BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Potluck Asian America - ECPv6.17.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Potluck Asian America
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260925T203000
DTSTAMP:20260810T005629Z
CREATED:20260810T005629Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T005629Z
UID:10003053-1790362800-1790368200@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:MOCA PERFORMS – Wonggongchang Mega Explosive
DESCRIPTION:The Museum of Chinese in America proudly presents Wonggongchang Mega Explosive\, the second full-length album by Taiwanese composer\, electronic musician\, and producer Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang\, a.k.a Kaiwei. \nSet for 2026 release under AAPI artist collective Choaspace\, Wonggongchang Mega Explosive is a ten-track sonic narrative and song cycle centered on one of the deadliest man-made disasters in Chinese history: the 1626 Tianqi Explosion\, with over 20\,000 casualties. Drawing from ancient Chinese classical texts and historical documentations\, each piece reimagines anecdotal episodes from the event\, unfolding in a format influenced by anthological drama\, film and video game soundtracks. Through a contemporary lens\, the work integrates found sounds\, text-to-speech\, and Y2K-influenced sonic cues for explorations of artificiality\, emotional detachment\, and modern desensitization to large-scale violence in the age of information overload. \nAccompanied by live Mandarin narration\, texts\, and animations drawn by Taiwanese graphic artist Nancy Hsiaowen Hu\, the performance invites audiences to experience history\, through modern perspectives\, as a living\, resonant field shaped by sound\, story\, and interpretation. \nABOUT Tianqi Explosion \n\nThe Wanggongchang Explosion (also known as the Tianqi Explosion) was a catastrophic disaster that occurred on May 30\, 1626\, in Beijing during the late Ming Dynasty. Centered at a major gunpowder factory and armory\, the blast destroyed a large area of the city and reportedly killed around 20\,000 people. \nContemporary accounts describe a sudden rumbling sound\, followed by a massive explosion that flattened buildings within a radius of about 2 kilometers\, sent debris flying across the city\, and was felt over 150 kilometers away. \nThe exact cause of the explosion remains unknown. While many believe it was an accidental gunpowder detonation\, other theories—including a meteor airburst or natural gas explosion—have been proposed\, with no definitive consensus. \nBeyond the immediate destruction\, the disaster had major political and cultural consequences. It was widely interpreted at the time as a form of divine punishment\, weakening confidence in the Tianqi Emperor and further destabilizing the already declining Ming Dynasty. \n\nABOUT Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang \n\nKaiwei is the progressive electronic music project of Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang\, a NY-based Taiwanese electronic musician\, composer\, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Active in both NY and East Asia’s contemporary music scenes\, Chang’s style blends Industrial\, Noise\, Ambient\, Dance and Pop\, often explored through experimental techniques\, diverse composition methods\, and innovative forms. Chang’s works often combine a broad range of improvisational vocabularies with non-traditional post-production\, songwriting\, and sound design approaches. Chang composed for director Ichen Wang’s 2022 stage play\, “Dress In Code”. His debut LP\, “Reprocessor” (“darkly invigorating\, glitchy soundscapes\, touting a dynamic range from unsettling spaciousness to dexterous rhythmic haunts\, at times resembling a cross of Burial and Oneohtrix Point Never” – Obscure Sound 2024) was released under Long Echo Records\, 2023. Chang was a 2024 Found Sound Nation – OneBeat Taiwan fellow\, and was most recently a recipient of Taiwan’s National Cultures & Arts Foundation Grant for his production for composer Chloe Yuchun Hu’s 2025 record\, “The Impermanence Of Permanence”. His second LP\, Wonggongchang Mega Explosive\, is due for 2026 release under AAPI artist collective\, Choaspace.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/moca-performs-wonggongchang-mega-explosive/
LOCATION:Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)\, 215 Centre Street\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Concert,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://potluckasianamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/MOCA-Wonggongchang.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR