Berlin Dec 14th re.act.feminism – performance art of the 1960ʼs & 70ʼs today

--- On Fri, 12/5/08, Boryana Dragoeva wrote: From: Boryana Dragoeva Subject: Berlin Dec 14th re.act.feminism – performance art of the 1960ʼs & 70ʼs today Date: Friday, December 5, 2008, 12:52 AM re.act.feminism – performance art of the 1960ʼs & 70ʼs today Exhibition – Video Archive – Live Performances – Conference 13 December 2008 – 8 February 2009 Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin, Germany A project by cross links e.V., curated by Bettina Knaup and Beatrice E. Stammer. In partnership with Akademie der Künste, Berlin; supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Schering Stiftung and Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. The international performance project re.act.feminism provides an exemplary overview of gender-critical performance art of the 1960s and 1970s and its current 'return' in form of appropriations, re-enactments and archival or documentary projects. The exhibition features photographs, objects, texts, videos, drawings and installations by 25 international artists of different generations. Both renowned and overlooked positions of early performance art will be presented next to contemporary reconsiderations of this genre. A selected number of younger artists will show works referring to early feminist performance art that critically actualize its potentials. An extensive video archive with more than 80 video-performances and performance documents is an integral element of the exhibition. Visitors can view videos on demand, as well as in a curated series of films. This unique collection for the first time provides a wideranging overview of feminist performance art then and now. A live performance program in January 2009 will feature 're-dos' of earlier performances by the same artists as well as direct and indirect appropriations by others. A conference and series of public talks between performers of different generations will round up the program with theoretical reflections and personal insights. In the 1960s and 1970s performance art was the prime medium focusing on the female body beyond its deformation and objectification in mainstream culture. It allowed for the exploration, deconstruction and transgression of (female) identities and offered a field for collective and political action. The aim of the curators of this exhibition is to feature in an exemplary manner the rich, complex and diverse feminist performative practices of the 1960s and 1970s, which are often reduced to an „alternative canon". Thus, Bettina Knaup and Beatrice E. Stammer searched public and private archives and chose photographs, films and other documents, which amply prove how daring, innovative and visionary the first generation of performance artists acted internationally, both in Western and – beyond the Iron Curtain – in Eastern Europe, including the GDR. Rather than having an exclusively retrospective character, the project emphasizes the complex connections and resonances between this history and a contemporary performance art. Exhibition: ca. 25 artists, including: Maja Bajevic (BIH), Tanja Bruguera (CU), Colette (USA), Orshi Drozdik (H), Esther Ferrer (E), Kate Gilmore (USA), Sanja Ivekovic (HR), Verena Kyselka (GDR/D), Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz (USA), Nicola L (FR), Babette Mangolte (USA), Lorraine O'Grady (USA), Yoko Ono (JAP/USA, tbc), Orlan (F), Tanja Ostojic (SRB/D), Ewa Partum (PL/D), Ulrike Rosenbach (D), Boryana Rossa (BG), VALIE EXPORT (A), Stefanie Seibold (D), Gabi Stötzer (GDR/D), Martha Wilson (USA). Video Archive: ca. 80 films, including: Marina Abramovic (SRB/NL), Helena Almeida (PT), Renate Bertlmann (A), Yingmei Duan (CN/D), Simone Forti (IT/USA), Rebecca Horn (D), Joan Jonas (USA), Klonaris/Thomadaki (GR/F), Verica Kovacevska (MK/UK), Evelina Kovylina (RU), Christina Kubisch (D), Nathalia LL (PL), Ana Mendieta (CU), Fina Miralles (ES), Charlotte Moorman (USA), Gina Pane (F), Adrian Piper (USA), Martha Rosler (USA), Cornelia Schleime (GDR/D), Nil Yalter (TR/F). Live Performances: ca. 10 artists, including: Antonia Baer (D), Colette (USA), Lilibeth Cuenca (DK), Sanja Ivekovic und Sonja Pregrad (HR), Boryana Rossa (BG), Andrea Saemann (CH), Carolee Schneemann (USA), Cornelia Sollfrank (GDR/D), Faith Wilding (USA). Contact/Public Relations: artpress – Ute Weingarten Tempelhofer Ufer 17, 10963 Berlin Tel.: +49-30-21961843 Fax: +49-30-21961847 artpress@uteweingarten.de www.artpress-uteweingarten.de Press work: Sara Stehr (stehr.artpress@uteweingarten.de) Public relations: Sabine Wimmel (wimmel.artpress@uteweingarten.de) -- Boryana Rossa