Zadie Xa

Zadie Xa
Name	Zadie Xa
Birth date	1983
Birth place	Vancouver, British Columbia
Nationality	Canadian
Known for	Performance art, installation, video, painting
Training	Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Slade School of Fine Art

Zadie Xa Zadie Xa is a Canadian-born visual and performance artist known for multimedia installations and performative works that weave together sound, sculpture, painting, and live action. Her practice intersects contemporary art institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries, Tate Modern, and Whitney Museum of American Art with community-based venues including the Vancouver Art Gallery and the British Council. Xa's projects engage histories and geographies that touch on diasporic narratives, theatrical traditions, and ecological concerns across collaborations with choreographers, composers, and curators.

Early life and education

Born in Vancouver to a family of Korean Canadians, Xa trained at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design before undertaking postgraduate study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. During her formative years she encountered pedagogies and networks connected to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Royal College of Art, and residencies at institutions such as the Vermont Studio Center and the MacDowell Colony. Her education connected her to exhibition circuits spanning the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Council, and the curatorial ecosystems of South Korea and Japan.

Artistic career

Xa's career has included solo projects at contemporary art venues like Ikon Gallery, Kunstverein Munich, and group exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Stedelijk Museum. She has participated in international biennials and triennials including the Gwangju Biennale, the Liverpool Biennial, and the Seoul Mediacity Biennale, situating her practice within networks shared by artists represented by galleries such as Frith Street Gallery, Galerie Gisela Capitain, and institutions like the Henry Moore Institute. Curators and critics from the Tate Britain, MASS MoCA, and Centre Pompidou have contextualized her work alongside peers active in interdisciplinary performance scenes derived from collaborations with companies like Ono Ono Dance Company and ensembles affiliated with the BBC Proms.

Major works and exhibitions

Significant projects include installation-performances that premiered at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery and site-responsive works shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Barbican Centre. Her exhibition history lists presentations at the Whitechapel Gallery, the Hayward Gallery, and the Kunsthalle Zurich, and touring performances that engaged venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Xa has created major commissions for festivals like Green Man Festival and curated events for institutional partners including the Royal Opera House and the National Film Board of Canada, integrating elements familiar to audiences of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Venice Biennale.

Style, themes, and influences

Xa's practice synthesizes references to Korean shamanism, Japanese Noh theatre, and theatrical traditions associated with the Kabuki and Commedia dell'arte while drawing on avant-garde legacies linked to Fluxus, Dada, and artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono, and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Her installations often deploy textile practices and sculptural props resonant with techniques from the Bauhaus and the craft revivals advocated by figures associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. Thematically, her projects interrogate diasporic memory, postcolonial geographies connected to British Empire histories, and ecological crises spotlighted by institutions like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and activist networks such as Extinction Rebellion. Critics from publications linked to the New York Times, Artforum, and the Guardian have positioned her work within contemporary debates about identity, ritual, and modes of spectatorship.

Collaborations and interdisciplinary projects

Xa has collaborated with choreographers and composers affiliated with the Royal Ballet, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and musicians connected to labels such as Ninja Tune and 4AD. Her interdisciplinary teams have included set designers from the Royal Shakespeare Company, costume artisans inspired by houses like Comme des Garçons, and lighting designers with credits at the Metropolitan Opera. She has worked alongside curators and researchers from the Southbank Centre, the Wellcome Collection, and academic partners at Goldsmiths, University of London and the University of British Columbia to produce performances that hybridize visual art, sound art, and participatory dramaturgy.

Awards and recognition

Xa's practice has been recognized with grants and awards from agencies such as the Canada Council for the Arts, the Arts Council England, and prizes given by festivals like the International Film Festival Rotterdam and cultural trusts including the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. She has been shortlisted for institutional fellowships associated with the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and received residency placements at centers such as the Cité Internationale des Arts and the Sundance Institute. Her work appears in collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and private collections managed by advisory bodies linked to the Saatchi Gallery.

Category:Living people Category:Canadian artists Category:Performance artists