Okwui Okpokwasili, The Performance Project at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles, 19 November 2022. Photo: Mario de Lopez

Announcing The Performance Project in Los Angeles

26 October 2022

Coinciding with our 30th anniversary in 2022, we are proud to re-affirm its longstanding commitment to live performance by inaugurating The Performance Project, an ambitious initiative conceived to further foreground the performing arts and explore relationships between the myriad forms of path-breaking creative expression that engage the artists of our time.

In a newly dedicated space at our Downtown Los Angeles Arts District location, Season One of The Performance Project will begin 29 October with Martin Creed. Bringing together local and international talents, highlights include:

• Martin Creed: the US premiere of his award-winning performance ‘LIFE IS SOFT’ • Okwui Okpokwasili: A debut work by the American multidisciplinary artist, writer, choreographer and MacArthur Fellow • Yesika Salgado and San Cha: A collaborative performance featuring poetry and music • The House of AWT, curated by the Iconic Sean/Milan GarconTM: A five-category Vogue Ball featuring 30+ House/Ballroom artists • GABE: A musical collaboration featuring EJ Hill, Jeffrey Michael Austin, DonChristian Jones and Morgan Bassichis • Kathryn Garcia: An immersive healing environment including a new film and sculptures • The Woman’s Building: A program on feminist art practices in Los Angeles • Autumn Breon: A performance by the Afro-surrealist artist and freedom seeker • Wu Tsang: The West Coast premiere of ‘MOBY DICK; or, The Whale,’ featuring a live orchestra  The season concludes with the debut of a new project from Jeremy O. Harris

Encompassing music, dance, film, readings and public conversations, this expansive initiative will include but consistently reach beyond the our roster of represented artists to showcase many performing arts visionaries, with a special focus on greater visibility for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices. The Performance Project’s inaugural season will continue the gallery’s practice of offering audiences free and accessible public programs.

‘Performance has been essential to the gallery’s life since the beginning, and we’ve presented hundreds of events across our various spaces in thirty years’ —Marc Payot

Martin Creed’s ‘LIFE IS SOFT’ performance, Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles © Martin Creed. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2022. Photo: Mario de Lopez

Model & Creation: Legendary Mother Fe Garcon © Legendary Mother Fe Garcon. Photo: Rachel Hinman

‘Performance has been essential to the gallery’s life since the beginning, and we’ve presented hundreds of events across our various spaces in thirty years,’ says Marc Payot, President of Hauser & Wirth. ‘Our artists set our agenda, and many of them—from Louise Bourgeois, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Fabio Mauri, and Jason Rhoades to Paul McCarthy, Gary Simmons, Martin Creed, to name a few—have considered performance critical to their ongoing explorations. In addition to inheriting, along with them, the modernist legacy of experimental music, poetry, theater, dance and public discourse as key to the evolution of visual art, Hauser & Wirth also considers new and time-honored works in these various mediums to be another great way to pursue one of our primary goals: we seek ways to fully engage and contribute to the ongoing cultural dialogues in the communities where we work.’

Since opening our doors in 2016, Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles has hosted over 1,000 public programs, including over 50 dynamic performances of dance, theater and music. As a vibrant and multifaceted cultural energy center, the our LA space has fostered collaborations between illustrious artists and local and global companies like the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Dance Project; and Trisha Brown Dance Company. Past programming highlights include an historic re-envisioning of David Hammons’ 2000 ‘Global Fax Festival’ with Monday Evening Concerts; an afternoon reading series by artists, poets, critics and curators inspired by Zoe Leonard’s text work ‘I want a president’; a months-long activation of Gary Simmons’ sculptural installation ‘Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark,’ featuring numerous acts including dance legend Savion Glover; a night celebrating Mike Kelley’s experimental artwork with music by three anti-rock noise bands Extended Organ, Lonely Street and telecaves; and the first ever live musical performance of Charles Gaines’ ‘Manifestos 3’ performed by acclaimed pianist Richard Valitutto; among others.

‘From its very inception, Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles has worked to build a home for our artists and support meaningful connections with our district’s and city’s diverse communities,’ comments Stacen Berg, Partner and head of Hauser & Wirth’s Los Angeles activities. ‘The Performance Project will build upon our longstanding commitment to exceptional live performance programs that connect the gallery and our communities to the greatest creative minds here in LA and beyond. We are thrilled to present homegrown and international artists, and welcome the public to join us in experiencing the provocative, enchanting and perspective-broadening magic of creative live expression.’

To learn more about The Performance Project, including program and ticketing information, please visit hauserwirth.com/performanceproject.