Performative Lecture
Wed., March 11, 5:00pm (Doors at 4:30pm for general admission seating; no late seating.)
Thurs., March 12, 7:00pm (Doors at 6:30pm for general admission seating; no late seating), followed by a panel discussion at 8:30pm with Professors Preeti Chopra (Visual Studies, South Asian Art & Architecture), Derek Johnson (Media & Cultural Studies, Film), & Nam Kim (Anthropology), moderated by Helen Lee (Glass Lab, Art Department)
Play Circle Theater
Memorial Union, UW-Madison
800 Langdon St. Madison, WI 53706
Tickets required for this free and public event.
Tickets available Feb. 11
Mask-wearing requested by artists. Masks will be available to all guests.
What does it mean when so many white filmmakers envision futures inflected by Asian culture, but devoid of actual Asian people? This is the animating question of “Asian futures, without Asians,” a multimedia performative lecture by artist Astria Suparak.
Surveying 60 years of mainstream science-fiction cinema, this incisive and poetic work oscillates between humor and gravity. Suparak begins by breaking down the unstable category of “Asian” through a series of maps, regulations, and geopolitical trends — inclusive of East, Southeast, South, West, and Central Asia, as well as North Africa and the Pacific Islands. She draws connections between discriminatory rhetoric and historical legislation with present day anti-Asian and anti-Arab racism, detailing how they intersect with gender, class, and sexuality. In doing so, she reveals deeply embedded prejudices that have become normalized in contemporary visual culture.
This live cinema work, presented as a taxonomy of tropes, is illustrated with over 300 images and clips from futuristic movies and television shows. Accompanied by a live musical soundtrack by Tammy Lakkis, Suparak delivers anecdotes, trivia, and documents from the histories of art, architecture, design, fashion, film, food, religion, and weaponry. The implications of appropriating, decontextualizing, and misrepresenting Asian cultures while excluding Asian contributors are laid bare.
Glass + Neon Fabrication Demo
Fri., March 13, 2026, 2:00-5:00pm
UW Glass Lab
Art Lofts, UW-Madison
111 N. Frances St., Madison, WI 53703
No tickets required for this free and public event.
Mask-wearing requested by artists. Masks will be available to all guests.
Join us for live glass and neon demonstrations in the UW Glass Lab, where we will explore how the materials of glass and neon contribute to the visual language of futurity. Daniella Thach (MFA candidate, 2027) will work with Astria Suparak in the Neon Lab to fabricate an animated neon snake. UW Glass Lab staff and students will work with Tammy Lakkis in the Glass Lab to explore the intersection of glass instruments and experimental electronic music.
About the Artists
Astria Suparak’s multidisciplinary practice addresses how institutionalized racism, classism, and colonialism are embedded in popular culture, such as science-fiction movies, rock music, memes, and sports. Using creative and scholarly modes, Suparak’s projects chronicle subcultures and omitted perspectives.
In recent years, Suparak’s installations, videos, and performances have been presented at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and ArtScience Museum, Singapore. She has curated exhibitions, screenings, and performances for the Liverpool Biennial; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City; MoMA PS1 and The Kitchen, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; and Expo Chicago, as well as for unconventional spaces such as roller-skating rinks, sports bars, and rock clubs. A recipient of the 2022 San Francisco Bay Area Artadia Award, Suparak lives and works in Oakland, California.
Tammy Lakkis is a songwriter, singer, producer, poet, and DJ based in Hamtramck with a focus on genre-defying and transnational electronic music. Lakkis—who grew up in Windsor and Dearborn Heights—made a name for herself performing playful, all-hardware live sets, singing bilingually in English and Arabic. Her debut EP, “Notice” (2021), gained international traction and accolades. She is a resident DJ at Motor City Wine and Temple Bar. Lakkis is working on a full length album.
Sponsors
Images: Details from Asian futures, without Asians, by Astria Suparak.