MOCA × Chinatown Partnership Present Armat: Live Art × Meditation Ritual

$10 General Admission | $5 Student & Senior | Free for MOCA Members

In collaboration with the Chinatown Partnership/Chinatown BID, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) invites you to Armat, an evolving art initiative by artist Yadi Liu that merges live digital drawing with meditation and contemplative presence. For this special session, Yadi partners with meditation teacher Michel Pascal, whose gentle guidance and occasional live vocal elements create a serene, multi-sensory environment.

Participants are invited to pause, breathe, and step into the program from within, becoming part of a shared ritual of presence, quiet observation, and embodied awareness.

Notes:

• This session will be gently documented through photos and videos.
• Images may include wide shots of the group and close-ups of the artistic process.
• Select images may be used by the artist for non-commercial artistic purposes.
• If you prefer not to be photographed, please let our team know at check-in and we will gladly accommodate.

About Yadi Liu

Yadi Liu is a New York–based visual artist and the founder of Armat, an artist-led initiative exploring how contemporary ritual, perception, and Eastern philosophy can shape shared cultural experiences. A Society of Illustrators Gold Medalist, Liu works with fluid linework and abstraction to examine ideas of presence, transformation, and the unseen dimensions of human experience.

Her live drawing practice integrates projected photography with real-time mark-making, creating images that gradually obscure and reveal participants’ forms. Through this process, Liu investigates the shifting boundary between the visible and the interior, inviting audiences to witness “inner states” as evolving, communal artworks.

Liu’s work has been presented in public settings in New York’s Chinatown, in experimental workshops with graduate students at FIT (SUNY), and in cross-disciplinary collaborations that bridge contemporary art with wellness and community engagement. Through Armat, she continues to expand visual ritual as a participatory art form rooted in civic, cultural, and contemplative spaces.

About Michel Pascal

Michel Pascal is an internationally respected vocalist, author, and meditation teacher whose work combines contemplative practice with the immersive power of sound. For nearly a decade, he has performed annual concerts at Carnegie Hall, where his distinctive style, often described as “The Medicine Voice”, creates resonant environments for collective calm. His programs have been presented at the Rubin Museum of Art, the NYC Mayor’s Office and other cultural and civic institutions.

Pascal trained for fifteen years in Himalayan contemplative traditions, developing voice-based techniques centered on grounding, visualization, and emotional steadiness. He is the author of more than twenty books on stress reduction and mindfulness.

His trauma-informed programs for veterans, first responders, and justice-involved communities, including collaborations with the Amity Foundation, have been recognized for their measurable impact on stress and well-being. Across performance, wellness, and public settings, Pascal’s voice functions as a stabilizing instrument for collective presence.

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