Meredith Cha was born in New York, New York in 1996. Growing up, Cha developed an interest in video and cinema art. Cha’s video NYC Dreams is a culmination of various outsider's dreams of New York City. Gathered from residents of foreign countries, the dreamed actions find resolution through Cha's performance, which she couples with her lived experiences of the “non-ideal NYC.” By asking “What is your NYC dream?” on various social media channels, Cha collects global responses – with a limit of one representative response per country. Cha uses these responses as a platform on which to expose the reality of New York City along with audio sourced from unforntunate New York City incidents. Through said audio, Cha aims to juxtapose the fantastical ideals many foreigners have about New York City, which poses the question: “Why is this reality?”