2024–2025 Green-Wood Artists in Residence: Shanzhai Lyric

The poetic inquiry of Shanzhai Lyric uses the concept of “shanzhai”—the Chinese term for counterfeit—as a framework through which to reconsider notions of ownership and property. Its stewards, Ming Lin and Alex Tatarsky, both born and raised in New York, draw inspiration from their Lower Manhattan neighborhood, particularly the immigrant community of street vendors, small business owners, and artists around Canal Street, the city’s hub for counterfeit goods. Circulating an archive of over 400 shanzhai poetry-garments, Shanzhai Lyric engages with global production schemes by considering the politics and poetics of the bootleg garment. Their residency will focus on Green-Wood’s colony of monk parakeets, who are celebrated for their unique place in the city’s ecosystem—and as the original mimicry artists.

Shanzhai Lyric has previously exhibited their work in national and international institutions, including MoMA PS1, New York; Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; Chinese American Arts Council, New York; and Times Museum, Guangzhou, among others. Shanzhai Lyric’s practice has been supported by numerous residencies, including the LES Studio Program at Cuchifritos, Canal Projects, and Cité des Arts. In 2020, Shanzhai Lyric founded the fictional office entity Canal Street Research Association that inhabited several vacant sites along Canal Street.

Upcoming Programs

Past Programs