SUM AiR—Rafael Zen + Khalil Alomar

Aug 12 – 30, 2024

We’re pleased to welcome our SUM gallery artists-in-residence (SUM-AiR), Rafael Zen and Khalil Alomar, to SUM gallery, Aug 12 – Aug 30, 2024. Throughout the month of August Rafael and Khalil will be developing their project, FOREST / FLUX / FREQUENCY : QUEERING ECO-UTOPIAS: a new media artwork inspired by eco-futurism, queer futurities, and speculative environmental composition and expressed through field-recording, multispecies composition, and multimedia installation.

ABOUT

RAFAEL ZEN is a queer Latinx media artist + performer, currently living in the land of the Coast Salish peoples – Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam. Here, he researches intersections between new media, performance, and cultural identity, and organizes Durations, an independent sound art + video art festival that offers an open stage for emerging artists. Rafael works at Emily Carr University as a Research Assistant for the New Media + Sound Art program. Academically, he holds a Master’s degree in Visual Arts – Contemporary Artistic Processes, researching anti-colonial + anti-capitalist poetic practices, and political counterattacks through artistic practices. Currently he is pursuing a degree in New Media + Sound Art at Emily Carr University.

KHALIL ALOMAR is a queer Lebanese-Canadian artist whose creative practice primarily revolves around collage, multimedia installation, and performance. He works through anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and anti establishment theory and practice. Currently, Kahlil is pursuing a degree in New Media +Sound Art at Emily Carr University. He lives in the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Selíl witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. His recent practice is centered on sound, video/paper collage, and photography as mediums that provide a platform for critiquing systemic aggressions and abuse.

Rafael Zen + Khalil Alomar: OPEN REHEARSAL
August 27, 6:30-7:30 pm

Join SUM-AiR Artists-in-Residence Rafael Zen and Khalil Alomar on Tuesday, August 27, from 6:30pm – 7:30pm for an Open Rehearsal of their new media project-in-progress, FOREST / FLUX / FREQUENCY : QUEERING ECO-UTOPIAS. Rafael and Khalil will present a half hour demonstration of live electronics and visuals, followed by an opportunity for audience interaction where guests will be invited to interact with audio equipment and contribute their own sounds to the forest.