The 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival is on the way, stay tuned for more info!
Visit us at FringeArts.com for year-round programming.

How does it feel to look at nothing

Holland Andrews + yuniya edi kwon

Dance, Interdisciplinary, Music, Opera

Connect

Virtuosic composer-performers, multi-instrumentalists, and married couple Holland Andrews and yuniya edi kwon present the world premiere of an elemental new opera.


Shaped by Holland and yuniya’s lived experiences as partners and trans artists of color, this multidisciplinary performance engages questions of queer parenthood, trans pregnancy, and socio-political disintegration through a poetic, mythological lens.


Drawing from wide-ranging traditions including Korean shamanic ritual, channeled singing, American experimentalism, hardcore punk, and Japanese Butoh, the artists ultimately invent their own language to tell the story of a Deity of Nothingness. Entirely improvised, this language of disintegration allows them to embody fluid and entangled identities: deity, witness, child, parent, memory. Featuring a stunning blend of music, dance, ritual, and projection, this transcendent experience invites audiences into a living creative process.


SUPPORT


Co-Producer
Rosanne Sarkissian


How does it feel to look at nothing is made possible by lead commissioner John C. Robinson, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, The Watermill Center’s Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship, Sweat Variant’s Artists Supporting Artists Program, and Chiwoniso Kaitano & Andy Sabl. Developmental and residency support has been provided by Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Guild Hall, Performance Space New York, PICA, National Sawdust, Teatro Municipal do Porto, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and Shadowcliff Artist Residency. It is powered by Producer Hub.

Details
Run Time: 70 mins
Ticket Price: $35
Venue: FringeArts

Dates: September 25, 2026 - September 27, 2026

September 25, 2026 7.30pm

140 N Columbus Blvd

General Admission: $35

September 26, 2026 7.30pm

140 N Columbus Blvd

General Admission: $35

September 27, 2026 2.00pm

140 N Columbus Blvd

General Admission: $35


About the Artist

Holland Andrews (they/them) is a vocalist, composer, clarinetist, and performance artist whose work focuses on the abstraction of operatic and extended-technique voice to build soundscapes encompassing both catharsis and dissonance. Frequently highlighting themes surrounding vulnerability and healing, they create a realm of live performance that is boundlessly present. They have been commissioned by REDCAT, ISSUE Project Room, and the 2024 Whitney Biennial. Notable musical collaborations include Son Lux, Nils Frahm, JJJJJerome Ellis, Christina Vantzou, William Brittelle, Peter Broderick, and Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste. Their work is presented nationally and internationally, collaborating with artists such as Bill T. Jones, Sonya Tayeh, Dorothée Munyaneza, Otobong Nkanga, Jenn Freeman, NARCISSISTER, Demian DinéYazhi, Oliver Beer, and Will Rawls. Andrews is a Guggenheim Fellow, Creative Capital Awardee, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Awardee, and United States Artists Fellow. 


yuniya edi kwon (she/her) is a violinist, vocalist, poet, and interdisciplinary performance maker. Her practice connects composition, improvisation, movement, and ceremony to explore transformation & transgression, ritual practice as a tool to queer space & lineage, and the use of mythology to connect, obscure, and reveal. Her work has been presented throughout the US and Europe, including Performa Biennial, Dia Art Foundation, NYLA, Roulette Intermedium, Under The Radar Festival, LA Phil, On The Boards, and Monheim Triennale. She has co-created with The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Senga Nengudi, Tomeka Reid, Degenerate Art Ensemble, Roscoe Mitchell, Moor Mother, Du Yun, Shahzad Ismaily, and International Contemporary Ensemble. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, Creative Capital Awardee, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Awardee, Arts Fellow at Princeton University, Bessie Winner, Civitella Ranieri Fellow,  & United States Artists Fellow. 

  • Holland AndrewsCo-Creator & Performer
  • yuniya edi kwonCo-Creator & Performer
  • Holland AndrewsProjection Design
  • yuniya edi kwonLibrettist
  • Roya AmirsoleymaniCreative Producer
  • Lester St. LouisSound Designer
  • Maggie HeathLighting Designer & Production Manager
  • KC EnglanderScenic Designer
  • Ariana SweiStage Manager
  • Marie Lloyd PaspeMovement Coach
  • Bonan LiCostume Designer

Accessibility & Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Fog/Smoke Effects

This performance contains periodic loud volumes and a few brief instances of flickering lights and strobe effects. Earplugs will be available for those who would like to use them.

Covid-19 Safety policy

This event does not require masks to be worn


×





Please Wait
Talking to the Box Office...

×