Art & Culture, Asian mental health, Coronavirus, Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurship, New York, Notable Taiwan Guest, Podcast, Racism and Diversity, Self-Empowerment, Taiwan, Taiwan Community, Taiwan Films, Taiwan Geography, Taiwan Life, Taiwan Organizations, Taiwan Travel

Isa Ho: Talks About her Career as a Photographer and her Westbeth Exhibit in NYC Ep 282

By Felicia Lin

Isa Ho is a photographer based in Taiwan. Last year I spoke with her about her photography and the Westbeth Exhibit in NYC, which consists of a series of photos and videos of artists who live at Westbeth Artists Housing, which is located in New York City’s West Village.

Westbeth is so named because it sits at the corner of West and Bethune Streets, and was conceived in the 1960’s as a partial solution to the acute need to provide affordable housing and studios for artists and their families.

The abandoned 13-building complex that was constructed between the 1860s and the 1930s, was formerly used by Bell Telephone Labs, and was turned into affordable permanent housing and workspace for hundreds of artists, as well as space for arts and cultural organizations. Westbeth was the first subsidized housing for artists in the United States. In 2009 it was added to the National Registrar of Historic Places. And in 2011 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously designated Westbeth Artists Housing a New York City landmark.

 

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

  • Isa’s exhibit at the Westbeth gallery that features her photos and videos of artists who reside at Westbeth
  • How Isa is working on a documentary about the residents of Westbeth
  • How Isa arrived for a residency at Westbeth in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy
  • The residency project that brought Isa to Westbeth was initially about multicultural New York but as she got to know many of the people who lived at Westbeth, it became the Westbeth project
  • Isa’s connection to Taiwan
  • How Isa is fascinated by people
  • Isa has interviewed over 50 people and what was on display at the Westbeth gallery is only a third of her work
  • The personal stories of several of the artist who live at Westbeth
  • How the photos and videos were displayed at the Westbeth gallery
  • How the Westbeth project has been exhibited in Israel, Italy, Germany and Taiwan
  • How people have reacted to the Westbeth project
  • How one of the pieces of the Westbeth project won an award in Italy
  • How Isa got interested in photography
  • How Isa creates a collage of photos that serve to tell a person’s story
  • How Isa does her photography full-time
  • Isa’s advice to those interested in pursuing photography
  • Isa’s video comparing the movements of Kunqu opera dancer and K-POP dancer
  • Why Isa is planning to go to Ukraine
  • How Isa felt useless as an artist during the pandemic but realized that when facing tragedy or if feeling like there is nothing that we can do, art can connect us with humanity
  • How there aren’t many housing communities like Westbeth in the world
  • The wait list of people who want to live at Westbeth
  • How one of the Westbeth residents George Cominskie has advocated for artists

 

Related Links:

 

Isa Ho’s website: https://isaho.info/

 

Last chance to see: Isa Ho | Westbeth Project| Closing – 6.10.18: https://chelouchegallery.com/last-chance-to-see-isa-ho-westbeth-project-closing-6-10-18/

 

https://iscp-nyc.org/resident/isa-ho-2

 

Westbeth: https://westbeth.org//about/history/

 

Westbeth Turns 50!: https://www.villagepreservation.org/2020/05/17/westbeth-turns-50/

 

Keelung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keelung

 

Hualien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hualien_County

 

Pat Lasch:https://youtu.be/eVc-0_GFYBU

 

Nan Tandy:

https://youtu.be/Ozpw0YqyskI

 

Harold Miller’s Party 2013:https://youtu.be/T9vWNQjmybQ

God’s Love We Deliver: https://www.glwd.org/

 

Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture: https://www.moc.gov.tw/en/

 

HTC: https://www.htc.com/us/

 

JUT Art Museum: https://jam.jutfoundation.org.tw/en

 

Benq: https://www.benq.com/en-us/index.html

 

I Am Snow White: https://www.isaho.info/works_snowhite.html

 

“Peony”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiROJKUoZyA

 

Cité international des arts: https://www.citedesartsparis.net/en/residencies

 

George Cominskie : https://www.villagepreservation.org/oral_history/george-cominskie/

DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia Ep 157

DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia (Episode 157): https://talkingtaiwan.com/dj-kaku-trailblazes-nfts-in-asia-ep-157

Gao Yuan: Her Occidental Journey to Becoming a Photographer and Filmmaker Ep 262

Gao Yuan: Her Occidental Journey to Becoming a Photographer and Filmmaker (Episode 262):  https://talkingtaiwan.com/gao-yuan-her-occidental-journey-to-becoming-a-photographer-and-filmmaker-ep-262/

About the Host

Felicia Lin is the Host and Producer of Talking Taiwan, a podcast which seeks to introduce you to interesting stories connected to Taiwan and the diverse individuals who make up Taiwan’s global community.

Follow Talking Taiwan on your Favorite Social Media Platform!

Book Felicia Lin for an Exclusive Interview

Host of Talking Taiwan and Su Beng Biographer Felicia Lin is now available for interviews.
Her empathetic easy-going  yet deeply-informed style of conversation and mastery of the topics has elevated Talking Taiwan to the Top 5% of all podcasts in the World.
Book Felicia either as an interviewer or an interviewee.  

Tags


You may also like:


{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Get in touch

Name*
Email*
Message
0 of 350
>