Layna Wang is a Chicago-based experimental sound artist, improviser, and cultural organizer whose work explores the role of sound in shaping power, identity, and community. Through performance, interactive installations, and participatory projects, they examine how sound moves through social and cultural spaces. Their practice is rooted in frameworks of deep listening, emergent strategy, and a commitment to democratizing tools for creative expression, challenging traditional hierarchies in music and performance.

Trained as an opera singer and improviser, Wang’s work critically examines the commodification of artists’ bodies and the institutional forces that shape artistic labor. Projects like bathtime?—a site-responsive, improvisational work—deconstruct power dynamics in performance, while their Sacred Soundscapes of Chicago initiative amplifies the sonic environments of faith communities, centering voices often excluded from mainstream narratives.

Wang’s artistic toolkit spans graphic notation, live coding, extended vocal techniques, and found objects, treating sound as a sculptural and relational force. They are currently developing new interdisciplinary projects that merge sound art, improvisation, and social practice, reimagining the boundaries of music-making and community engagement.

For collaborations, commissions, or inquiries, get in touch: layna@interwovenartschicago.org