I’m a researcher, designer, and artist based in New York. I’m curious of understanding and creating human experiences, especially on those that connect us across space and time. My work explores different mediums across disciplines, often inspired by research in the history and biology. By experimenting with various technologies to add a touch of magic to experiences, I aim to invite people to see the familiar in unexpected ways.

Food is a special area of interest of mine. It is an anchor point for exploring cultural connections and investigating how perspectives have been shaped. Previously, I’ve spent my time researching how recipes traveled and adapted between East and Central Asia from the 7th to 13th Century CE, including funded research in field.

Currently, I’m pursuing an MPS (Master in Professional Studies) at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP). I hold an MA in history from Columbia University and a BA in Liberal Arts from NYU. My projects have appeared at NYU Maker Space, Museum of Food and Drinks (MOFAD), Long Island Maker Fair, and NYC Media Lab.

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Una Zhang
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Alien Archive:
Communal Cookouts
Overview
Communal Cookouts are participatory segments of the bigger project, Alien Archive. Through site-specific communal cooking sessions staged in spaces not originally meant for cooking, these communal cookout sessions creates temporary environments that invite creativity, playfulness, experimentation, and collective problem-solving. Participants can work from historical recipes and ingredients drawn from archival cookbooks or improvise freely, negotiating available materials, tools, and personal memories in the process of making. Each gathering asks participants to reflect on the central question: what is a dumpling?

Printed matter, zines, and recipe booklets are integrated into each experience, offering participants snapshots of how dumplings were understood, translated, and adapted within specific historical moments. Participants are also invited to contribute their own stories, recipes, and interpretations, allowing Alien Archive to continuously expand as a communal and evolving archive.
Role
Solo project (but received help from many)
Tools
Digital Archives, Resin, Dehydrator, Fusion 360
Exhibition
NYU _ 2025
Museum of Food and Drink(MOFAD) _ 05/27/2025
The Wedding _ 05/09/2026
Community Cookout
The first gathering took place in a university classroom as a casual drop-in experience serving over 50 participants. The second, hosted at the Museum of Food and Drink, was more intimate, allowing for slower and more repeated interactions. The format evolved in response to lessons from the first session; for example, the second iteration incorporated excerpts from historical cookbooks placed alongside ingredients, connecting archival narratives directly to the cooking process. In both experiences, ingredients were selected for their historical references and material versatility, treated almost like colors within a shared palette.

The third iteration was conceived as part immersive installation, part participatory fiction, staged within the Williamsburgh Savings Bank. Framed as a fictional immigrant wedding banquet, the experience centered around a Chinese banquet table with a rotating lazy Susan, transforming communal dining into a space for adapative learning, storytelling, and collective negotiation.
Third Communal Cookout
Second Communal Cookout
First Communal Cookout

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