Performistanbul Live Art Research Space Â
Turkey’s first Live Art Research Space PCSAA, that will host numerous resources in the field of Live Art and have a crucial role in the education and development of performance art, is located in Performistanbul’s building situated in Galata neighbourhood of Istanbul. Focused on performance art in Turkey and other geographies, providing a free open access to all, PCSAA is a live art library and archive dedicated to researchers from all fields. Apart from resources such as periodicals, books and thesis focused on Live Art, the collection also includes an archive in constant development that consists of visuals, audio-visual recordings and performance remainings of various artists.
The research space models itself after world’s leading research space in the field of Live, (LADA)Art Development Agency) in London and receives consultancy service from Lois Keidan, the director of LADA.
Why is Performistanbul Live Art Research Space (PCSAA)Â founded?
As a form of contemporary art practice, live process and performance art reach the large masses to increase the awareness and visibility.
Approaching the performance art as a unifying and healing power, we decided to establish a research space that will provide public access to extensive resources (both regional and international) for students, curators and researchers working with/in the field of performance and live art.
Among the goals of PCSAA stands; to archive the live process and the performance art as a component of contemporary art, to form an archival resource of performance art that would contribute to the development of different disciplines as well, to create a space dedicated to the study and development of performance art history that has never been documented nor valued before and enhance awareness and visibility of the discipline.
The PCSAA, which will include more than 7,000 sources consisting of international live art archives, documents and publications,sustains its work by using the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) in London as a model. In this respect, the present digital documentation of international artists’ performances in the LADA has been added to the archive’s collection. In addition, nearly 500 international performance artists were contacted, and archival-documentary donations have been collected from over 100 artists. In order to increase this number, book and archive donations are expected from local and international performance artists or from artists who include performance art in their practice. Donations from Angelica Mesiti, Annegret Soltau, Chloe Chignell,Dennis Oppenheim, Frank Moore, the artist duo Gilbert and George, the performance trio The Icelandic Love Corporation, Martha Wilson, Mette Edvardsen, Myriam Laplante, Shozo Shimamoto and Nancy Buchanan (High Performance Magazines archives) have been received recently.
Performistanbul Live Art Research Space Advisory Board
Towards the staidness of the Project, alongside the union board, Live Art Research Space Advisory Board has been established. The Council members are;
Adrian Heathfield – Curator & Writer, specialised in the areas of live art, performance and dance
Lois Keidan – Founding Director of LADA, activist and writer
Marilyn Arsem – Performance artist, Founder of Mobius, Founder of the Performance Art Department in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and academician
VestAndPage – Verena Stenke and Andrea Pagnes – Performance Art Artist Duo
