Off-stage Talk: Mapping Global Artistic Pathways

A proud member of the Chicago music community for over 15 years, Kelly Deasy has honed her passion for live music into a career dedicated to discovering how to best support and amplify artists. She has worked in a range of positions related to the live show experience, including posts in music programming, live event production, promotion, booking, independent agency management, and most recently, artist management.

Deasy has worked at renowned agencies like Monterey International, The Windish Agency, and Paradigm Talent Agency. In 2020, she co-founded outer/most, an independent booking agency with a roster of 95+ international artists. She currently works there as a partner, tour marketing head, and agent representing artists like Christian McBride, Anoushka Shankar, Kassa Overall, Julianna Barwick, and Bilal. As an artist manager, she represents multi-hyphenate artist Pauli Lovejoy, who has served as music director to stars Harry Styles and Florence & The Machine.Together, Deasy and Lovejoy founded Sounds Familia, an alternative live production company specialising in the transition from studio to stage. In both independent initiatives, Deasy is committed to growing a global team and a curated artist roster while maintaining deep connections to Chicago and to the next generation of music business leaders.

Deasy was recently included in NewCity’s “Music 45” list in 2025 and Chicago Reader’s “Chicagoans of Note” series. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s Music Business programme and is part of the Recording Academy’s New Member Class of 2026.

Kengchakaj (Gheng/chAH /kad) is a Bangkok-born, Lenapehoking (Brooklyn)-based Thai diaspora sound practitioner and improviser. He makes sound rooted in his lineage as a site of repair, reconciliation, and transformation — holding space for unlearning and relearning. These sounds arrive charged with political complexity and contested memory that permeate both personal and collective experience. His practice spans electro-acoustic piano, Southeast Asian tuned analogue synthesizer, spatial audio, gong making, and live coding, harnessing technology to produce multisensory live performances.

Kengchakaj holds a graduate degree from the Manhattan School of Music and is a Fulbright Scholar and Gold Award Lumen Prize winner. He is currently a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow (2025–2028). Previous fellowships include Lincoln Center Collider Fellow (2024–2025), Eyebeam Democracy Machine Fellow (2024), Processing Foundation Fellow (2025), and membership in NEW INC Years 10 and 11. His projects have been presented at Barbican Centre (UK), Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum (US), National Communication Museum–NCM (AU), The Jazz Gallery (US), SOUND TYPE Festival at Asian Arts Initiative (US), AAPI Jazz Festival (US), DEMO Festival (US), Wonderfruit Festival (TH), CultureHub (US), Harvestworks (US), Flux Factory (US), Int-Act Festival 2022 (TH), and many more. He is one half of elekhlekha อีเหละเขละขละ, a collaborative duo with interdisciplinary media artist Nitcha Tothong.

Sheryl Lee is a global music executive, producer, and artist development strategist with 25+ years’ experience across the international music, arts, and cultural sectors. She leads Global Strategic A&R and Business Development at Naxos Music Group, overseeing global repertoire strategy, artist acquisitions, production portfolios, and the expansion of the company’s digital ecosystem across its labels and partners.

Lee is also the Founder and Director of House of Talents Asia, advising emerging artists on long‑term career strategy, cross‑border development, and Asia‑focused opportunities. Her creative work includes producing original performing arts projects under her imprint, Chiczando Concept, where she develops interdisciplinary productions that merge artistic excellence with commercially driven outcomes for corporate clients, property developers, and brands. Previously in New York, she co‑produced Music on MacDougal, an experimental concert series at the Players Theatre. Her leadership experience spans Executive Director of the Haw Par Music Foundation – where she transformed Haw Par Mansion into a multidisciplinary cultural hub – to senior roles at Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Naxos Far East, and Carl Fischer Music Publishing.

A classically trained pianist, Lee made her concerto debut at the age of 13 with the Utah Symphony and has since performed with orchestras and at festivals throughout Europe and the United States. She studied at The Juilliard School, Yale University, and New York University, where she later served as Adjunct Faculty. Lee currently serves on the Boards of Governors of the Music Children Foundation, the Hong Kong Fringe Club, and the EXCEL, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She is also an Advisor to the Shaw Auditorium of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Academy for Educational Development and Innovation of The Education University of Hong Kong.​‌​‌

With over 15 years of arts management experience, Lynn Yang presently heads the Theatre Programming team at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore. She has been deeply involved in the development of the performing arts in Singapore, notably through curating, commissioning, and co-producing for The Studios (Esplanade’s annual contemporary theatre season) and Flipside (a festival celebrating circus, puppetry, comedy and physical theatre). As a programmer, a central part of her practice involves creating conditions for profound encounters and meaningful engagement between audience, artist, and art. Previously at the National Arts Council Singapore (NAC), Yang was part of the core team behind strategic policy development for the local performing arts sector and managed major funding frameworks for some of Singapore’s key theatre organisations and artists. Outside of her work, she enjoys reading, making good food and bread, and hanging out with her dog.

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Rika Iino is a cultural entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of SOZO, an international contemporary arts agency and incubator based in New York and California. For more than two decades, she has produced international collaborations and advanced innovative approaches to enhance social impact through culture. A recognised advocate for independent artists, Iino is a coach, mentor, and speaker. She has presented at institutions including Stanford University, Yale University, and the University of California, Berkeley. She has led Building Ethical and Equitable Partnership, a US national initiative advancing equitable contracting practices between artists and cultural institutions. In 2021, Iino became the youngest and the first woman of color to receive the Patrick Hayes Award for transformative leadership from the International Society for the Performing Arts. In recognition of her leadership in artist equity and sustainability, she later received the 2023 Mentoring Award from the Western Arts Alliance, and the CALI Catalyst Award from the Center for Cultural Innovation. In 2024, she completed executive education in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Iino is the lead designer of the SOZO Fellowship, an entrepreneurship and sustainability program that equips independent artists with the tools, networks, and strategies to build resilient, values-driven careers. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals.