Meet the 2020-21 Dean’s Student Council: Kayla Tange
This series of web posts profiles the 2020-2021 UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture’s Dean’s Student Council.
Kayla Tange is a fourth-year Art major from Lemoore, California. Prior to transferring to UCLA, she had attended Cinema Makeup School, Santa Monica College, West Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Trade Technical School, and Los Angeles City College. Kayla focuses mainly on performance, but her practice also includes sculpture, painting, and printing.
Like many performers, Kayla Tange’s approach to her work has changed immensely over the past year. As in-person shows were canceled, she and others scrambled to find ways to continue producing work. For Tange, performance is not just art— it’s a way to express challenging emotions, as well as a space in which to create community and find solidarity.
Much of Tange’s inspiration comes from her personal experience. “My inspiration can be found in my collaborative work, researching my Korean history as well as through processing shame through lived experience,” she says. Tange plans to further her research by delving into topics including sex work, Korean adoption, ritual, and healing.
“My inspiration can be found in my collaborative work, researching my Korean history as well as through processing shame through lived experience.”
Kayla Tange
“I was a performer for many years for both work and as my practice,” says Tange. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her work “shifted in ways I could not have predicted.” She moved to performing online during the pandemic, working with the dance group Cyber Clown Girls to produce online shows.
Through her experience with Cyber Clown Girls, Tange co-created an online Asian-focused performance space, “Sacred Wounds.” The space encourages artists to create experimental works that represent a wide range of cultures, particularly with a focus on the non-traditional.
“The origin of Sacred Wounds came about during a very precarious time in history, this pandemic period, where we wanted to create a space for performers to explore traditions, history and truths and how they can be transformed into visionary offerings,” says Tange.
“Through this platform, we have created free discussion panels, healing modality workshops, plus accessible and affordable donation-based interactive online shows in which we invite members of various organizations to come speak as well as donate a portion of ticket sales.”
“We wanted to create a space for performers to explore traditions, history and truths and how they can be transformed into visionary offerings.”
Kayla Tange
In addition to her transition to the online space, Tange has also found herself experimenting with new mediums, including sculpture, painting, and printmaking.
“My perspective of the art world has also shifted dramatically,” she says. “I am focused more now on creating work and space for myself and others that is focused less on ‘success’ as an end result.”
This has included shifting her attention from personal projects to community projects like Sacred Wounds. She also volunteers with GYOPO, a collective of arts professionals from the Korean diaspora.
“I am focused more now on creating work and space for myself and others that is focused less on the result of ‘success’ as an end result.”
Kayla Tange
Another important aspect of Tange’s community-focused work is her role as a Dean’s Student Council member. According to Tange, an important motivation for joining the Council was to serve as a voice for non-traditional and transfer students like herself. “Often, we have different needs as working adults, parents, or students returning to college after many years away,” she says.
For Tange, the role of the Council is not only advocacy but also creating a well-rounded school culture. “I hope that [the Council] continues to see that recognizing and celebrating differences is the key to harmony as many students have unique stories to tell,” she says. “I would say that change can happen, but it takes persistence and time.”
Story by Ruby Dennis
HEADER IMAGE: Courtesy of Kayla Tange
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