Performa 2021 Biennial Catalog

This book provides a vivid account of eight ambitious Performa Commissions produced for Performa Biennial 2021, which took place in October 2021, nearly eighteen months after New York shut down almost entirely at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this intensely difficult and unprecedented time, Kevin Beasley, Ericka Beckman, Sara Cwynar, Danielle Dean, Madeline Hollander, Andrés Jacque, Tschabalala Self, and Shikeith created performances that responded to the the social, political, and emotional complexity of this time in radical and meaningful ways. Created especially for the streets, parks, and beaches of New York, they brought together audiences in the city's newly invigorated public spaces to celebrate the persistence and necessity of creativity in times of crisis.

"The most arresting moments in this year's biennial were also the most evanescent -- the ones that interrupted performance's recent, long disappearing act by transforming that absence into a capacious and expressive presence."
-- Rachel Valinsky, Artforum, November 24, 2021