Cuteness is an aesthetic intertwined with daily life and deeply connected to notions of femininity, particularly for the Asian diaspora and those within Asia for whom cuteness is a prolific aesthetic— a part of their everyday life. While the aesthetic is omnipresent in domestic products, media, and spoken vernacular, it is often disregarded as kitsch, fetish, or low brow. In relation to the geopolitics of East Asia, cuteness has become a critical tool for implementing “soft power” strategy. Yet, it has been used in the West to stereotype or infantilize those of Asian descent.

Join GYOPO on Thursday, August 10, for a conversation with artists Christina Yuna Ko, Lulu Yao Gioiello, and Amy Yao, moderated by curator Sophia Park. Together, they will explore the complexity of this tangible, emotion-forward, and affective aesthetic as they share their views on "the cute" and how they have adopted its language in their work. Beginning with short presentations by each participant, this program aims to complicate and add nuance to what is considered cute and to present it as a language that is rich, complex, and significant.

This event will be live-streamed on Instagram, as well as uploaded on YouTube.

More information on the event can be found here.