Highlights from our Performance Lab
L to R: Eric Chen, Newsha Tavakolian, Alice Proujansky, Arlene Mejorado, and Andrea Carrillo Iglesias. Photo by Irynka Hromotska
“Performance is disruptive to the politics that are present in photography, it brings different axis points to the work, allowing a level of ambiguity—not everything has to be so clear, freeing a space to open up possibilities, and have less control.” – Andrea Carrillo Iglesias
Earlier this month, Magnum Foundation fellows gathered for an experimental Performance Lab at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University for an exploration of how time-based performance can be a generative force for experimentation in documentary photography and visual-storytelling.
This two-day workshop invited past Magnum Foundation fellows Andrea Carrillo Iglesias, Tamara Abdul Hadi, Arlene Mejorado, Christopher Gregory-Rivera, Alice Proujansky, Newsha Tavakolian, and Nolan Trowe, as well as Eric Chen from the Brown Institute, to use performance to activate upon their current photographic projects.
Fellows were asked frequently to answer the question “what is your project;” while simultaneously being introduced to performance theory and practical aspects like budgeting. Each iteration demonstrated that formal artistic limits, or logistics—such as financial requirements—can act as catalysts for creative expansion even in the simplest of moments.
The lab was facilitated by Andrew Kircher, and featured presentations from Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, Annie Saunders, and sister sylvester, who discussed past works and performance as practice.
