Kelsey Lu

In May 2026, Kelsey Lu presented PENUBMRA, a new live performance work at Palazzo Diedo in Venice an immersive, multi-sensory extension of their latest album So Help Me God.

Thursday, May 7, 2026 at Palazzo Diedo

A classically trained cellist, composer and multidisciplinary artist, Lu moves fluidly between music, visual art and embodied performance. Since their 2019 debut Blood, they’ve returned with a more expansive, confrontational body of work shaped by devotion, desire and reckoning. This new performance sits within that evolving language, translating the album’s emotional and spiritual currents into the physical space.

Rooted in themes of land, erasure and survival, the piece finds Lu performing alongside a 4-piece music and movement ensemble, blurring the lines between concert, installation and ritual. Performers and audience alike move through the space together, creating a living environment shaped by sound, movement and material.

Visitors were invited to move, listen, and experience.

Performed with Josh Johnson, Alicia Hall Moran, Mikael Darmanie, and Lady Jess. With an installation by Yumna Al-Arashi.

The experience also included a presentation of Savanah Leaf's new film So Help Me God, created in conjunction with Lu's new album of the same name. The film was written & directed by Savanah Leaf, Ryan Marie Helfant as Director of Photography, Creative Directed by Kelsey Lu, and Produced by Jill Ferraro.

Curated by Olivier Berggruen and Monteverde Productions.