Performa Biennial opens its 10th edition in New York City.
Marcel Dzama, Death Disco Dance, 2011. © Marcel Dzama. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner.
New York City’s Performa Biennial, a leading event in live interdisciplinary performance art, opens its 10th edition today. Organized by founder RoseLee Goldberg and a seasoned curatorial team, this year’s event addresses themes of political urgency while celebrating New York’s rich cultural landscape.
Showcasing works from 40 international artists and collectives, scheduled through November 19th, the 2023 Biennial will feature newly commissioned pieces exploring environmental, political, and cultural critiques. Artists such as Nikita Gale, Julien Creuzet, Marcel Dzama, Franz Erhard Walther, Nora Turato, and Haegue Yang will present works developed over two years for Performa’s Commissions series.
Performances will unfold across several locations, including the Performa Biennial Hub located at 408–412 Broadway. “With Performa, every two years, we have focused on the conception of space in the form of the Performa Hub as an architectural container for new performance as well as for public conversations around it,” Goldberg said. The Hub will serve as a venue for talks, screenings, and performances featuring an international and intergenerational cadre of artists, including but not limited to Gregg Bordowitz, Pamela Sneed, Louis Chude-Sokei, and Hito Steyerl.
Additionally, this year, curators Defne Ayas and Kathy Noble are introducing the new series “Protest & Performance: A Way of Life,” created to emphasize the transformative power of performance art in political activism.
The biennial also welcomes the Finnish Pavilion Without Walls, a dedicated space for experimental artists from Finland. This initiative highlights the confluence of dance, sound, and performance art in contemporary Finnish culture, featuring artists such as Pilvi Takala and Niko Hallikainen, among others.