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Emilia Yang: “Mesoamerica Residency” at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris

July 14, 2026
A woman in a light blue cloud-patterned shirt stands in front of a dark marble wall with gold lettering that reads "CITE INTERNATIONALE DES ARTS".
Photo: Luciana Chamorro

Stamps Assistant Professor Emilia Yang recently completed a three-month residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris within the framework of the ​“Mesoamerica Residency,” supported by the Cooperation and Cultural Action of the Government of France in Central America.

During her residency, Yang developed a body of work centered on exile, collective memory, trans feminist solidarities, and the sky as a symbolic and political territory. Throughout her time in Paris, Yang collaborated with Latinx, trans, and feminist communities to create kites conceived as portals: objects and actions through which communities can gather, create safe spaces, and imagine alternate futures, connecting personal and political histories of displacement, militarization, and the ongoing struggle for shared public spaces.

As part of this research, Yang held workshops at Acceptess‑T, a French transgender advocacy organization based in Paris, which provides services to support transwomen migrants. Yang also held workshops at La Cité Audacieuse — France’s first feminist hub and ​“third-place,” launched by the Fondation des Femmes and the City of Paris.

A group relaxes on the grass beneath a tree branch holding two vertical, blue fabric banners with Spanish text.
A giant, circular kite with long colorful ribbons floats high above a green park on a clear, sunny day.
A sunny park where individuals guide large, cylindrical purple and bright blue fabric kites through the air.

Partager le Ciel photos: Caleb Krivoshey

Yang organized ​“Partager le Ciel” (translation: ​“Sharing the Sky”), a collective public action held at the Bois de Vincennes on May 24. The event invited participants from the Latinx migrant community to take part in a communal act of kite-flying.

A woman standing between two vertically hanging blue tie-dyed banners featuring the Spanish words "COMPARTIR" and "EL CIELO" under a ceiling projector.

Following this public intervention, Yang presented an open studio titled ​“Habiter le ciel” (translation: ​“Inhabiting the sky”) on June 10 at the Cité internationale des arts. The open studio took the form of an ephemeral exhibition, bringing together kites created during her stay in Paris; videos documenting performative and community actions in Los Angeles and at the Bois de Vincennes; a participatory photographic archive made by participants; images from her research at the Berck International Kite Festival; and a fanzine reflecting on her research process.

A gallery visitor stands over a long table reviewing a series of color photo prints.
A white canopy with green fringe hangs in a gallery room with long green and purple ribbons looping along the wall.
Visitors at an art gallery opening, including a woman wearing headphones watching a video on a television.
A hanging silver foil installation featuring the word "SOLIDARIDAD" in bold red letters with blue fringe.

Habiter le Ciel photos: Caleb Krivoshey

The pieces and projects created during the residency emerged from Yang’s desire to create spaces of solidarity from exile, using artistic practice to imagine communities rooted in justice, freedom and memory.

About the Mesoamerica Residency

The Mesoamerica Residency supports artistic exchange and research by providing artists from Central America and Mexico with opportunities to develop their work in international contexts. This residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris was supported by the Cooperation and Cultural Action of the Government of France in Central America and made possible in collaboration with La Nueva Fábrica Guatemala, Mazorca Art, ACA Paris, and Cubo Barro.