Living the Work #8 with Johnny Huy Nguyễn and Melody Takata

Living the Work #8: Featuring Johnny Nguyễn and Melody Takata

5:30-7p

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Studio Gen

Japan Center East Mall

1737 Post St.

22 Peace Plaza Suite 505 San Francisco, CA 94115

Admission Free

Come experience yet another session in the intimate salon setting of Genryu Arts’ cultural space. Multidisciplinary artist Johnny Nguyễn will be sharing a presentation on his performance practice along with excerpts of his recent solo works, Minority Without a Model and No Country for Mother. Taiko (Japanese drums) artist and Japantown culture bearer Melody Takata will perform her recent explorations of family and community history in a fabric of stories and music. Joining Takata will be saxophonist and curator Francis Wong and bassist Kumi Maxson.

Johnny Huy Nguyễn (dance / theater / multimedia) is a Vietnamese multidisciplinary dance artist based in unceded Ramaytush - Ohlone territory (SF). He weaves together movement, theater, media, spoken word, ritual, and installation to create physical works that investigate masculinity, lineage, and intergenerational trauma through a healing lens. Nguyễn is a 2023 United States of Asian America Festival Featured Artist, 2022 Isadora Duncan Dance Award recipient, and 2021 APAture Festival Featured Artist. His work has been presented by API Cultural Center, 500 Capp St, and Asian Art Museum.

Melody Takata is the founder and artistic director of GenRyu Arts as well as Festival Director of Japan Week, a summer cultural festival in San Francisco Japantown. Takata grew up in the Japanese American community of Los Angeles with a rich experience in traditional arts. She is a multi-faceted artist trained in Japanese Classical Dance, Taiko and Shamisen. Sensei Takata has been performing for over 25 years in Japan and the U.S. Her projects celebrate her traditional arts practice and extend to interdisciplinary and multi-genre collaborations. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Living the Work #8 is part of the ongoing programming at SF Japantown’s Studio Gen. Studio Gen, Genryu Arts’ program space, is an inclusive community where all people can experientially explore and meaningfully learn about Japanese diaspora arts and culture. Visit us to view a rotating art gallery, learn taiko, odori, or shamisen, or enjoy a special event.

Host or Publisher Francis Wong