Education

BFA and K-12 teaching certification, Michigan State University
MFA, Glasgow School of Art

Bio and Affiliation

Cedric Tai is an un-disciplinary artist born in Detroit, currently residing in LA (Tongva/Chumash/Kizh land). 

I think through sculpture, talking, writing, performance, and experimental exhibitions. My conceptual work focuses on neurodivergent experience, labor, and politics.

I've partnered with neuroscientists, academics from critical psychiatry, artist collectives, disability justice social media influencers, and somatic therapists to co-create art and accessible resources where mental health meets anti-capitalist solidarity. A friend called me 'Pathologically Curious,'  which is the most tender way I’ve ever heard my ADHD (aka 'Intention Deficit Disorder,' aka 'Interest-Based Neurotype') described back to me.

Some of my work is set up systematically (coding/spreadsheets/workshops/repetition) so that I can focus on the lively way that I want to elicit a response from a specific audience.

Other works are like love letters, or are intentionally not efficient, wherein I come to know someone/something through immersing myself in an intimate process.

Cedric Tai artwork
Cedric Tai artwork
Cedric Tai artwork
Cedric Tai artwork
Cedric Tai artwork
Cedric Tai artwork

Awards and Honors

  • 2009 Kresge Artist Fellowship in the Visual Arts

  • 2015 Knight Foundation Challenge Grant

  • 2016 Vermont Studio Center Fellowship

  • 2021 The Brutus Fund at Yucca Valley Art Material Lab

  • 2023 4-month Sculpture Space Residency in Utica, NY

Professional Accomplishments and Exhibitions:  

Solo Exhibitions

  • "@FakingProfessionalism” Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University (2023) 
  • Glass Material Library, Santa Fe Art Institute (2022)
  • “50 Bad Artworks,” Casa Lü, Mexico City (2020)
  • "Amateur Strategies," UCLA (2016)
  • "We Need More ________!", Re:View Contemporary (2014)
  • "Indirectly Yours," Intermedia, CCA, Glasgow (2013)
  • "Concept Structure Torture Survival Title," New City Space, Glasgow (2011)

Clients and Employment History

Educator at these institutions

  • Eastern Michigan University
  • The College for Creative Studies
  • The Detroit Institute of Arts
  • The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit