Vee Hua 華婷婷, photo by Auriza Ugalino We’re partnering with TeenTix on providing outlets for teen expression in media. Members of the TeenTix Newsroom write about art and are paid to do it. They produced these articles.
by Kylie Lippe
Every year on the 21st of December, the sun reaches its lowest maximum height, leaving us in darkness for longer than any other day of the year. This day is called the winter solstice and has been an inspiration for so many artists; including local artist and curator Vee Hua 華婷婷. Vee Hua has created an event called Longest Night that celebrates the winter solstice. The solstice party offers interdisciplinary rituals and experiences to brighten the longest night of the year. I interviewed Vee to get some insight on why Longest Night is such a special event!
Some background information on Vee: they entered the curation scene in 2011 and have been working on curating passion projects on and off since then. Including Longest Night which has been a three-year tradition for Vee Hua. Vee Hua is currently getting their short film proof-of-concept Reckless Spirits turned into a feature film. The film is a metaphysical, multilingual, best-friend comedy. When I asked Vee Hua about their inspiration for this project, they told me that the film serves as a meaningful and comedic outlet to combat our world of strife and darkness.
Like Reckless Spirits, Longest Night brings light to dark times. During the holiday season, people who don’t celebrate winter holidays can feel lonely or left out. This year, instead of this season’s pressures and worries, attend Longest Night and look forward to a dreamy time in a non-denominational space.
To create Longest Night, Vee partnered with intermedia artist, Rana San. So, what does their process look like? The first step is to narrow down the event’s theme. Once they have a clear vision for the project, they begin looking for artists. They are often already aware of the artists when they invite them to collaborate. Vee Hua and Rana San select diverse types of artists, creating a well-rounded experience for the body and the mind. With new artists every year, the event is engaging every time.
New artists to look forward to this year are: ilaria ghattas who is hosting a self-guided tea ritual that includes teas handpicked for the darkest night; Alicia Mullikin, an abstract dance movement artist and Tory Trujillo, a sound bath practitioner. The 21st will be filled with a lot of other new and incredible artists, so be sure to save the date!
As I interviewed Vee Hua, I couldn’t help but smile as they told me about how passionate they are about making sure that everyone feels welcome and connected to the community. For there to be an opportunity for connection, growth, and relaxation all mixed into one event on the winter solstice, to me, feels truly magical.
