she/her/hers

Juliann Wang’s interdisciplinary practice is the product of her earliest surroundings, in native China. Her upbringing, by a mother famous in Chinese Opera, provided sustained exposure to numerous artists and Chinese cultural history, philosophy and spiritual practice. This, combined with Western schooling in graphic design and visual communication, led to Juliann’s current exploration of the intrinsic beauty of difference, that she hopes may resonate with people regardless of their story, race, politics, gender, or worldview.

The Project

HCL is supporting Juliann as a Fellow in the final development of a multimedia immersive installation and performance. This includes workshopping and video-documenting the process with collaborators at HCL and previewing the work in outdoor settings. The iterative project is designed to be adaptable for gallery, theater, and virtual spaces, to promote collective and personal inner healing methodologies. Preview performances of the final work are anticipated for the Chicago Park District’s Night Out In the Parks season. The premiere is planned for a theater space in October 2023.

2022 Open Labs: Pause in Time

Juliann Wang presents Pause in Time at May 13 HCL Open Labs. This is the second in-progress performance in her ongoing project series of participatory events, incorporating a hybrid use of sound, movement, and visual elements focused on inducing calm and peace in individuals.

Pause in Time runs 90 minutes and takes place in four parts

间: Free engagement with the space

乐: Interpretive sound, chant, and meditation

茶: Social gathering over tea

庆: Cultural game that anyone can play, followed by open conversation with Juliann

“Through these activities and dialog we can seek to relate to each other, and to all the elements of one’s environment, with directness, immediacy, and profound appreciation, and, in the moment, find the ‘life beauty’, which is ever-happening, once again.”—Juliann Wang

Open Labs May 16, 2022 | Photo Credit: Grace Pisula, 2022, Pause in Time

Experimental Sound Studio TQC 2022: Pause in Time

Pause in time is an ongoing project series of participatory events, incorporating chant, poetry, music, and sound, to bring calm and peace in individuals. The hope is to leverage a series of performances to create intimate experiences that may promote people’s personal inner healing practices and physical wellbeing.

About the Artist

Juliann Wang is a City of Chicago Individual Artists Program Grantee for 2021/2022, and has exhibited most recently as part of Southwestern State University’s International Virtual Exhibition of “Bie-Modernism: Current Challenges and the Future” and The Art Center Highland Park as featured artist for “Interconnectivity”. Group shows include at Susquehanna Art Museum, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Cetys University in Baja California (México), and 33 Space (China). Her work has been shown in the Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Juliann holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BFA from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.