nami rose

multimedia productions (as artist)

"they never told us these things" 「灯台下暗し」 (an immersive installation, 2023-)

"they never told us these things" (soundpiece installed in exhibit, 2023)

what does america stand for? (zine, 2023)

they never told us these things: screendance (short film, 2023)

Speakeasy Podcast (coming 2024) | Los Angeles, CA

is an experimental podcast produced by Nami in collaboration with producer/filmmaker Janice Duncan. Episodes feature conversations and interviews with the provacateur and with attendees of the Black Bar Social, delving into the provocative questions on the future of culture posed during the evenings. Themes include: the future of labor and technology in relation to historically marginalized communities, Afrofuturist visions for the future of society, the relationship between ancestors and their progeny, AI and social logics of hospitality, and the role of ancestral intelligence and diasporic worldmaking in emerging technologies. The podcast extends the impact of the program beyond the physical space of the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion and fosters broader dialogue about the future of cultural and technological innovation. Nami leads the production of the podcast, designing and executing interviews, authoring the script, composing the soundtrack (and other ambient sound design capturing the live essence of the event), and spearheading the audio editing of the 60-minute episodes.

Flood of Memory (2024) | Manzanar, CA

is a documentary by Maya Castronovo shedding light on children’s experiences of incarceration during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Nami composed and recorded the soundtrack for the documentary. Listen to “uguisu song” (nightingale song) and “kazoku shashin” (family photo) here.

The film will be screening in Spring 2024 at Yale University, Wisconsin Film Festival, and NFFTY in Seattle. It has also been accepted to Director's Library, where it will be streamable online after its festival run.

they never told us these things (2023-) | New York, Osaka, Seoul
is an immersive, multimedia sound installation that was first held in March to April 2023 as Nami’s Artist-in-Residency showcase at the Movement Lab in NYC. Alternative iterations of the project were held in Osaka, Japan (see below) in July 2023 and Seoul, Korea in December 2023 to January 2024.

灯台下暗し (July 2023) | Osaka, Japan

is a multimodal sound installation that was held in Osaka, Japan in July 2023 as a reiteration of they never told us these things. This iteration centered Japanese voices and experiences of nuclearization.

등잔 밑이 어둡다 (December 2023-January 2024) | Seoul, South Korea

was screened at CICA Museum in Seoul, South Korea in Contemporary Landscapes, an international exhibition running from December 13, 2023 to January 17, 2024.

they never told us these things: screendance (2023) | New York, NY

is a short film filmed as a companion to the aforementioned installation of the same name. A collaboration between Nami (music, sound art, projections), Christine Lin (director, dancer), and Tobi Lee (main dancer).

azine (2022-) | New York, NY

is an Asian/American Art Collective centering queer and women-identifying artists in New York. As co-founder and head of curriculum, Nami programs and executes biweekly arts workshops that facilitate conversations about identity and community care. The collective also organized teach-ins in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Ethnicity & Race (CSER) at Columbia University, to advocate for the departmentalization of the center and hiring of more tenured-track professors of color, and the Consortium for Critical Interdisciplinary Studies (CCIS) at Barnard College, for greater investment in Asian American Studies. The co-founders of azine published a cumulative zine resulting from these workshops in May, 2023.

wild wild east (2022-2023) | New York, NY

is a hybrid talk/music radio show hosted by Nami and her friend, Christine. They co-authored weekly episodes on the transnational circulations of music emerging from East Asia.

what does america stand for? (2022) | New York, NY & Hiroshima, Japan

is a zine Nami created during her fellowship at the Athena Center for Leadership. Over the four months of the fellowship, she researched the intimacies of irradiated experience between disparate communities from Hiroshima to the Northwest Territories. She presented her research at the Athena Showcase in December 2022. The zine can be found in the Columbia University Library Barnard Zine Collection.

Black Bar Social (coming May 2024) | Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. Los Angeles, CA

is a monthly immersive experience and speakeasy-style social gathering designed to spark public imagination and start conversations about the future of Los Angeles. The price of admission is simply to receive a provocation from the provocateur of the evening. An artist, culture maker, or community partner will design a creative immersive experience for attendees that should give them a peek at the cutting-edge innovations of our time in science, technology, emergent culture, social movements, and the possibility of greater well-being. It is a place to socialize big ideas and, in some cases, make decisions and build relationships that bring those ideas to life in Los Angeles.

Resident artists and the focus of their work:

Alex Rivera: the future of immigration, work and AI technology in relation to Latines communities

TecLeimert with Ben Caldwell: the future of society through a perspective of Black culture and the practices in the book KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell

Kahlil Joseph: Black culture, identity, and history in America and of the diaspora

Sultan Sheriff: the relationship between ancestors and their progeny

Lauren Lee McCarthy: can AI do a better job than a human at helping us to be human?

Mashinka Firunt: can AI divine our future?

Nami developed the program in collaboration with transmedia producer Kamal Sinclair, Sr. Director of Digital Innovation at the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles, as Digital Innovation Fellow at the institution.

Indiecade Night Games (November 2023) | Indiecade & The Music Center. Los Angeles, CA

Nami collaborated on curating and orchestrating IndieCade Night Games, an evening dedicated to celebrating the vibrant world of independent video games. This unique event with IndieCade Festival showcased a carefully selected lineup of indie games, each pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation. Attendees were immersed in an atmospheric setting where they could directly engage with developers, explore interactive installations, and experience the diverse spectrum of indie gaming at its finest. IndieCade Night Games epitomizes the spirit of independent game development, fostering a community-driven atmosphere that celebrated creativity, diversity, and the boundless possibilities of interactive entertainment.