Rana Hamadeh’s cacophonous sonic work takes the Shiite ceremony of Ashoura –– encompassing its current political, military, and legal expressions within the Lebanese/Syrian context, as its field for commentary and research –– an annual ritual during which mourners take the streets to 're-witness' the slaying of al-imam al-Hussein (626–680 AD), the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad and an allegorical reference to the ultimate figure of the oppressed.

Chef Antto Melasniemi and artist Rirkrit Tiravanija will combine music, food, and performance in an evening-length event at the Performa Hub.

For more than sixty years, German conceptual artist Franz Erhard Walther has been radically reimagining the relationship between space, objects, and bodies. While maybe better known in Europe than in the United States, Walther’s formative artistic experience took place in New York. Co-produced with Judd Foundation, Walther’s Performa Commission “Creation Needs Action” builds on the relationship between Walther and Judd and offers a means to compare two masters of Minimal Art.

Curated by PUBLICS, co-presented with Performa, and co-produced by PALO Art Productions, SONIC TONIC ASSEMBLY, a listening program of innovative sound artists using location-specific field recording as their starting point to create aural worlds at the intersection of sonic poetry, abstracted music, and experimental black and global feminist technologies. SONIC TONIC ASSEMBLY has two overlapping episodes of an extended unfolding event that sounds out and listens in.

Boy mother / faceless bloom is a stage work by Juni One Set, a collaboration of Senga Nengudi, eddy kwon, and Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble. Threading mythology and autobiography, while drawing from the diverse lineages of queer, anti-colonial, and care-based artistic practices. Dance, music, poetry, ritual, and sculptural installation converge to tell a story of transformation, transgression, and the formation of new trancestral lines.

For more than sixty years, German conceptual artist Franz Erhard Walther has been radically reimagining the relationship between space, objects, and bodies. While maybe better known in Europe than in the United States, Walther’s formative artistic experience took place in New York. Co-produced with Judd Foundation, Walther’s Performa Commission “Creation Needs Action” builds on the relationship between Walther and Judd and offers a means to compare two masters of Minimal Art.

Boy mother / faceless bloom is a stage work by Juni One Set, a collaboration of Senga Nengudi, eddy kwon, and Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble. Threading mythology and autobiography, while drawing from the diverse lineages of queer, anti-colonial, and care-based artistic practices. Dance, music, poetry, ritual, and sculptural installation converge to tell a story of transformation, transgression, and the formation of new trancestral lines.

Moderated by curator and writer Bhavisha Panchia, the episode Sounding a Black Grammar will advance different registers of listening through discussions and playback sessions with HxH (Lester St. Louis and Chris Williams) and Lamin Fofana, a film screening with Tony Cokes, the launch of the album Stupor by KMRU, and a pop-up shop with talks, listening sessions, and new releases from Sonic Wilderness, including with AGF, Cucina Povera, Lau Nau and Islaja.

Gregg Bordowitz and Pamela Sneed will present the first episode of a year-long project exploring the intersection of art and health activism, a subject that has influenced both their work and lives in myriad ways since the AIDS epidemic began in the 1980s.

For more than sixty years, German conceptual artist Franz Erhard Walther has been radically reimagining the relationship between space, objects, and bodies. While maybe better known in Europe than in the United States, Walther’s formative artistic experience took place in New York. Co-produced with Judd Foundation, Walther’s Performa Commission “Creation Needs Action” builds on the relationship between Walther and Judd and offers a means to compare two masters of Minimal Art.

Boy mother / faceless bloom is a stage work by Juni One Set, a collaboration of Senga Nengudi, eddy kwon, and Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble. Threading mythology and autobiography, while drawing from the diverse lineages of queer, anti-colonial, and care-based artistic practices. Dance, music, poetry, ritual, and sculptural installation converge to tell a story of transformation, transgression, and the formation of new trancestral lines.

At the Performa Hub, Franz Erhard Walther and Performa senior curator Charles Aubin discuss Walther's Performa Commission Creation Needs Action.

As a part of her solo show at Salon 94, Los Angeles-based artist and sculptor Karon Davis will present a ballet amongst the sculptures of her exhibition, Beauty Must Suffer.

Calling upon past generations of New York artists such as John Giorno and David Wojnarowicz, novelist and performance-poet Niko Hallikainen will premiere Lavender Deal, a reflection on a pandemic-era romance. Hallikainen weaves personal experiences with historical collective memories through a “séance” summoning the spirits of New York’s queer artistic legends to navigate longing, love, and loss in contemporary life. A co-production with Tibet House.

Holley will perform live, accompanied by instrumental duo Nelson Patton and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, followed by a discussion with his musical collaborator Lee Bains, improvising and exploring ideas of protest music, particularly in the context of the US South and the abolitionist movement.

For Performa 2023, SUPERFLEX will produce new versions of Free Beer.

For more than sixty years, German conceptual artist Franz Erhard Walther has been radically reimagining the relationship between space, objects, and bodies. While maybe better known in Europe than in the United States, Walther’s formative artistic experience took place in New York. Co-produced with Judd Foundation, Walther’s Performa Commission “Creation Needs Action” builds on the relationship between Walther and Judd and offers a means to compare two masters of Minimal Art.

Calling upon past generations of New York artists such as John Giorno and David Wojnarowicz, novelist and performance-poet Niko Hallikainen will premiere Lavender Deal, a reflection on a pandemic-era romance. Hallikainen weaves personal experiences with historical collective memories through a “séance” summoning the spirits of New York’s queer artistic legends to navigate longing, love, and loss in contemporary life. A co-production with Tibet House.

Drawing from the history of protest movements in South Africa, this performance explores the relationship between the sound of defiance and the desire to build community from a foundation of radical love.

In AJAIB MAHLUQAT (ACAYIP MAHLUKAT), Göksu Kunak will present a live performance that tackles the notions of camouflage and self–censorship in relation to the politics and dictator(s) of an imaginary region.

Join the closing night of the Performa 2023 Biennial. Music by DJ Lovie.