Leeches and Letting Go with Renee Zhan & Sumire Hirotsuru

Our season opens with Renee Zhan and Sumire Hirotsuru. These two rising artists discuss how to release the past and the future, and other ways they navigated early stages of their creative careers.

Sumire Hirotsuru is a violinist, writer and social entrepreneur. Based in Tokyo, Sumire has performed as a soloist at major venues in the U.S. and Japan including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. She has also written best-seller books in Japan on self-management and organises education programs for schoolchildren.

Renee Zhan is an animator and director currently based in London. In her films, Renee is primarily interested in exploring issues of the body, nature, and sexuality - all things beautiful, ugly, and squishy. Her short films have screened and won awards at festivals internationally including Locarno, Tiff, SXSW, and the Jury Prize for Animated Short at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival as well as been nominated for the Student BAFTA and Annie Awards.

Learn more at 16artists.com. Episode art by Cindy Niu.