Wang Astra Huimeng is originally from Inner Mongolia, China, and received her B.E. in bio-medical engineering from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and M.F.A. in studio art from San Francisco Art Institute. Drawing upon research on a systematic body of texts and literary traditions, her practice spans performance, installation, video, sculpture, and the Internet, dealing with issues such as cultural identities, cultural domination, and Neo-orientalism. Wang has received grants from and held residencies at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, ACRE, Millay Colony for the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, and Wilhardt & Naud, among others. She was a finalist for the 2020 Creative Capital Award, and will be collaborating with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to create a project inspired by Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale in December 2020, as part of LACO's Close Quarters series, a channel changing blitz of classical music performances set to visual art, created in a first-of-its-kind digital studio.
At MacDowell she worked on the first draft of her first novel, tentatively titled The Year I Invented Her, or, The Life and Death of Aurelia Clifton. Her work has been exhibited in Make Room Gallery, Morlan Gallery, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Root Division Gallery, SOMArts Cultural Center, Embark Gallery, and Pennsylvania State University, among others.
