Synesthesia Show 2025

Synesthesia Show 2025 is an interdisciplinary performance and exhibition featuring seven artist-composer teams from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Each team—pairing one visual artist and one composer—develops a unique project that responds to the theme through a hybrid of forms, such as installation, projection, chamber music, sculpture, and movement. These works will debut during a public live performance concert followed by a week-long exhibition held at Making Space in Baltimore.

This annual project, now in its third year, explores the theme of differentiation - how artistic identity is shaped, fractured, or redefined through displacement, hybridity, and personal resistance. The works traces the nuances of being “othered” and the power of artistic self-determination.

Featuring Asian contemporary artists working across sound, performance, installation, and media, this edition invites audiences to experience a layered conversation around visibility, transformation, and creative divergence.

Opening Reception : Saturday, October 11

• Doors Open at 6:30PM

Concert: Saturday, October 11

• Performance Begins 7:00PM

Exhibition On View: October 11-18 (1 week)

• By appointment

● Closing Day: Saturday, October 18,

1:00PM-6:00PM

About The Synesthesia Show:

Since its launch in 2023, Synesthesia has supported the creation of over 16 original works and featured more than 35 emerging Asian and Asian-diaspora artists. The project centers Asian voices, diasporic stories, and underrepresented artistic practices, creating a platform for deep collaboration across disciplines. Past iterations have included performances using fencing swords and cello duets, projection-mapped fabric sculptures, interactive sonic installations, and chamber music that translates visual textures into sound.

The 2025 show continues this trajectory by fostering student-led curation, experimental collaboration, and public accessibility. By activating both traditional and nontraditional art spaces, Synesthesia Show 2025 highlights the power of collective creation and artistic risk-taking. It also plays a crucial role in bridging the academic, cultural, and public spheres of Baltimore’s art ecosystem.

Our team includes MICA MFA students, Peabody DMA and MM candidates, and performers, working together across disciplines, languages, and lived experiences. With continued support, we hope to grow Synesthesia into a sustainable, artist-run platform for experimental, cross-sensory art in Baltimore.