This will be a gathering in two parts: a live performance, followed by an open-format conversation with the widely recognized and respected shaman and cultural worker, Mudang Jenn. We will explore Korean ancestral spiritual practices related to dream-work through meditative, ritual-based dance and open-ended communal dialogue. We will also focus on dream work through a feminist perspective, centering matriarchal voices.

Featuring performances by Bo Kyung Lee and Luyan Lili Li.

AYDO (A young Yu & Nicholas Oh) is a collaborative artist duo based in New York. Through performance-based film and site-specific installation, AYDO re-imagines Korean folklore and precolonial spiritual practices to reflect personal and Asian American perspectives. They are not faithful to historical canon and transgress older traditions, regenerating them within diasporic contexts through methods of disruption and metamorphosis. Performances are filmed in spaces ranging from ritual spaces to sites of ongoing geopolitical tension, from disfigured wartime buildings and ecological sanctuaries to immersive environments constructed in the studio. They activate these spaces by distilling narratives and visual cues from their heritage and create new stories–exploring themes of race, Western imperialism, sexuality, and migration. AYDO has exhibited and performed at venues such as Cantor Art Center at Stanford University, Museum of Art and Design, Christie’s Inc, Canal Projects, Hub-Robeson Gallery at Penn State University, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, ChaShaMa, Artist Alliance, AHL Foundation, and Fashion Institute of Technology. AYDO was awarded artist residencies at Sculpture Space, Dongguk University, and Catwalk Institute.

Bo Kyung Lee is a choreographer, dancer, and artistic director of BK Dance Project. She received her Ph.D. in living dance and performing arts at Hanyang University in South Korea. Lee has presented her work in the U.S and internationally including: Queens Museum (2015), WAXWORKS (2017), Pan-Asian Dance Festival(2017), SOAK(2018), 92Y Dig Dance Series (2019), WestFest Dance Festival(2020), Fukuoka Fringe Dance Festival (2019); Seoul International Choreography Festival (2018), MONOTANZ Seoul (2019); Seattle International Dance Festival(2024); among others. Lee has been awarded: “Gold Medal” from the Contemporary Dance Association of Korea, “Presidential Prize” at the 7th Nagano International Performance Competition, “Best dancer” and “Best Repertory” from the Performing Arts & Film Reviews, “Dance Vision-New Dancer Award” form The Modern Dance Promotion of Korea, and “First Prize” from the International Contest for the Mature Contemporary Dance Soloist in Mexico City.

Luyan Li is a NYC based artist from Beijing, graduated with a BFA dance degree from Ohio State University. She has very diverse dance lineages, yet her focus of movement is led by simple and non stereotypical beautiful elements in daily life, spirituality, nature, self reflection and empathy. She strives to explore the healing power in her, in any form, so that she can heal herself and others.

Mudang Jenn is a Korean shaman and teacher, guiding others in bridging the physical and spiritual realms. Her expertise is rooted in years of dedicated practice and a deep, innate connection with spirits and ancestors. This connection has been meticulously cultivated over the years, allowing Jenn to provide various ceremonial works, healing practices, and guidance. More than addressing individual needs, Jenn’s expertise extends to creating and leading community-focused gatherings and events. These are designed to foster collective healing and connection, embodying the spirit of communal well being.

About Cosmologyscape

This program is part of Creative Time’s public art commission Cosmologyscape by artists Alisha B Wormsley and Kite. The multimedia and participatory public art project, presented by Creative Time, is an invitation to the public to dream. Cosmologyscape seeks to harness the duality of dreams—as both individual tools of self-awareness and collective acts of imagination and world-building—and encourages the exploration of dreaming practices through an artist designed interface. How does it work? Take a nap, zone out, find your dream state. After that, visit www.cosmologyscape.com to submit your dream, and if you need help dreaming, follow a Dream Path on the website designed by a group of interdisciplinary artists. The dreams shared with Cosmologyscape will then be translated algorithmically into a pattern derived from Lakota visual language and Black quilting references, represented first in a growing digital tapestry of our collective dreams, and ultimately, into a series of sculptures unveiled in the fall, designed for further rest and dreaming.