On the left, Chamberlain Zhang and on the right Alex Zhang Hungtai playing at our first COSMISM event on 10th October at China Institute Venue.

COSMISM is a monthly performance event series of live music organized by CINGS. Curated by Chamberlain Zhang, a CINGS member, this event creates a transformative sonic experience featuring emerging artists and performers living and visiting New York rooted in Asian heritage. COSMISM aims to be an ongoing social experiment, developing a communal intention of listening and transforming, giving shape to our community in which everyone contributes in their own way.

The performance is introduced by curators or intellectuals who specializes in theories or practices of performance and contemporary art, followed by an interview with the artist. Usually, after the events, a reception of light foods and drinks follows to foster a sense of community.

The next event will take place on 25th November 7-9pm always at China Institute in America in New York. This time, the collaboration will be with Shayna and Nava Dunkelman, musicians and percussionists currently based in Brooklyn, NY.

Let’s get to know the artists… After spending years apart working on their own unique voices, they came together in 2018 to form NOMON.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan to an Indonesian mother and an American father, the sisters became multi-instrumentalists performing alongside their mother, a musician and composer active in Asia and the Middle East.

They are strongly drawn to the dance-like movements and flow of playing percussion. It is as visual as it is aural. The trajectory of the hands and sticks, the shift of body weight, the eyes aiming to strike - The physicality of the performance has a choreographic quality as it is. The body follows a sequence of movements when immersed in playing the array of percussive instruments surrounding it.

The music lives in the intersection of electronic soundscapes and intricately composed percussion parts. They combine drum machines, vocal samples, synth melodies and modular synthesizers triggered by analog sensors with carefully chosen percussion sounds to create a cohesive interweaving of the electronic and acoustic elements. The seamless blend of the two worlds is essential to their music.

When composing, they are inspired by industrial music, avant-garde percussion improvisation, rhythms and sounds from their cultural background (Japan and Indonesia) and contemporary electronic music that incorporates voices instrumentally.

In addition to solo performances, Shayna toured with Pulitzer Award-Winning and Grammy-nominated composer Du Yun, Balún, Ali Sethi, Grammy Award-winning ensemble Attacca Quartet among others. Nava is a member of electro-percussion experimental noise duo IMA, and has performed or collaborated with Fred Frith, John Zorn, William Winant, Ikue Mori, Brandon Seabrook, Angélica Negrón, Pauchi Sasaki, and gabby fluke-mogul and many others.

You don’t want to miss this out!

Future events:

• In the process of confirming a panel talk event with a visiting professor of architecture on 11/29 or 12/1
• In January 2025, we will have a collaboration with Committee of 100 organized by our business committee

Stay tuned for more!