Projects tagged "Performance"

Adrian Piper, Mythic Being, 1973 - 1975
Practitioner:
Adrian Piper
Date:
Jan 1 1973
Adrian Piper disguised her identity, changing her race, sex, and social class in order to experiment in public situations and gauge people’s reactions. She investigated how outwardly visible identity markers (like skin color) impacted others’ perceptions of her character. By manipulating her (apparent) identity to produce reactions, she demonstrated the power and influence of stereotypes (Piper, 1996).
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Practitioner:
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Date:
Apr 9 1979
"The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence® is a leading-edge Order of queer nuns. Since our first appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment.
The LES vs. Hurricane Sandy
Practitioner:
Good Old Lower East Side
Date:
Sep 16 2014
In anticipation of Climate March NYC 2014, Good Old Lower East Side, a non-profit focused on defending tenants rights and disaster preparedness outreach following the wake of Hurricane Sandy, implemented a arts-based intervention called "The LES vs. Hurricane Sandy".
BLOOD. by Kendrick Lamar
Practitioner:
Kendrick Lamar
Date:
Apr 14 2017
Kendick Lamar is known as one of the most prolific, and socially conscious, rappers of our time. 'BLOOD.' is the second track off of Lamar's iconic album 'DAMN.' from 2017. What makes this song stand out is the sample used at the end of part one of the song.
#BeyChella
Practitioner:
Beyonce
Date:
Apr 14 2018
Beyoncé delivered an intensely, unapologetic celebration of Black and HBCU culture at the Coachella Festival 2 weekends in a row. Not only were her performances some of the best live performances to date but they sent a pretty significant message to the world. Here are some assessments of this beautiful demonstration of Blackness and Black Girl Magic: From BBC News:
Bloody Bridal Gown Protest
Practitioner:
Resource Center for Gender Equality
Date:
Dec 6 2016
Women took to the streets of Beirut wearing blood-stained wedding dresses with signs that said "A white dress does not cover up rape. Undress 522," referring to the number of the penal article in question. The demonstration was an act by the Beirut-based Resource Center for Gender Equality (ABAAD) association on December 6.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Release Two Live Albums For Australian Wildfire Benefit
Practitioner:
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Date:
Jan 10 2020
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released a pair of live albums to benefit relief efforts in response to devastating wildfires in their native Australia.
The Comfort Illusion
Practitioner:
Nic Adams
Date:
Oct 1 2018
The Comfort Illusion is a solo aural performance that highlights the effects our everyday actions can have on the environment. Through mixed media storytelling using sound and lighting, Adams narrates the life of "The Overkiller" a fictional villian who negatively impacts the earth and the lives of the people around him through smaller everyday decisions. This character constantly prioritizes convenience over care and responsibility (ie.
Gay Shame S.F.
Practitioner:
Gay Shame S.F.
Date:
Dec 17 2001
From the screaming queens of the Stonewall Riots to the contemporary Human Rights Campaign corporate gays, the politics and methods of queer activism have clearly fluxuated. By the late 1970s, the radicalism of stonewall was replaced with a more formal Gay Liberation movement that focused on civil rights.
Queer vernaculars and visual narratives IRANTI
Practitioner:
Iranti
Date:
Jan 3 2012
ONGOING ORGANIZATION: CALLED: Iranti [pronounced írantì] is the Yoruba word for ‘memory’. Largely found in South West Nigeria and parts of Benin Republic, the Yoruba people consider memory a prized form of intelligence which determines how often one remembers what they see and hear.
Coco Fusco and Paula Heredia’s The Couple in the Cage: Guatinaui Odyssey
Practitioner:
Coco Fusco and MoMA
Date:
Jan 1 1993
The Couple in the Cage documents the travelling performance of Guillermo Gómez -Peña and Coco Fusco, in which they exhibited themselves as caged Amerindians from an imaginary island. While the artists’ intent was to create a satirical commentary on the notion of discovery, they soon realized that many of their viewers believed the fiction, and thought the artists were real “savages”.
A Viral Dance and ‘Happiness Campaign’ Frustrates Iran’s Clerics
Practitioner:
Date:
Dec 16 2023
It all started when a 70-year-old fish market stall owner nicknamed “Booghy” was grooving in public, in violation of Iranian law. A new form of protest against the government is rocking Iran: a viral dance craze set to an upbeat folk song where crowds clap and chant the rhythmic chorus, ‘oh, oh, oh, oh.’
Latin Party at Racist Aaron Schlossberg's UWS Apartment
Practitioner:
The People for Bernie Sanders, Latinos for revolution, Viva Bernie 2020, Young Progressives of America, POlitics Reborn, Woke folks, Millennials for revolution, Unofficial: DNC, New York City Progressives, The Digital Left
Date:
May 18 2018
Action as a response to viral video of Attorney Aaron Schlossberg's racist rant against Spanish speaking customers and employees at a midtown restaurant. The "Latin Party" included food, music, and dance celebrating Latina/o culture in the US. From FB event page:
ALV Rooftop protest draws international coverage
Practitioner:
Animal Liberation Victoria
Date:
May 4 2011
QUESTION: Year after year, decade after decade, you alert the legal authorities to cruelty violations and suffering animals in peril, yet nothing ever happens. You know for a fact there are thousands of screaming and suffering hens inside a factory farm and you know the authorities will once again turn a blind eye, so what do you do? 


Acting Lessons
Practitioner:
New LIfe Foundation
Date:
Jan 14 2013
The New Life Foundation is a Colombian organization located in Bogota, whose aim consists of offering vulnerable women alternatives to quit prostitution and rehabilitate from its surrounding dangers (crime, drug addiction, AIDS, etc.) One of its remarkable projects was based on theater as a method to overcome a past of shame and grief building a more dignant present in which they co-construct with their communities.
Much Ado About BP
Practitioner:
Reclaim Shakespeare Company
Date:
Oct 24 2012
"Members of the Reclaim Shakespeare Company jumped on stage at the Noël Coward theatre to deliver another surprise anti-BP performance. Just before the second half of a BP-sponsored Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) performance of Much Ado About Nothing was due to begin, the three actor-vists performed a short Shakespeare-inspired piece.
Party at the Unemployment Office
Practitioner:
Enmedio
Date:
Apr 30 2009
The crisis is here, let the party begin! April 30, 2009. At first the crisis was just a state of being, a kind of social sadness that paralyzed everything. To break this atmosphere we couldn’t think of anything better than to throw a party. The first thing you need for a party is a good location, so we set out to find a place where social sadness and fear were extremely present. It didn’t take us long to find one: an unemployment office.
Zhang Huan, To Raise the Water Level in a Fishpond
Practitioner:
Zhuang Huan, some laborers, fishermen, construction workers
Date:
Sep 1 1997
Zhuang Huan invited more than 40 men - laborers, fishermen, construction workers––who had recently migrated to Beijing from other areas of China to participate. Zhang Huan said, “In order to find these workers, I visited many of the shacks where they live.”
Organization for the Democratization of the Visual Arts
Practitioner:
DHAdmann
Date:
Jun 10 2026
ODBK is an activist organization that aims to create a more equal, diverse, inclusive, transparent and democratic art world. ODBK seeks to do this by diversify and increase the number of people who understand and engage with contemporary art.
Soundsuits
Practitioner:
Nick Cave
Date:
May 3 1992
Nick Cave is an American fabric sculptor, performance artist, and dancer. He was born on February 4, 1959, in Fulton, Missouri. Currently, Cave lives in Chicago, Illinois, where he works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as the director of the graduate fashion program.
Cabaret Con-Sensual
Practitioner:
Bitsy La Bourbon, More Than No
Date:
Aug 1 2016
“Cabaret Con-Sensual is an effort comprised of actors, dancers, comedians, producers, writers, and other artists who strive to champion consent and discuss rape-culture through the subversive, yet expressive medium of the performing arts.” The show was created by Bitsy La Bourbon, founder of the anti rape campaign and non profit organization More Than No.
Waiting for Godot in New Orleans
Practitioner:
Paul Chan - Creative Time
Date:
Nov 1 2007
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project: Give cameras to people with HIV. The pictures: Joy, grief, desire, hope
Practitioner:
David Gere, Gideon Mendel
Date:
Nov 28 2019
For artist Vasilios Papapitsios, going public with his HIV status has been gradual.
People's Tours: A social history of the South End walking tour
Practitioner:
People's Tours
Date:
Jun 16 2012
In early 2012, a group of artists, activists and assorted other odd balls got together to form People's Tours. The idea was to give walking tours in the Boston area. Standard enough. But instead of the usual history, we would talk about social justice, contested spaces, important protests, and shady corporations. So far, the group has consisted of Dave Taber, Heather McCann, Kristin Parker, Neil Horsky, and Tim Devin.
Shaving hair performance art in response to the gender discrimination existing in the Chinese educational system
Practitioner:
Xiao Meili, Liang Xiaomen, Li Maizi
Date:
Aug 23 2012
In early July 2012, after the Chinese college entrance examination results were announced, the media found that many colleges and universities had gender bias on the admitted scores, and the maximum difference between men and women was up to 40 points. This finding aroused widespread concern and dissatisfaction from the public.

Pages