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yuniya edi kwon

She // Her // Hers

Composer and Violinist

Cincinnati, Ohio

A person of Asian descent with a shaved head stands in front of a white wall. The photo is cropped just beneath her shoulders. She wears gold hoop earrings, a black shirt, and a multicolored scarf around her neck. She looks straight at the viewer with a calm expression.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

yuniya edi kwon is a violinist, vocalist, and interdisciplinary performance maker based in New York City. kwon's 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. In addition to an evolving, interdisciplinary solo practice, she collaborates with artists of diverse disciplines, including The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Senga Nengudi, Du Yun, Tomeka Reid, Holland Andrews, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Degenerate Art Ensemble. She has performed alongside Roscoe Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Moor Mother, Nicole Mitchell, and others. kwon is a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Awardee, Arts Fellow at Princeton University, Civitella Ranieri Fellow, Johnson Fellow at Americans for the Arts, and United States Artists Fellow.

Donor -This award is generously supported by the Ford Foundation.

This artist page was last updated on: 01.04.2025

Music
The artist is wearing a long robe and layered dress made of sheer white fabrics with red accents on the torso. They are dancing in front of trees and green leaves and spinning with their arms extended and eyes looking toward the ground. Red makeup accents each temple.

Image from UMMA-YA by yuniya edi kwon. Interdisciplinary performance work. Costume by Sueann Leung.

Photo by Mengwen Cao.

A person of Asian descent with a shaved head plays the violin. She is making an O-shape with her mouth, suggesting she may be singing or reacting to something with joy. She wears a black outfit with gold buttons that reveals portions of a large tattoo that covers the length of her torso. Behind her, to the right, is a mantlepiece with flowers and a large pillar candle. A gold lantern hangs above her to the left.

yuniya edi kwon performs.

Photo by Niclas Weber.