The Outset Partners Awards Programme 2021 awarded a Transformative Award to Performa, to support the launching of a new digital platform. ‘Living Archives’ transformed Performa’s global reach as it publicly documents the organisation’s pioneering work since 2005. Encompassing visual art, dance, theatre, music, film, and public art, the Performa archive is rich in performance-based projects by established visual artists; projects that reimagine historical works through highly original staging; works exploring avant-garde performance history; and site-specific performance-based work.
RoseLee Goldberg, Founder & Chief Curator of Performa said:
‘We are thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of this extraordinarily generous grant from Outset. It will indeed be truly transformational, allowing Performa to move ahead with an ambitious and innovative new approach to “the archive”, and Performa’s digital presence globally, that we have been developing over the past several years. Several sections of the archive, as well as outlets for reaching diverse audiences, such as our Radical Broadcast program, have been in place and much heralded for some time, but the larger scope of Performa’s vision for its ‘living archive’ has been on hold. Outset’s infusion of funds at this critical juncture will make all the difference. With their support, we will be able to move forward with the archive and set new levels for communicating the critical social, intellectual and deeply humanist belief systems articulated by the many remarkable artists with whom we work.‘
Click here to access the archive.