Laura Cocks and Sugar Vendil, “Antonym: Spring” at High Concept Labs in Chicago (2019). Photo: still from video filmed by Jake Laukhuf.
Open Lab: Sugar Vendil | Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia
Open Labs offer a flexible platform for artists to share, test ideas, and develop perspective on their work through community exchange.
Limited capacity. Advanced registration is appreciated.
Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia is a memoir of a Filipinx American childhood that interweaves music and movement, taking an imaginative approach to interdisciplinary performance and music composition. Excavating insignificant yet indelible experiences, Antonym envisions the future as an escape from pain and ponders how we can possess painful memories without being beholden to them. Using field recordings of New York City throughout the year, the four seasons serve as a cyclical frame and context for memory.
Vendil will perform the work with her collaborators: flutist Laura Cocks, violinist Cindy Lan, and dancer Annie Wang, and 2022/2023 HCL Fellow Artist in Residence Irene Hsiao.
For more information about the project, visit sugarvendil.com/antonym.
About the Artist
SUGAR VENDIL is a composer, pianist and interdisciplinary artist based in Lenapehoking, known as Brooklyn, NY. A late bloomer, she began making work after over a decade of primarily performing as a pianist and started dancing in 2020. Her compositions span acoustic and electronic music, and her interdisciplinary practice integrates sound and movement. Vendil’s work germinates from a kinesthetic and improvisatory approach. In 2024, Vendil’s Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia, a memoir of a Filipinx American childhood, will be presented by High Concept Labs and Living Arts.
Vendil enjoys collaboration. In 2021, she scored Jih-E Peng’s short film “May We Know Our Own Strength” based on Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s installation of the same name, and Vendil dances in choreographer Emily Johnson/Catalyst’s “Being Future Being.”
Her album, “May We Know Our Own Strength” is out on Gold Bolus Recordings.
For more information about the artist, visit sugarvendil.com.
Access Services
To learn more about the accessibility of our studio, please review our Access Information. For any other questions or requests regarding accessibility, please contact HCL’s Accessibility Coordinator, Angee Lennard, at angee@highconceptlabs.org or 312-374-1117.
Presented by High Concept Labs and the Monira Foundation in Joint Residency at Mana Contemporary.
Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by High Concept Labs, Living Arts Tulsa, and National Sawdust. More information: www.npnweb.org.