Folding Cities: A Lecture Performance about Unpleasant, Repulsive, and Hostile Urban Space Design is a research-driven artistic project that critically examines the impact of defensive and hostile architectural strategies on communities. The performance explores how infrastructural regulations and so-called security features, while intended to ensure safety, often become mechanisms of exclusion and social control. By highlighting the physical, emotional, and societal harm caused by such urban designs, Folding Cities calls for collective action to challenge systemic inequality and reimagine inclusive, sustainable public spaces. Presented in a lecture-performance format that blends text, visuals, and sound, the work offers an immersive experience aimed at raising awareness of spatial injustice and fostering dialogue around solidarity and urban transformation. By merging art and scholarship, Folding Cities seeks to inspire critical reflection and mobilize change toward more just and humane urban environments. The project was performed at Haus Sindlingen in Frankfurt on July 8th, 2023.

Premier:

Time: July 8th, 2023

Venue: Haus Sindlingen, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Cast:

Director: Yumin Ao

Actors: Yuchen Hu, Wei Chang, Iuliia Baturo, Ching Chen, Yu Shao, Jingrong Luo, Zhanhua He

Assistant Director: Zhanhua He

Producer: Jingrong Luo

Dramaturgy: Jiayi Pan, Rui Wu, Lingyu Lu

Music: Yu Shao

Multimedia: Jiayi Pan

Custom: Ching Chen