Saturday, July 11, 2026, 1 p.m.

A Conversation with Tao Ya-Lun and Mia Yinxing Liu

Our featured artist from Taiwan, Tao Ya-Lun, will be joined by the curator, Mia Yinxing Liu, who will talk about the different components of the exhibition Ubiquitous Ghosts, which includes two immersive virtual reality installations that examine the spectral nature of power, technology, and displacement in contemporary life. Visit the exhibition page to learn more.

Free to the public (registration is not required)

Thursday, July 16, 6 to 7:30 p.m

The Ubiquity of Jazz

In celebration of the exhibition by Tao Ya-Lun, Ubiquitous Ghosts, IA&A at Hillyer will feature a jazz trio that includes Noble Jolly, Jr. on piano, Blake Meister on bass, and Integriti Reeves on vocals. Learn more.

Free to the public (registration is not required)

Saturday, July 18, 12:30 p.m.

What does it mean to make art in a world where machines can dream?

​At Hillyer Art Space, we’re bringing together artists, technologists, and cultural thinkers for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the evolving landscape of creativity. This program unfolds in dialogue with Ubiquitous Ghosts, an extraordinary solo exhibition by Taiwanese new media artist Tao Ya-Lun — two immersive VR installations and a video work that probe the spectral forces shaping contemporary life, from political ideology and consumer fantasy to war and exile.

​Moderated by Nihal J. Krishan — award-winning tech and AI journalist and co-founder of Generative Series: Ai, Art & Culture — the conversation will move between Tao’s work and the broader questions it raises: How are artists using immersive technology to bear witness, to protest, to reconnect? What happens to the human experience of presence when we can be transported anywhere by a headset? And as AI and VR reshape what’s possible in creative practice, who gets to define what’s real? Registration is required.

Register Today!

July 4-August 2, 2026

Curated by Mia Yinxing Liu

This exhibition presents three works by Taiwanese artist Tao Ya-Lun that examine the spectral nature of power, technology, and displacement in contemporary life. Through two immersive VR installations and one video work, viewers encounter the ubiquitous forces that shape human existence—from utopian monuments to the profound ruptures of war and exile. Together, these works reveal how virtual media and technology create both unprecedented surveillance and unexpected forms of presence. The “Ghost”—whether political ideology, consumer fantasy, or displaced person—persists beyond physical boundaries or manufactured “togetherness,” infiltrating consciousness and reshaping what we understand as real.

Overview | Conversation | Jazz | AI Discussion | Formosan Groove

In this new series, Kheiriyeh draws inspiration from the love story of Zal and Rudaba, from the Shahnameh written by Ferdowsi — one of her favorite childhood narratives. Centuries ago, many Persian painters once illustrated these stories on a miniature scale. Kheiriyeh reimagines them in large-scale works that invite viewers to step inside their timeless world.

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Threading the Gaze examines how visibility and sensibility are continually negotiated within apparatuses of bodily production. Drawing on images, primarily selfies, taken by Iranian women during the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, Bozorgi traces circuits of exchange between human and non-human gazes, investigating who looks at whom, how one chooses to be seen, and who can be seen or remain unseen.

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