Karen Leong, Author at ArtsHub Australia

Karen Leong

Karen Leong is a Hong Kong-born writer, journalist and critic. Drawn to reclamation and desire, her body of work operates as semiotic storytellers across art, film and fashion. Alongside her written practice, Karen works across performance and media in bridging the juncture between film and text. You can find more of her work on Vice Asia, Astrophe Magazine, Leste Magazine, and @karen.gif.

Karen Leong's Latest Articles

A scene from the STC season of 'Golden Blood'. Photo: Prudence Upton. Two Asian-Australian actors, a young woman and a young man, kneel on an orange-lot stage.

Theatre review: Golden Blood, Wharf Theatre

Sydney Theatre Company presents Merlynn Tong's acclaimed Griffin Theatre production.

Karen Leong

Oct 31, 2024

Artwork by Khaled Sabsabi hang from the ceilings. There is a video still on the left.

Exhibition review: Khaled Sabsabi, The Lock Up

A significant survey of works from the renowned Lebanese Australian artist.

Karen Leong

Sep 25, 2024

Two panels. On left is a photo of an Asian woman with a blonde streak in her black hair. She is in dark clothing near a fence. On the right is the cover of the book with 'Peripathetic' in black font. The image is a distorted test pattern.

Book review: Peripathetic, Cher Tan

A debut collection of essays that track unbelonging and displacement.

Karen Leong

Jul 25, 2024

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt. Image is a group of Samoan women on a stage sitting on chairs in a semi circle and holding their fists together in front of them. In the middle stands another woman in a grey dress raising her arms triumphantly. The camera is at the back of the audience so some silhouetted heads are in the foreground.

Performance review: Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, Riverside Theatres

Poetry-based work about being a Samoan woman performed by a multi-skilled ensemble.

Karen Leong

Apr 29, 2024

Peter Cat Recording Co. Photo: Supplied. A five-person band from New Delhi. A group photo where the members are sitting, standing or hanging upside down.

Performance reviews: Smashed: The Nightcap, The Chosen Haram and Peter Cat Recording Co., Sydney Festival

A smorgasbord of cabaret, theatre and live music at the Sydney Festival.

Karen Leong

Jan 31, 2024

Installation view of ‘Telly Tuita: Tongpop’s Great Expectations’ at Campbelltown Arts Centre. Photo: Jodie Barker. Installation and photography works inside a spacious gallery with sky blue walls.

Self-representation and cultural references in the work of Telly Tuita

Telly Tuita’s solo exhibition signifies a full-circle moment.

Karen Leong

Jan 31, 2024

‘Viva Korea’ at Riverside Theatres. Photo: Supplied. Two performers in traditional Korean dress on a stage set-up with large artistic screen dividers.

Performance review: Viva Korea, Riverside Theatres

A nod to tradition that ended in a communal sing-along.

Karen Leong

Jan 31, 2024

Yuan Shun, ‘Soft Landing’, 2018, on view as part of ‘A Blueprint for Ruins’ at White Rabbit Gallery. Image: Supplied. A model of a brown dusty landscape that feels otherworldly, made with wood, sand, lights, fog machine, stones and aluminium.

A collection’s blueprint for ruins

ArtsHub previews White Rabbit’s latest exhibition, ‘A Blueprint for Ruins’, on the race of renewal and destruction within China’s urban…

Karen Leong

Dec 22, 2023

'Revenge Tales and Romance' in 'New Breed 2023' by Sydney Dance Company. Photo: Pedro Greig. A centre figure with blond hair, a pink cowboy hat and a star-studded leotard kneels on stage with her head facing up. Two figures are lying on the ground, head turned towards the centre and their bodies partially cropped from view.

Dance review: New Breed 2023, Carriageworks

Unwavering talent with evocative works showcasing the newest developments in contemporary dance.

Karen Leong

Dec 13, 2023

Towards continuum: behind the hardware of digital art

Understanding the self and the future in digital art through artists from the Asian Australian diaspora in collaboration with Sugar…

Karen Leong

Dec 5, 2023

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