Join our fall Membership drive and celebrate with us on Thurs. Nov 19 for a Membership Launch Party, where we will host artist Lulu Meng’s ongoing project, Pinch of Us, a series of transcultural participatory workshops that transform the domestic ritual of dumpling-making into a communal art experience. Rooted in the Lunar New Year traditions of the artist’s Taiwanese family, the project treats dumplings not just as symbols of prosperity, but as vessels for the shared labor and quiet intimacy found in the kitchen.
The event will pair two alumni from Smack Mellon’s programs, artists Golnar Adili (Studio Program 2013; Exhibition 2026) and Moko Fukuyama (Exhibitions 2022, 2026) who will introduce dumplings from their respective cultures through unique folding techniques and distinct flavors. Embracing the “imperfect” and playful through cultural hybridity, participants are invited to combine techniques and ingredients from both recipes.
This iteration serves as the official launch event for Smack Mellon’s Fall Membership Drive, and as such, all members, new and old, are invited to attend. Working together to shape the dumplings, participants become co-creators. This process mirrors Smack Mellon’s own support ecosystem, where artists, staff, board members, supporters, and the public all play an essential role in shaping the organization.
Memberships start at $9/month ($100/year).
BIOs
Lulu Meng works across media to explore the interplay between the individual and the collective in contemporary society. Employing everyday materials, digital components, clothing, drawings, and photographs, they create durational installations that invite interaction and reflection. Their concept-based practice delves into the quotidian to better understand the complexities of interpersonal relationships in the virtual and physical worlds. Having emigrated to the USA over a decade ago, LuLu, a queer artist from Taiwan, brings with them a background in chemical engineering, costume design, and event management. Their lived experience has prompted questions that inform their practice: What are the real differences between people? What shared values and aspirations unite us? What connects people?
Meng appreciates the experiences while working with Westbeth Gallery, Cuchifritos Gallery & Project Space, FiveMyles, Flux Factory, Longwood Art Gallery, New York Hall of Science, Open Source Gallery, QCC Art Gallery, SFA Projects, Spring/Break Art Show, The Bronx Museum, Think!Chinatown, and 47 Canal in New York; MUZI Art and Cloud Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan; Gallery MoMo, Tokyo, Japan; Museo El Castillo, Medellín, Colombia; and Verkstad konsthall, Norrköping, Sweden. Meng is grateful the support received during their residency and fellowship at WeeHouse (Texas), TAAC (Governors Island), Sculpture Space (Utica,NY), Anaba Project, mhPROJECT NYC, Curatorial Program for Research (CPR); Artist in the Marketplace program at The Bronx Museum, Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program at the New York Foundation for the Arts, Experimental Film Virginia, Residency Unlimited, Vermont Studio Center, DordtYart in the Netherlands, and WARP International Artist Village in Belgium.
Meng holds a B.A. in Drama and Theater from National Taiwan University and an M.F.A. in Photography and Related Media from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Golnar Adili is an Iranian American artist, designer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. Adili holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Michigan and has participated in residencies with the Rockefeller Foundation for the Arts (Bellagio, Italy), Center for Book Arts (NYC), Smack Mellon (Brooklyn, NY), Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, MA), MacDowell (NYC), Ucross Foundation for the Arts (Clearmont, WY), Lower East Side Printshop (NYC), Women’s Studio Workshop (Rosendale, NY), and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace (NYC), among others. Her work has been presented internationally in solo and group exhibitions organized by institutions such as: the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK), The Cue Art Foundation (New York, NY), The Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD), and the Craft Contemporary (Los Angeles, CA) and Smack Mellon (Brooklyn, NY). She is the recipient of major grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, NYFA, and the Jerome Foundation. In 2021, Adili was a finalist for the Jameel Prize, sponsored by the Victoria & Albert Museum and Art Jameel. Her artist books are in over 50 collections, including the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Walker Art Center, Yale University, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library.
Moko Fukuyama is a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, installation, experimental film, and collaborative projects. She has exhibited and collaborated with institutions including The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Kitchen, Socrates Sculpture Park, Lighthouse Works, The Shed, Recess, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and Public Art Fund. She is a Guggenheim and NYFA/NASCA Fellow, and has completed residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Art Omi. She is also an International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) honoree.
Originally from Japan and now based in Brooklyn, Fukuyama has lived in various cities across the United States, where she closely observed how urban societies interact with nature. Her work addresses the environmental and cultural challenges shaping both American society and her personal experiences. Drawing from her interest in recreational sports fishing, Fukuyama incorporates the concept of “lures” into her sculptures, using them as metaphors for human manipulation of the natural world. Her work, often made from salvaged wood and painted with vibrant automotive finishes, explores the dynamics of attraction among diverse forms of life. Fukuyama’s sculptures reflect themes of overconsumption, consumerism, sustainability, and urbanization, as well as the tension between human desires and environmental impact.