Inside the Biennale | Ep. 8: Dawn Kasper

For the latest installment of her ongoing project “Nomadic Studio Practice,” Dawn Kasper brought the contents of her studio—including art supplies, work tables, a drumset, loudspeakers, and a couch—to the Venice Biennale’s Central Pavilion. There, she will perform for the entire six-month duration of the Biennale. Titled The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars, the performance is the longest iteration of the project since its appearance at the Whitney Biennial in 2012, which lasted for three months.

“Ultimately, I’m trying to prepare myself to be in the moment,” said Kasper in the weeks leading up to Venice. “I’m rehearsing like you would a dance move, for a big six-month show or theater. I’m learning my lines.”

Enter “Viva Arte Viva” on any given day, and you’ll come across Kasper making art, performing music with friends, interacting with exhibition visitors, or meditating—thereby providing a window into the sometimes mystifying, and often mythologized, life and work of an artist. “It’s like having permanent house guests for six months,” says Kasper. “But I’m not in my own home, and there’s all different kinds of people from all over the world that appreciate that I don’t necessarily have an endgame here—but let’s have fun along the way.”

Cover photo by Jarrard Cole.

For the most immersive 3D experience, watch in Google Cardboard via the YouTube app.