Cinthia Chen

Artist Statement

As an interdisciplinary artist and creative technologist, Cinthia engages in image-making, performance, and multimedia installation to explore memory, hybrid identities, and spiritual futurisms. She is interested in art-making and performance as ritual, that engages personal and collective experiences with intentionality, participation, and communion of all those involved, from collaborating artists to audiences. Cinthia approaches her art through a hybrid/borderland perspective, which is seated deeply within her experiences as a Taiwanese queer woman. All of these identifiers she considers to be “hybrid/borderland” in their manifestations, calling for a constant interrogation, negotiation, and resistance to what is considered normative, and the ability to hold multiple truths simultaneously. Cinthia is committed to a devised practice that engages in deep research and offers multiple access points to enter the work. This materializes in her artistic work as a director, video projection designer, and Theater Mitu company member.

Cinthia Chen_Waters of Oblivion_multimedia installation_2021_Theater Mitu Interactive communal altar. Audiovisual recordings/representations of memories shared with us from participants, projected on the moon gate, and displayed on the monitors. Mushrooms grew inside the tank, and side cubbies filled with offerings from audiences. 12ft tall. Photo Credt: Cinthia Chen

Bio

Cinthia Chen is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn and Taiwan. She has created and developed original work through Theater Mitu, Mabou Mines, Fault Line Theater, Corkscrew Theater Festival, and Asian American Arts Alliance. She has participated in residencies and fellowships at Mercury Store, Target Margin, Fresh Ground Pepper, Wingspace, and Pioneers Go East. She is a company member at Theater Mitu and co-facilitates their Hybrid Arts Lab fellowship, which supports women, trans, and non-binary artists working at the intersection of performance and technology. Cinthia also works as a video and projections designer and was recognized at La MaMa’s Design Fest 2020 and USITT Prague Quadrennial 2023. She has received the Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund and NYSCA Support for Artists for her designs. Recent projects include: “Salesman之死” (Connelly Theater), “Language City” (Little Island), “The Healing Shipment” (La Mama), “Where Are You?” (Mabou Mines), and “american (tele)visions” (NYTW, asst. designer).

www.cinthiachen.com