"Stardust in a Dandelion" Creates Space for Communal Vulnerability
On Friday, April 19, 65 guests attended Stardust in a Dandelion, a multimedia performance at Pao Arts Center co-curated by musician Maddie Lam (she/her) and Performance Program Manager Ashley Yung (she/her).
The curatorial pair envisioned creating a space to encourage individuals to celebrate their vulnerability and grief through storytelling, art, and community. The evening was anchored by a musical performance by Maddie Lam, and was complimented by poetry by Anny Thach (she/they) and visual artwork by Ashley Jin (she/her). Together, the three artists whose work all evoke softness through storytelling, created an immersive performance experience for the audience.
(Left to Right) Ashley Yung, Ashley Jin. Anny Thach, and Maddie Lam. (Photo by Ben Feldman)
In a special pop-up exhibition on view throughout the entire performance was Ashley Jin’s, How to Grieve, a monotype, accordion-style book that reflected on her own personal grief after losing a close friend.
“The book can be read traditionally page by page, but the accordion-style binding also allows for the pages to be stretched out and viewed all at once – similarly to how grief can be compartmentalized and carried alongside someone privately, but also expansive, nebulous, and needing to be shared.”
Anny Thach opened the event with a reading of original poetry and “spoems,” or song-poems, where Anny encouraged audience members to sing with her. This warmed up the crowd, engaging them in a collective call and response to her writings about gratitude to celebrate the togetherness of grief.
Maddie was accompanied on stage by her band featuring Banti Gheneti (Bass), Ken Ross (Guitar), Jake Rudolph (Keyboard), and Jeff Wang (Drums and Violin). Her set featured autobiographical songs about old loves, dreaming, and grieving family. Through her ethereal and melodic music, audiences entered a dream world through the inner landscape of the human heart. She ended the performance with her song, friendship weather, inviting audiences to snap and harmonize with her, just as friends would.
“It made me feel so held by the community...to be able to have a space for grief. All of these big emotions [were] put into this beautiful artform by the creators you guys chose... If I can find a way to include celebration with all of these different emotions, they might be more processable.”
The evening ended with a post-show talkback featuring Maddie, Anny, Ashley Jin, moderated by Ashley Yung. Audience members and artists conversed about the artists’ creative practices and explored the relationship between vulnerability and artmaking.
“Spending time with young people brings me hope. After someone passes away, the world doesn’t stop, there’s people that come after us, there’s people that still need to be cared for.”
Photos by Ben Feldman