Performa’s 10th Anniversary Gala Will Honor “Renaissance Women”

RoseLee Goldberg, Founding Director and Curator of Performa. Photo: Patrick McMullan

On November 4, the New York-based performance art biennial Performa will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a luxe, Renaissance-themed gala celebration with a distinctly feminist bent.

The evening will feature a foodie performance extravaganza by Jennifer Rubell, and will honor Performa’s “Renaissance Women,” an impressive collection of artists, patrons, and donors who make Performa’s work possible. The list includes Maria Baibakova, Melva Bucksbaum, Toby Devan Lewis, Wendy Fisher, Shelley Fox Aarons, Maja Hoffmann, Joan Jonas, Pamela Joyner, Wangechi Mutu, Shirin Neshat, Yvonne Rainer, Cindy Sherman, and Laurie Simmons. With a roster of honorees so star-studded, it’s sure to be an evening (and a guest list) to remember.

The event, described in a press release as “atypical of the traditional gala,” will be hosted by Stefano Tonchi and artist Francesco Vezzoli. The evening will double offer a taste of Performa 15, whose theme will be the Renaissance, paying homage to a vital period of cultural experimentation that, in many ways, witnessed the emergence of performance art. It will be Rubell’s third Performa commission since 2009, and in keeping with the theme, she will produce a “spectacular and fully immersive food performance.”

All proceeds from the event will support the creation of new commissions for the upcoming Performa 15 biennial, slated to take over New York City in November 2015.


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