Wendy Yao
Wendy Yao (born Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and curator.[1]
Yao is a graduate of Stanford University, where she had a radio show and started a radio station magazine.[2] Her sister is visual artist Amy Yao, with whom she was in the 1990s all-Asian American teenage riot grrrl trio Emily's Sassy Lime in Southern California.[1][2][3] The Yao sisters along with friend Emily Ryan formed Emily's Sassy Lime in 1993, and the band dissolved in 1997.[4] They all played multiple instruments and switched instruments during performances.[5]
Yao was proprietor of Ooga Booga art boutique and bookstore in Los Angeles, which sold artists' books, zines, records, clothes by independent designers, and other artist-crafted goods and ephemera.[1][2][3][6] Yao operated Ooga Booga in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood for 15 years starting in 2004, and a second outpost Ooga Booga #2 within the large-scale L.A. art space 356 Mission for a few years until it closed in 2019.[7][8][9] Yao curated art exhibits, film screenings, and music performances at these spaces.[3] In 2017, Yao was a recipient of the White Columns/Shoot the Lobster Award for her work creating opportunities for both artists and audiences.[10] After the storefronts closed, Yao expanded Ooga Booga into more flexible forms with pop-ups and a web presence.[3]
Wendy and Amy Yao have also collaborated on curatorial projects, including their Art Swap Meet at Andrea Zittel's High Desert Test Sites.[1][11][12]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Reese, Rachel (September 2013). "Interview with Wendy and Amy Yao" (PDF). Art Papers.
- ^ a b c Alani, Anaheed (June 19, 2012). "Why Can't I Be You: Wendy Yao". Rookie.
- ^ a b c d McNeill, Mark "Frosty" (September 14, 2021). "Curator Wendy Yao on channeling your artistic enthusiasm". The Creative Independent.
- ^ Marius, Marley (March 12, 2019). "At the Honolulu Biennial, Artist Amy Yao Examines Environments and Identity (With the Help of Some Algae)". Vogue.
- ^ Yeung, Bernice (July 18, 1996). "Tart Teen Talkers". Metro.
- ^ Cheh, Carol (November 19, 2012). "Word is a Virus: Revisiting Zines". Art21 Magazine.
- ^ Tarmy, James (March 30, 2015). "If You Go to Only One Gallery in L.A., Go Here". Bloomberg.com.
- ^ Miranda, Carolina A. (March 30, 2018). "Artist-run space 356 Mission is leaving Boyle Heights. Founders Laura Owens and Wendy Yao explain why". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Greenberger, Alex (March 30, 2018). "Los Angeles's Artist-Run Institution 356 Mission to Close". ARTnews.
- ^ "Wendy Yao Wins White Columns / Shoot the Lobster Award for Creating Opportunities for Artists". Artforum. February 17, 2017.
- ^ Taft, Catherine (May 11, 2006). "Just Desert". Artforum.
- ^ "Amy and Wendy Yao's Art Swap Meet". High Desert Test Sites. May 12, 2007.