There may be another year to go until Performa’s next biennial, but in the meantime, the New York City performance art nonprofit is taking to Broadway for a one-night-only variety show. The fundraiser for the city’s only performance biennial will be a true cabaret, drawing on comedy, dance, music, and even acrobatics (there’s that resurgence of contemporary clowning, you know) across 12 acts on June 10 at Midtown’s Town Hall theater.
The show brings together stage, screen, and time-based performers like actor Julio Torres, performance artist Anne Imhof, and dancer Yvonne Rainer. Performa, which is known for commissioning artists to dip their toe into performance for the first time, has also invited a handful of visual artists to take the stage. Barbara Kruger, who once plastered a roving yellow school bus with her signature Future Bold text for Performa’s 2017 biennial, will participate, as will Pictures Generation legend Laurie Simmons, who made her career behind the camera. Marcel Dzama—who has created whimsical pieces for the Bedford L station in Williamsburg and the New York City Ballet—will step out from behind the curtain for the fundraiser, too. (For Performa’s 2023 edition, he organized a stage show inspired by the Spanish poet Federico Lorca.)
The artists will be joined by a collection of boundary-pushing musicians, including Los Angeles-based experimentalist Slauson Malone, pianist Precious Renee Tucker, and assemblage artist and musician Lonnie Holley, who has collaborated with the likes of Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, and billy woods.
Founded in 2004 by RoseLee Goldberg, Performa has been a hub for shows, talks, artist residencies, and educational events year round, culminating with the biennial every other November. For three weeks, Performa packs the city with live art of all kinds, from a mock-revival hosted by “preacher” Adam Pendleton to a walking tour of queer performance history in the East Village with McKenzie Wark to a collective laughing fit by Michelle Handelman. For more than 20 years, Performa has been the creative force behind some of New York’s most exhilarating art experiences. Luckily, June 10 offers an opportunity to tide yourself over in between biennials.
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
Danielle Mckinney Shares the Advice That Keeps Her Painting Even on Her Worst Days
What Not Having Mental Imagery Implies for Psychoanalysis, Trauma, and Our Sense of Self
Meet the Woman Who Curated the Art on Miranda Priestly’s Walls
Mina Stone’s Guide to Eating, Buying, and Cooking With Chocolate (More) Safely
Can Raising Children Make You a Better Artist? Four Artist Mothers Weigh In.
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?
