Launching a triennial dedicated to contemporary Asian artists in New York City, this central hub for international contemporary art, is one thing – to do it in the midst of a pandemic another. Initially designed over five years as a multi-venue exhibition spanning across the city, the triennial “We Do Not Dream Alone” had to be reconceived in the year of its inaugural edition into a single site-specific exhibition, split into two parts, with artists creating and joining remotely, and complete virtual access to the art works and programs for a global audience.

What has this pandemic changed for cultural workers – artists, curators, critics? What role does artistic representation play in times of increasing anti-Asian sentiment? And how can art contribute to counter marginalization as well as isolation?

In this cocktail edition of Art over Lunch Bergos’ Aurelia Rauch will talk to Asia Society Triennial Co-curator Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe and Art Critic and Editor-at-Large of New York Magazine, Carl Swanson, about their perspectives on this moment in history and the case of the Asia Society Triennial.