Join curator, writer and knitter Sophia Cai and producer Mariam Arcilla (from 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art) for a live-streamed Instagram conversation about the mobilising power of art, craft and fandom culture as antidotes to racism and socio-cultural trauma.
Hear Cai discuss how collective solidarity and self-care shape her creative practice, as well as the story behind her hand-knitted work, Safety Yellow Woman, currently on view in the group exhibition Acute Actions: Responses to I Am Not a Virus. Cai and Arcilla will also talk about their personal experiences as Asian women living in Australia and the cross-cultural digests that have become their vitamins during surreal times.
Biography
Sophia Cai is a curator and arts writer based in Narrm/Melbourne, Australia. She currently teaches as a sessional lecturer in the department of Critical and Theoretical Studies, Victorian College of Arts at the University of Melbourne, while also maintaining an independent curating and writing practice. Sophia is particularly interested in Asian art history, the intersection between contemporary art and craft, as well as feminist methodologies and community-based practices.
Sophia Cai, Safety Yellow Woman, 2020-2021, hand-knitted wool garment – adult size, yarn support provided by Fancy Tiger Crafts. Courtesy the artist.
Acute Actions: Responses to I Am Not a Virus (installation view), 2021,4A @ 113-115 William Street, Sydney. Right: Andrea Srisurapon, Covid Clean, 2021, photographic print. Left: Sophia Cai, Safety Yellow Woman, 2020-2021, hand-knitted wool garment – adult size, yarn support provided by Fancy Tiger Crafts. Courtesy the artists.
Acute Actions: Responses to I Am Not a Virus (installation view), 2021,4A @ 113-115 William Street, Sydney. Sophia Cai, Safety Yellow Woman, 2020-2021, hand-knitted wool garment – adult size, yarn support provided by Fancy Tiger Crafts. Courtesy the artist.
Sophia Cai, headshot, courtesy the artist.