Performance Space New York Announces Spring 2021 Programming

Performance Space New York announces its Spring 2021 programming, with collaborative, connective processes and hybrid projects-embracing virtual and audio forms necessitated by the pandemic while safely welcoming the public back into the building.

FRAGMENTED BODY PERCEPTIONS AS HIGHER VIBRATION FREQUENCIES TO GOD, an installation-built from Kudzu ash, water, algae, moss, stone-from poet/visual artist Precious Okoyomon brings audience members back to Performance Space for the first time, transforming it into a space for grief, mourning, and catharsis (March 20-May 9).

A supergroup of Black femme theatermakers, AFROFEMONONOMY (including Lileana Blain-Cruz, Charlotte Brathwaite, Eisa Davis, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Ayesha Jordan, Joie Lee, April Matthis, Jennifer Harrison Newman, Okwui Okpokwasili, Stacey Karen Robinson, Kaneza Schaal, and others) join together in a responsive collaboration surrounding works by Kathleen Collins, Adrienne Kennedy, and Eisa Davis (March 1-June 27). And the second iteration of Knowledge of Wounds-a ceremony, a digital fire, a calling to vibrate in good relations across Indigenous time and space, curated by S.J Norman (Koori, Wiradjuri descent) and Joseph M. Pierce (Cherokee Nation)-reimagines the event as a virtual platform unfolding throughout 2021, connecting people across the world and centering Indigenous practices of care, sovereignty, and accessibility.

02020, the year-long project during which a group of NYC-based artists were invited-together with the staff and board-to re-vision Performance Space New York, concluded as planned at the end of December 2020. But the work continues. 02020's principled goals have been emergent, and many of the reflections from the year's experiences are materializing through continuing engagement. This year, members from 02020 are collaborating with Staff and Board to devise and implement a slow-time process that centers deep commitment and conversation with Performance Space's expanding constituencies. This will help reshape the vision and strategic plan for the future by building systems for access, equitable employment, and life-affirming institutional practices.