Performance besides Itself. Infra- and Parastructures of a Contemporary Liveness

Symposium: Thu, 06.12. – Fri, 07.12.2024 
Guests: tba
Curators: Freda Fiala & Frederike Sperling

Performance thrives on the physical presence of its actors and the spatial conditions where it takes place. It is eminently context-bound and site-specific. In this way, performance always draws attention, directly or indirectly, to the institutional framework of its presentation and the material and social infrastructures that enable (and limit) it.

The symposium Performance besides Itself. Infra- and Parastructures of a Contemporary Liveness examines the dynamics between performance and its institutional-infrastructural context. How do performance and the institution relate to one another? To what degree does the institutional set conditions for performance and how do performative practices, in turn, transform the working methods and infrastructures of art institutions? These and other questions will be posed and discussed by performance curators, theorists, and practitioners over the course of the two-day symposium.