A major retrospective of artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha will be held at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in California, USA, from January to April 2026. Titled 《Multiple Offerings》, the exhibition marks the first large-scale retrospective of Cha’s work in over two decades and is expected to travel internationally following its debut in the U.S.

Born in Busan in 1951 and immigrating to the United States at the age of eleven, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982) was not only the author of the seminal work Dictee (1982), which explores themes of diaspora, but also a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spanned writing, video, and performance.

BAMPFA has been the home to much of Cha’s art and archives for over three decades. The forthcoming exhibition will feature many previously unseen works alongside her well-known pieces. The exhibition will also feature works by three contemporary women media artists—Renée Green, Na Mira, and Cici Wu—who have been influenced by Cha.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue—the first museum monograph dedicated to the artist in over twenty years—featuring newly commissioned essays by Julia Bryan-Wilson, Jordan Carter, Danielle A. Jackson, Mia Kang, Mason Leaver-Yap, and the exhibition curators, as well as a roundtable discussion with artists Na Mira and Cici Wu, moderated by Min Sun Jeon.

BAMPFA curator Victoria Sung, reflecting on the preparation of the exhibition, said, “What we realized was that this notion of completeness is an almost arbitrary designation when it comes to an artist like Cha, because she was constantly iterating on her artworks across mediums. I hope that the exhibition will emphasize the fluidity of her practice in that way.”

References

• ARTnews, Berkeley Art Museum to Stage Retrospective for Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Next Year, 2025.04.03 
• BAMPFA, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings