Hsiao-Chu (Julia)
Hsia
夏
小筑
Bio
Hsiao-Chu Hsia is a multidisciplinary artist from Taiwan, now based in New York, USA, focusing on a mix of performance art and installation art. She has a background in clinical psychology and received an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, USA. “Relationship” is the keyword of Hsia’s practice, addressing solidarity yet conflicts between individuals, cultures, generations, humans and environments. She builds immersive experiences to address social topics from psychological perspectives, exploring the applications of psychological theories in performative art. Her research interest echoes words by Vernon Lee, a British writer who published art essays, expressing possession of collecting facts that bridge the gap between the subjective study of aesthetics and psychology (Vernon Lee, The Psychology of an Art Writer, David Zwirner Books, 2018.)
The combination of the performance and the installation helps interpret her ideas comprehensively. The installation piece serves as the stage of the performance in the space, visualizing the scene, while the participatory performance brings out the narrative vividly, conducting audience engagement through body movements. Interactive elements are vital in Hsia’s work, inviting people to not only watch as spectators but also switch roles to participants to approach the context from different aspects. She aims to gather people closer to rethink social issues collectively, motivating each other to discuss, and then take action to make changes.
In 2024, Hsia had her solo exhibition “The Third Party” at Queens College in New York City, as she received the 2023 Queens Arts Fund from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. She was the resident artist at Casa Lethbridge, Canada, and SÍM Residency, Iceland, in 2023. Most recently, Hsia is one of the participating artists in the residency program on Governors Island with the Taiwanese American Arts Council and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in 2025.
CV
EDUCATION
2020 MFA in Community Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD, USA
2017 BS in Clinical Psychology, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
RESIDENCY/ PROGRAM
2025 Satellite Program, New Dance Alliance, New York, NY, USA
2023 Artist in Residence: Dance, Casa, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Organizations-in-Residence on Governors Island, Taiwanese American Arts Council, Queens, NY, USA
SFSIA 2023 New York City: Cognitive Justice and the Crisis of Epistemology, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art
Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, Visual and Multidisciplinary Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY, USA
Artist Residency, SÍM Residency, Reykjavik, Iceland
2020 Artist in Residence, ARTS By The People, Morristown, NJ, USA
EXHIBITION/ PERFORMANCE
2025 ECO Art on Island Thematic Exhibit I (curated by Taiwanese American Arts Council,) Governors Island, New York, NY, USA
ART IS, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Performance in Flux: Digital Flux, IMMERSE 2025, IMMERSE, Orlando, FL, USA
2024 The World’s Borough Exhibition, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY, USA
Underground Art and Design Art Fest: Jukebox of Dissonance, G-Gallery, New York, NY, USA
SOLO Show The Third Party, Queens College Art Center, Queens College, Flushing, NY, USA
Grace Exhibition Space Spring Series 2024, Grace Exhibition Space, New York, NY, USA
2023 From Island to Island (curated by Taiwanese American Arts Council), Governors Island, New York, NY, USA
Weaving Islands, Governors Island, New York, NY, USA
Three Patterns (funded by Maryland State Arts Council and TRP Foundation), The Bank, Baltimore, MD, USA
NYC Art Bridge: Wellness Through Art (curated by Taiwanese American Arts Council), QCC Art Gallery, The City University of New York, Queens, NY, USA
MAKING VISIBLE, Hewitt Gallery of Art, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY, USA
In/ Between 2023: Lush Friction, New York Live Arts, New York, NY, USA
2022 Multi-us (commissioned performance for artist Shih-Pao Lin’s solo exhibition The Golden Age), Flushing Town Hall, Queens, NY, USA
Walking in the Cosmos: Artists Interpreting Urban Reverence, Voelker Orth Museum, Queens, NY, USA
Art in Odd Place, 14th St., New York, NY, USA
From Urban Reverence to Urban Divergence (curated by Taiwanese American Arts Council), IW Gallery, Pfizer Building, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Hellbond: Dancing with the Spirits, Asia North Festival 2022 (sponsored by Grit Fund 2022,) Hopper House Gallery, Baltimore, MD, USA
Where Are You Today?, Gene Frankel Theatre, New York, NY, USA
Where Are You Today?, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2021 Apocalypse: A Performance Art Marathon, Abrons Art Center, New York, NY, USA
New Normal: Working Through Quarantine (Juror: Grace Graupe-Phillard,) Payne Gallery, Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
Centrifugal Revolving, FiveMyles, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Centrifugal Revolving, El Museo, Buffalo, NY, USA
Centrifugal Revolving, CultureLab LIC, Queens, NY, USA
Asia North 2021 Exhibition, Asian Arts & Culture Center, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA
Collective Health, Collar Works, Troy, NY, USA
2020 Bilateral Interflow, Online Premiere Event, ARTS By The People, Morristown, NJ, USA
CreArt Music Festival 2020/ 21 (invited by CreArtBox) Online Screening, CreArtBox, Queens, NY, USA
Through the Window Juried Show, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI, USA
16 Online Performance Art Festival, Online Video Screening
2020 JUSTICE Online Juried Competition and Exhibition, The Art Guild, Manhasset, NY, USA
2019 MFACA Cohort Show, Hurwitz Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
INCLUDE ME! 2019 AICAD Symposium (organized by Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design,) Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, USA
-HOMETOWN- Beyond Pacific Ocean Solo Exhibition, The Chinatown Collective, Baltimore, MD, USA
Inter//Action: Artists Respond to the Natural World, Decker Library, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
So Fa r From Home, The Crown, Baltimore, MD, USA
2017 Fu-Jen Catholic University Clinical Psychology (FJCU CPSY) Graduate Exhibition, 44 South Village, Taipei, Taiwan
GRANT/ AWARD
2023 Queens New Work Fund, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY, USA
2022 Grit Fund 2022, The Peale Center, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
2021 Juror Selected Artist by Grace Graupe-Pillard, Payne Gallery, Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
Philadelphia Independent Media Fund with Chen-Yi Wu, Shou-An Chang (Separated, Long Ver.,) Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Short Documentary Film Grant with Chen-Yi Wu, Shou-An Chang (Separated, Short Ver.,) Together We Film, Taipei, Taiwan
2020 Hornorable Mention, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI, USA
2019 Libby Bowerman Fellowship, Keswick Multi-care Center & Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
Community Engagement Grant (Project HOMETOWN -Beyond Pacific Ocean-,) Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
Grit Fund 2019 with The Chinatown Collective, The Peale Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
2018 MICA Community Arts Scholarship, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
2016 College Student Research Scholarship, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
ARTISTIC ACTIVITY
2025 Panelist of 2025 Queens Arts Fund. New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY, USA
Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day with the Taiwanese American Arts Council. NYC DOT Department of Transportation, New York, NY, USA
2023-2024 Associate Board of Grace Exhibition Space. Grace Exhibition Space, New York, NY, USA
2024 Guest Speaker of 2024 Taiwanese American Conference-East Coast (TACEC.) West Chester University, West Chester, PA, USA
2023 Artist Talk & Workshop. Casa, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Dance Workshop. Drama Department, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
CHATogether Artist Talk by Eunice Yuen, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Child Study Center. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) 2023 Conference. Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York, NY, USA