Cosmic Bloom: Shape of Breath

A multi-sensorial immersive experience of Indigiqueer lifeways

Cosmic Bloom: Shape of Breath is a multi-sensorial immersive experience of lifeways, ritual, music, and flora conjuring an expansive world rooted in Indigenous Futurism and Queer/Trans joy. Through blended reality installation and emergent performance, Cosmic Bloom invites you to seed future universes, foster relations, and cultivate kinship.

This project invites participants into a transformative space designed for rest, reflection, and cosmic exploration. The installation features interactive elements such as flower crown headphones that gently whisper star stories shared by community members, a community altar to write words of love to trans youth, and a Virtual Reality (VR) experience serves as a portal into a celestial realm, where Indigiqueer beings offer embodied movement and songs from Ty’s (in-progress compositional) album, Shape of Breath. 

At the heart of the experience is a spiral galaxy that invites participants to connect through sound, breath, and presence. The space holds a number of offerings including workshops, gatherings, performances, and community meals. The experience is open to all, with a focus on creating an affirming environment for Transgender/Indigiqueer participants. This project is a celebration of possibility, belonging, and the sacred breath that connects us all.

Cosmic Bloom: Shape of Breath is currently in development with plans to premier at Z Space in San Francisco. In May of 2025, Fusebox Festival hosted a development residency for the team to explore the merging of physical, digital, and performance in partnership with the Museum of Human Achievement.

Creative Team:

Written, Composed and Performed by Ty Defoe

Production, Projection and Creative Tech Design by Kate Freer

Sound Design by Zac Traeger

Costume Design by Andrew Jordan

Assistant Creative Tech Design by Nitsan Scharf

Integrated Lighting System by Zach Young

Lighting Design Gavin Strawnato

Assistant Production Design Joshua Martin

Headphone Fabrication by Marisa Lawrence and Matthew Smith

Flowers provided by Kate Taylor / kabloom

Culinary Artist Luna Vela

Motion Capture Engineer Brandon LeJeune

Production Assistants Elena Salinas, Janna Belcher, and Siena Theivagt

Garden Guides: Sarah J. Elliott, Elena Salinas, Gavin Strawnato, Nitsan Scharf and Siena Theivagt