Meet a VC Archives Artist in Residence: Linda Wei

Learn about one of VC archives’ inaugural cohort of Artists in Residence, Linda Wei!

What inspired you to pursue film/media arts

As an avid reader in childhood, stories helped me survive displacement, fracture, and silence. I’ve been involved in community organizing and political advocacy since my teens, and once I understood just how deeply storytelling shapes our tangible world, I wanted to assert my voice too. Now that we face rising fascism and the repression of independent media, I feel an even greater responsibility to make films and art that create space for collective witnessing, healing, and worldbuilding.

What attracted you to the VC Archives?

I’m drawn to archival practices that interrogate history with care. I’ve long admired VC and its legacy of arts activism, and when I moved to LA, I wanted to understand my new home through the eyes of its community caretakers committed to restorative justice. VC Archives especially excites me because it treats archives as living, activated through re-examination and imagination.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m working on a VR/immersive project that follows a digital archivist attempting to piece together the historical gaps surrounding the 1871 Chinese Massacre in LA. The project explores participatory storytelling and the ethics of reconstruction. I’m also filming and editing a documentary on the rapid transformation of my hometown in rural Sichuan, China.

What do you like to do during your free time? I love dancing, playing tennis and League with friends, and strolling seaside sunsets with my furbaby.

Favorite Films: Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami), A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf), In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai), Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)

Dream music festival lineup: Khruangbin, Bobby McFerrin, Floating Points, Rina Sawayama, Doechii, Andre 3000, Sevdaliza

Unpopular opinion: Refusing all engagement with AI is counterproductive. Critical participation is necessary to understand its biases, limits, and social impact. Ethical stewardship means actively shaping how AI is used, so it serves humanity rather than reinforcing existing harm.

Restaurant recommendation: Hangari Kalguksu (Ktown) makes any rainy day feel like a vacation. Tacos Chidos (Venice), whose al pastor tacos are chef’s kiss.

Where to find you: @legitlinda