Playing Artfully on Stage with Anna Yen

In the last decades, there has come a surge in performance art so strong it almost took us all by surprise. Some are hugely inspiring, some confusing, some downright bizarre, and some (like this one by Tilda Swinton) may be a tid bit boring. But are all of these performance works of art? Maybe yes, maybe not. Like all things in art, it is subjective and there aren’t any black and white rules to define if something is an act of performance art.

If we were to try to define what performance art is, it would be that it is a kind of art that is orchestrated by an artist. However, it is fleeting art - therefore it has a beginning and an end, rather than the permanent artistic work of say, a sculptor or a painter. “It’s the action that’s the art, not so much the physical result,” says performance art of the Grace Exhibition Space, Erik Hokanson.

In Australia, some artists have been producing pioneering performance work, and one worth noting here is Anna Yen. She is a circus and theatre performer, and we especially loved her in “Phoenix Rising”.

On July 12th, Anna Yen is holding a 2-week workshop on how to playfully move and perform on stage. If you’re a dancer, actor, a poet, a musician, or basically an artist – these are skills worth adding to your repertoire.

Please note: This class is for people who identify as Women, Trans or Non-Binary gendered.