News

30. März 2017

PERFORMA ANNOUNCES DETAILS FOR PERFORMA 17

PERFORMA ANNOUNCES DETAILS FOR PERFORMA 17
NOVEMBER 1–19, 2017
THROUGHOUT NEW YORK CITY

PERFORMA 17 COMMISSIONS INCLUDE:
YTO BARRADA (Morocco/France)
WILLIAM KENTRIDGE (South Africa)
TARIK KISWANSON (Sweden/Palestine)
KEMANG WA LEHULERE (South Africa)
JULIE MEHRETU (Ethiopia) and JASON MORAN (USA)
ZANELE MUHOLI (South Africa)
WANGECHI MUTU (Kenya)
KELLY NIPPER (USA)
JIMMY ROBERT (France)
TRACEY ROSE (South Africa)

NEW YORK – Performa, the internationally acclaimed organization dedicated to live performance across
disciplines, announces select commissions and the historical anchor for Performa 17—the seventh
edition of the Performa Biennial, to take place November 1–19, 2017, at locations throughout New York
City.

Since its inception, Performa has been a leader in commissioning artists whose work has collectively
shaped a new chapter in the multi-century legacy of visual artists working in live performance. Founded
by art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg, the organization is dedicated to exploring the critical role
of live performance in the history of twentieth-century art, as well as its enormous significance in the
international world of contemporary art.

Performa 17’s team of curators and producers will present commissions and projects around curatorial
research themes focused on a cross cultural dialogue between Africa and the West, the legacy of Dada,
and the intersection of architecture and performance, that represent timely opportunities to work with a
diverse range of global contemporary artists. The resulting commissions and scholarship examine
immediate and critical concerns confronting our urban centers, the shifting political and cultural currents
of our turbulent world today, and ultimately the role of the arts and of artists in supporting afflicted
communities. This edition of the Biennial will focus on the sociopolitical context informing contemporary
art today, and how best to engage audiences in significantly understanding and absorbing its aesthetics
and intrinsic values. Additional commissions, projects and details will be announced in the coming
months.

16. März 2017

Hands off our Revolution

epodium founder Andreas Backoefer participates in the project „Hands off our Revolution„.

MISSION STATEMENT

Wir sind eine globale Vereinigung, die radikale künstlerische Inhalte unterstützen und bestärken will. Wir glauben, dass Kunst hilfreich sein kann der wachsenden Rhetorik des rechten Populismus und des Faschismus – dem stärker werdenden Ausdruck von Fremdenfeindlichkeit, Rassismus, Sexismus, Homophobie und unentschuldbarer Intoleranz – etwas entgegen zu setzen.

Wir wissen, dass Freiheit niemals vorausgesetzt werden kann, sondern gewonnen werden muss, Gerechtigkeit nicht gegeben, sondern einzufordern ist. Beides gilt es zu erkämpfen und zu beschützen und beides war in der westlichen Nachkriegsgesellschaft noch nie so zerbrechlich, noch nie so nahe daran uns zu entgleiten wie in diesem Augenblick. Als Künstler ist es unsere Aufgabe und unsere Pflicht soziale Beziehungen, die von rechtspopulistischer Herrschaft bedroht werden, zu überdenken und neu zu erfinden. Es ist unsere Verantwortung solidarisch zu sein. Wir werden nicht klein beigeben. Wir sehen uns in dieser Rolle und es ist gleichzeitig unsere Chance Menschen dazu zu bringen klar und offen über Ideen zu debattieren, indem wir die uns eigenen Ausdrucksformen und unsere öffentlichen Räume nutzen.

6. März 2017

At Volta and Nada fairs, two takes on politics

Artists respond to the new global order with works that range from amusing to acidic
by GABRIELLA ANGELETI | 3 March 2017
(via The Art Newspaper)

The effects of fractured political systems are looming themes at Armory week satellite fairs geared toward younger dealers and artists. At Volta, running 1-5 March at Pier 90, the centerpiece is a curated section, organised by the Brooklyn-based curator Wendy Vogel. Titled Your Body is a Battleground after the famous Barbara Kruger photomontage, created on the occasion of the 1989 Women’s March on Washington, the mini-exhibition comprises works by eight artists dealing with the idea of resistance, including a colossal installation titled PATRIOT (2017) by the Kentucky-based artist Melissa Vandenberg that spells out its title with sewn and stuffed surplus military fabric.