibition Opening Ceremony

Thursday, Feb 15, 4:00 - 5:30 PM: Tour, Performance, Talkback

Friday, Feb 16, 6:00 - 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao and guest artist Olula Negre

Saturday, Feb 17, 12:00 - 4:00 PM: Exhibition and Community Art with TimeLine Theatre, Chinese Mutual Aid Association, and the Heritage Museum of Asian Art at Argyle St. Lunar New Year Parade

Monday, Feb 26, 6:00 - 8:00 PM: Lunar New Year Fundraiser

Friday, Mar 15, 6:00 - 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao and guest artist Hunter Diamond

Saturday, Mar 16, 1:00 - 2:30PM: If the Sky Could Dream - Exploratory Tour with Irene Hsiao

Monday, Mar 25, 4:00 - 5:30 PM: After Hours Tour

Friday, April 12, 5:00 - 7:00 PM: If The Sky Could Dream: Art, Climate, Community, and Social Change with Elizabeth Corr, Associate Director of Arts and Cultural Partnerships at the National Resources Defense Council for EXPO ART WEEK

Friday, Apr 19, 6:00 - 8:00 PM: 3rd Friday with Irene Hsiao and guest artist

Saturday, May 11, 2:00 - 4:00 PM: IF THE SKY COULD DREAM - Exploring the Mind of Artist Irene Hsiao

More dates TBA

About the Artist

Irene Hsiao

Irene Hsiao creates performances in conversation with visual art in museums, galleries, and public spaces, a practice that includes site-specific interaction with visual artworks and experimental engagement with artists, institutions, and the public. More information at https://www.heritageasianart.org/if-the-sky-could-dream-ih

Photo of Irene Hsiao in white by William Frederking.

Photo of Irene Hsiao in black by Kristie Kahns.