Hybridia is hosted by Saki Sato and Kirby Chen Mages. We’re two biracial friends who share an infinite curiosity and a desire to talk with others. We seek spaces where people can engage in thoughtful, imaginative, and unexpected exchanges.
Saki Sato was raised by a Japanese immigrant father and a white American mother from Georgia. Her parents met at the University of Georgia. Saki grew up on Long Island, NY and now lives in Ridgewood, Queens.
Kirby Chen Mages was raised by a Chinese immigrant mother and an Ashkenazi Jewish American father from Illinois. Their parents met at the University of Illinois. Kirby grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Saki and Kirby met in New York City, where they both attended The Cooper Union School of Art.
Saki Sato
Saki Sato lives and works in New York City, where she attended the Cooper Union School of Art. She has participated in residencies at CCA Kitakyushu, The Wassaic Project, and ChaNorth. She has screened her videos internationally in France, Germany, China, and Japan, and regularly screens work in the New York area. Her sculptures have appeared in several group shows in New York, Philadelphia, Japan, and Sweet Pass Sculpture Park in Dallas, Texas. From 2016-19 she co-ran a gallery on the Ridgewood/Bushwick border called The Hand, which regularly held exhibitions and events of emerging and under-represented artists, with particular emphasis on experimental, unfinished, and unsellable projects. When she’s not making art, she is working by day as a web developer and by night as a guitarist in the all-women Japanese band Hard Nips.
Kirby Chen Mages
Kirby Chen Mages is a transdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. They received a BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. From 2021-2022 they served as Lead Editor in Translation for Antioch’s literary journal, Lunch Ticket. In 2017, they founded and curated the year-long project whatsherface — a series of intersectional feminist films, videos, and performances. Their work has been exhibited in the US (Anthology Film Archives, 16 Beaver, The Hand, 3 Tage Wach, The Range), The Netherlands (Kunstvlaii, Project Goleb), and other DIY venues. In 2023 they co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the play Re-Membering Our Lil Guy, which premiered at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles. They are the recipient of the Elizabeth Kray Poetry Prize and their writing has been published in Electric Lit, Prolit, The Poetry Project Newsletter, and Lunch Ticket.
