Meet Senaida Ng

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Senaida Ng a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Senaida, so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

I recently attended a meditation retreat at Plum Village in France for young people, which really helped me to develop a deeper sense of compassion and empathy for other people and all living beings. During the retreat, there was a real sense of community and support from the monks and nuns to look deeply within ourselves and to practice being more mindful in our every day lives. Since the retreat involved long periods of silence in the company of other people, I became more aware of my interactions when speaking to other people. I began to reflect more on what I was saying and how my presence made other people feel. I listened to other people sharing their inner experiences and reflections, which I had also felt or could understand where they were coming from. Through this experience, I realized that we are all much more similar than we are different and that has allowed me to feel more empathy towards the people around me.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My work as an artist focuses on the intersections of art, technology and sustainability by using practices of collaboration, social activism and community building. I am interested in exploring queer transhumanism and the ideas of sonic cyberfeminism, which developed in the 1980s. Currently, I am working on my MA at NYU’s Interactive Media Arts Global Low Residency Program where I am exploring creative applications of emerging technology through building interactive installations and custom wearable instruments focused on accessibility. This unique program allows me to live and work in major cities including New York, Berlin, and Shanghai, and I’m extremely grateful to be a part of this residency. My focus as an artist at this moment is to travel and explore different cultures around the world, as well as get more in touch with my Chinese heritage. I believe that it is important to cultivate empathy through understanding and collaborating with artists from different cultures because it allows us to find more similarities in each other. I am a strong advocate for fostering art and spaces that highlight diversity and inclusion because I am a queer, Asian woman artist, and I grew up in a multi-cultural environment. I understand the importance of having new and different experiences than my own because it has allowed me to incorporate many different elements into my art.

In 2023, I founded an artist collective and label based in Brooklyn called WE ARE THE FUTURE! with this goal in mind. We host live events that feature artists from all different backgrounds and identities to foster co-creation and inclusivity in a safe space.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

As an artist and creative entrepreneur, I believe the most important quality to have is curiosity. We must remain open to all perspectives and ways of living in order to develop a nuanced understanding of people, and to preserve cultures that may have been lost throughout history.
The second most important quality to have is persistence because there are so many distractions in our modern life, and we might get discouraged by all the issues and challenges we are currently facing as a human race. One of the best ways to cultivate this is to find support in our communities, friends and mentors, who share our vision and are able to help us during these difficult times.
The third most important quality to have is compassion, both for other people and for ourselves. When we are constantly working, it’s very easy to get burnt out. However, by reminding ourselves that we are not perfect human beings and that we also need to take care of ourselves is very important. Take breaks, find hobbies that are not related to your work, and engage with your community so that you can continue to learn and grow as an artist.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

We’ve all heard the quote by William Shakespeare that goes: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” I truly believe in this because I have had the privilege and opportunity to explore many skills and opportunities, which have all fed into my creative work and allowed me to develop a well-rounded, diverse perspective. I started out as a classical pianist for more than 16 years, and was extremely focused on mastering the piano. However, I decided to explore other instruments, genres of music and later, artistic mediums, because I felt like my expression was not complete in the piano. I have been able to develop myself as an entrepreneur by starting my own company, create communities for underserved populations, and collaborate with all kinds of different artists in order to gain a better understanding of my own creative practices.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.senaida.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senaidaxoxo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/senaidaxoxo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/senaida-ng/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/senaidaxoxo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SENAIDA/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/senaidang

Image Credits

1 & 3 – Ross Kelly
2 – Shirene Anand
4 – Save the Rave Aachen
5 – Alex Tabaczka