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Performance Art

In this section, you’ll find content about work that falls into the category of performance art, which often includes interdisciplinary work, especially work that combines visual art and performance, and is based around the actions of the artist. A great place to start is the series Conversations Across Generations, featuring dialogues between UK-based performance artists discussing their work, lives, and inspiration.

The Latest

The Beauty of Being Lost Is Like Honey on Watermelon
Essay
The Beauty of Being Lost Is Like Honey on Watermelon
by Ifrah Mansour
11 July 2024
performingborders in Conversation with Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office
Video
performingborders in Conversation with Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office
An Ongoing Conversation Between Artists, Thinkers, and Activists
Wednesday 10 July 2024
London, UK
The Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) 2024
Video
The Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) 2024
Panels and Performances from the Global Community of Live Digital Art
Thursday 13 June to Saturday 15 June 2024
Toronto, Canada
A woman leans her head against a figure wrapped in a colorful blanket
The Beauty of Being Lost Is Like Honey on Watermelon
Essay

The Beauty of Being Lost Is Like Honey on Watermelon

11 July 2024

Ifrah Mansour creates performance art that explores joy and healing while connecting communities. In this essay, she illuminates the connections between her work and her experiences as a Somali American, a refugee, and a Muslim woman.

event poster for performingborders in conversation with  Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office.
performingborders in Conversation with Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office
Video

performingborders in Conversation with Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office

An Ongoing Conversation Between Artists, Thinkers, and Activists

Wednesday 10 July 2024
London, UK

performingborders is excited to invite you to join artists Rosa-Johan Uddoh and Party Office for an open online conversation exploring their upcoming performingborders commissions: our annual performance to camera for 2024 and our guest-curated digital pamphlet, both to be published before 10 July.

event poster for slow cooking live.
Slow Cooking Live
Video

Slow Cooking Live

A Podcast-Video Art Experiment Inviting Artists With a History of Migration Who Work with Food-Making and Food-Sharing as Creative Tools

Friday 14 June and Saturday 15 June 2024
London, UK

Two special ‘An Evening with…’ style live events, with home-made food sharing and conversations with artists Selina Thompson and Toni-Dee (Friday 14th) and Sonia Sandhu (Saturday 15th). Together, they spent the day buying food from local markets and independent shops, cook together and then traveled to Theatre in the Mill to share it all with you. 

glowing blue binary code around a shape labeled A I.
The Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) 2024
Video

The Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) 2024

Panels and Performances from the Global Community of Live Digital Art

Thursday 13 June to Saturday 15 June 2024
Toronto, Canada

Join us for the launch of PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation by Dr. Jenn Stephenson and Mariah (Mo) Horner; a panel on AI in Creative Performance by bluemouth inc, Cole Lewis, and David Rokeby; and a performance of Windrush by Marcel Stewart and Oonya Kempadoo.

Gender Euphoria teaser image featuring guest profile images.
Making Space for Queer Futurity in Texas
Podcast

Making Space for Queer Futurity in Texas

16 August 2023

Austin’s pop princess, p1nkstar, shares the story of her evolution from performance artist creating a pop star persona for Instagram to real life pop star to community leader creating spaces for fellow trans artists to showcase their work in Texas. This episode also features guest co-host Melissa Lin Sturges, coordinator of the annual Doric Wilson Panel for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) LGBTQ+ Focus Group.

event poster for the 4th Black Spatial Relics Convening.
The Fourth Black Spatial Relics Convening
Video

The Fourth Black Spatial Relics Convening

A Constellation of Artist Talks, Ceremonies, a Digital Performance Showcase, and Varied Conjures/Facilitations on Black Virtuosic Hope-Building

Thursday 27 July - Sunday 30 July 2023
Philadelphia, PA

Highlighting sacred local cultural institutions including the Colored Girls Museum, the Discovery Center, and a ritual tour across the city of Philadelphia, this gathering is a space for a stirring up of a new hope, inspired entirely by the study of our ancestral and living leaders who have built for themselves and their communities a daily practice of Black virtuosic hope.

event poster with text for brecht on brecht muller on muller.
Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller
Video

Brecht on Brecht//Müller on Müller

An Improvisation Inspired by George Tabori’s Legendary Brecht on Brecht Collage

Thursday 23 March 2023
New York City

Poems, songs, and play excerpts from Brecht about war, refugees, and singing about dark times are mixed with writings from Heiner Müller about theatre, America, capitalism and the end of revolutions.

photograph of posaka dancers performing on stage.
Livestreaming a Performance: Posaka
Video

Livestreaming a Performance: Posaka

Kinding Sindaw Celebrates Our 30th Anniversary !

Saturday 22 October 2022
New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club presents Posaka with Kinding Sindaw livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 22 October 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 3 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 4 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

PUHA Podcast Teaser.
Climate Crisis
Podcast

Climate Crisis

21 October 2022

In this episode, co-hosts Bíborka and Zsófi are joined by visual and performance artist and environmental activist, Éva Bubla; dancer, choreographer, researcher, and founder of the performance research group SVUNG, Kinga Szemessy; and culture manager, event organizer, curator, founder of the PLACCC Festival, and the Hungarian liaison for the IN SITU Network, Fanni Nánay. Drawing from their individual experiences, they discuss the current climate crisis and how different artists engage with this complex issue.

PUHA Podcast Teaser.
Autobiography
Podcast

Autobiography

12 October 2022

In this episode, hosts Zsófi and Bíborka take apart autobiographical theatre with stage director Panni Néder, actress Judit Tarr, actor and director László Göndör, and director and dramaturg Kristóf Kelemen. Together they delve into their approach to autobiographical material, playing themselves versus acting, their lives after creating a highly personal show, and the nuances of someone else playing them onstage.

PUHA Podcast Teaser.
Visual Arts
Podcast

Visual Arts

21 September 2022

In the third episode of PUHA podcast, co-hosts Zsófi and Bíborka talk to the interdisciplinary collective Hollow, the experimental scenographer Eszter Kálmán, and dancer-choreographer Beatrix Simkó. Together, they discuss how their work features across different media and mixes visual and digital art with performativity. Get ready for a journey across household noise choreographies, moving bodies in Vienna’s Leopold Museum, underground queer communities in Tbilisi, and stories of friendship and pregnancy in performance art!

PUHA Season 1 Episode 2 w/ Gergö David Farkas, Kemelo Sehlapelo, and Veronika Szabó.
Queerness and Gender
Podcast

Queerness and Gender

14 September 2022

In this week’s episode of PUHA podcast, co-hosts Bíborka and Zsófi navigate their way through a discussion of what queerness means with performer, actress, and director Veronika Szabó; contemporary dancer Kemelo Sehlapelo; and dancer, choreographer, and clubber Gergő Dávid Farkas. Together, they contemplate identities, responsibility, and the way queer people exist in society.

PUHA Podcast Teaser.
Public Space
Podcast

Public Space

7 September 2022

In the first episode of PUHA (Performative Unity in the Hungarian Arts) podcast, co-hosts Zsófi and Bíborka, along with their guests, search for the meaning of the notion of “public space.” Through the experiences and experiments of interdisciplinary sound artist Dávid Somló; choreographer Flóra Eszter Sarlós; dancer and choreographer Gyula Cserepes; and theatremaker and performer Sarah Günther, this episode will take you on a tour of spaces, from Budapest to Denmark to London and more!

A person on the ground writing on a sign.
When Performance Art Is an Anti-War Instrument, Part Two
Essay

When Performance Art Is an Anti-War Instrument, Part Two

4 August 2022

In part two of his essay, Russian theatremaker Viktor Vilisov delves deeper into the performative nature of war itself and how art can create spaces for collective remembrance and grief.

Person holding a sign.
When Performance Art Is an Anti-War Instrument, Part One
Essay

When Performance Art Is an Anti-War Instrument, Part One

2 August 2022

Russian theatremaker Viktor Vilisov analyzes the power performance protest holds in opposing war, oppressive governments, and state violence.

A shirtless man holds up a book.
Learning from Sources: Performance and Climate Crisis in Four Brazilian Works
Essay

Learning from Sources: Performance and Climate Crisis in Four Brazilian Works

20 April 2022

In Martin Domecq’s contribution to the Climate Emergency series, he puts four Brazillian performance art pieces in conversation to draw upon the poetic, political, and civic lessons they offer. These performances—which range from installations to solo and group performances—model possible paradigms that work against ecological crisis.

A welcome mat lying on the ground amongst bits of paper.
Eco-Performance: Brazil
Essay

Eco-Performance: Brazil

19 April 2022

Elizabeth Doud introduces the Climate Emergency series, which looks to Brazilian artivism for reparative paths forward in the face of climate change.

portrait of the artist wearing a tophat and looking through a monacle.
Coffeehouse Chronicles #162 with Penny Arcade
Video

Coffeehouse Chronicles #162 with Penny Arcade

Part Artist-Portrait, Part History Lesson, and Part Community Forum, Coffeehouse Chronicles Takes an Intimate Look at the Development of Downtown Theatre in New York City

Saturday 5 March 2022
United States

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club presented Coffeehouse Chronicles #162 with Penny Arcade livestreaming on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv livestreaming on Saturday 5 March 2022 at 12 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 2 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 3 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

A puppet booth with two puppets in the window.
The Brutalities of Mr. Punch
Essay

The Brutalities of Mr. Punch

27 January 2022

Leda Farrow considers the history, legacy, and symbolic potential of Mr. Punch, a hand puppet characterized by his violent acts.

SEGAL TALKS: Eiko Otake
Video

SEGAL TALKS: Eiko Otake

Join us for a conversation with Eiko Otake: A Body in Fukushima

Monday 20 December 2021
Japan

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS, a conversation about curating, producing, and presenting theatre and performance in the time of COVID with Eiko Otake, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network on Monday 20 December 2021 at 9 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 11 a.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 12 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 17:00 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 18:00 CET (Berlin, UTC +1).

artist sits with instrument.
Electric Gugak
Video

Electric Gugak

A Multi-Locational Live Concert which Features Performances from Seoul, New York City, and Los Angeles

Friday 5 November 2021
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Electric Gugak livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 5 November 2021 at 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10 a.m. KST (Seoul, UTC +9).

artist holding a sitar in front of an image of a galaxy.
Waves of Gravity
Video

Waves of Gravity

Through Raga, Polyphonic Overtone Singing, Experimental Music, Improvisational Flights of Fancy, and Spoken Word, Neel Murgai Creates a Psychedelic Universe of Sight and Sound

Thursday 21 October and Friday 22 October 2021
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub present Waves of Gravity livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 21 October and Friday 22 October 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

black background with white text taylor talks above black and white portraits of artists
Taylor Talks: HERE Resident Artists talk art & process with Taylor Mac
Video

Taylor Talks: HERE Resident Artists talk art & process with Taylor Mac

Episode 8: Sachiyo Takahashi & gamin

Tuesday 4 May 2021
United States

HERE presented Taylor Talks: Episode 8 with Sachiyo Takahashi & gamin livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 4 May 2021 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

arms covered in paint reaching toward a person looking down.
Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition
Video

Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 30 April 2021
Kenya

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 April 2021 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. PDT (New York, UTC -4) / 7 p.m. EAT (Nairobi, UTC +3).

zoom windows of artists performing in their homes.
Sonic Gathering In Person
Video

Sonic Gathering In Person

Featuring a rotating cast of dancers and musicians presenting new collaborative work of movement and sound

Wednesday 7 April 2021
United States

CultureHub presented Sonic Gathering In Person with Re-Fest livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 7 April 2021 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

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