(e)merge art fair features lots of performance art

I love performance art! It's visual art that's literally alive and moving. Sometimes it even asks you to participate. I especially like that it's ephemeral. You experience it in the moment it is performed and then it's gone and you can't have the same experience again even if you see it performed again. Sure it can be documented and you can always see what happened, but it's special because you kinda have to be there for it to have experienced its full impact.  I'm excited to see that there's going to be lots of performance art this weekend at the (e)merge art fair!

My good buddy Kristina Bilonick and her enthusiastic squad of artsy cheerleaders will help kick off the fair with DC Cheer! at the opening party on Thursday. They'll provide "athletic support for a thriving art scene in DC." Awesome! Meet the whole cheer squad HERE.

We are working together to create cheers that boost the morale of the DC art scene – celebrating artists, galleries, collectors and arts organizations that choose to make DC their home.

Building and creating a supportive creative community is an integral part of keeping artists in the DC area.  With nearby draws such as affordable studio spaces in Baltimore and Philadelphia, or the allure of New York City, it is important to nurture the connection that exists amongst the artists, curators, gallery owners and collectors here, and let them know their presence is appreciated.

Cheer with them at the poolside kick-off party on Thursday, September 22, along with Lou Lou and the Disappointer Sisters. So great! Buy tickets HERE.

Here's a little more about all the performances:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Chukwuma Agubokwu Cross Adams (Triptych)- In the Shadow of a Blank State The Cross Adams (Triptych) is a non-linear story of its titular main character's experiences as he attempts to approach life with a Post-Black mind frame. Adams elects to self-determine his image as opposed to passively falling into any prefabricated, monolithic tropes of blackness.
Room 2. 6pm

Kristina Bilonick DC Cheer!. DC Cheer! is a community based performance led by Kristina Bilonick, who put out a call to local artists and supporters to join a cheerleading squad. Inspired by Judy Chicago’s ‘Cunt Cheerleaders’, the DC Cheer! squad will post up at (e)merge to encourager the growing artist community in DC.
Performed throughout the grounds of the hotel. 5pm - 9pm

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Wilmer Wilson IV- Bandage/I Voted . Bandage/I Voted is a durational sculptural performance and photography installation created by Wilmer Wilson IV to examine the implications of everyday objects - band aids and a familiar emblem associated with political elections – I Voted stickers. When not performing, the artist will distribute materials to viewers.
Room 2. 12pm - 7pm (Saturday performance Room 2, 12-7pm)

Melissa Ichiuji-Everything to Lose. The artist conceived Everything to Lose as a work of total self-absorption. She describes this performance as a symbolic act of “I” suicide performed in public, explaining that communion with God requires the surrender of identity, delusions, ego, and worldly attachments. Through the use of movement, costume and sound, the artist metaphorically discards layers that separate her from others and from the divine universal spirit that comprises everything.
Pool Deck, south 3:30 pm

James J. Williams III - Wandering Hearts Are Fond. As a companion piece to his installation, They Break Horses, Don’t They, James J. Williams III will present, Wandering Hearts Are Fond, a 20-25 minute continuous multimedia performance that builds on the theme of relationships and power struggles. The elements of this work include video, music, and spoken word
Pool Deck, south. 1pm

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Jeffry Cudlin & Kathryn Cornelius- Triathlon of the Muses.The performance is titled after artistic contests held in conjunction with the Olympics in the early twentieth century. At (e)merge, Cornelius and Cudlin will compete head-to-head in an art world triathlon mixing real tests of physical stamina with the trappings of contemporary gallery culture.
Pool Deck, west. 12pm - 2pm

JJ McCracken-The Martyr. In this all-day endurance performance, two women who are tethered together, each struggle under the weight of a leather harnesses laden with dozens of handmade bowls. The thirsty women compete to reach water sources, though their cumbersome apparatuses prevent them from drinking.
Pool Deck, east. 12pm - 7pm

Bradley Chriss- Meat Poem: for Georges. The artist will host a banquet for Georges Bataille’s ghost in this performance and installation. The artist will read of selections of Bataille’s writings and summon the author’s ghost to haunt the Capitol Skyline Hotel.
Room 3. 5pm - 7pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
Holly Bass -Moneymaker . This performance combines an endurance performance and a conceptual hip-hop art piece consisting of 'Jukeboxes" made from Sambo-style penny banks and a wearable "bootyball" that generates and harnesses electric power. This work builds on Bass’s exploration of images of black women in popular media, commercial hip-hop, and financial transactions between the artist and viewer.
Pool Deck, west. 12pm - 5pm

Chuck Agubokwu Icarus - Cross Adams (Triptych) see description above.
Pool Deck, south west. 12pm.

DAILY, throughout the FAIR: various times:

Nathan Manuel and D. BillyManifresh Destiny This is a performance-based installation in which the ideals of America’s westward expansion and our adventurous nature are remembered and recapitulated through karaoke. Participants will be invited to sing on stage to the full experience of viewing the lyric monitors that display a video work that recounts the great American journey.
Lower Level

(The video is from McCracken's last major performative installation, Hunger, Philadelphia (2010).)