20 Years of Performa: A Celebration of Art, Community, and Legacy

What do you get when you cross a clown, fashion exhibition, marching band, and surprise serenade? A recipe for Performa’s 20th Anniversary Gala, which arrived with fanfare at downtown creative hub WSA on Friday night.

Honoring artists Paul Pfeiffer and Tschabalala Self for their contributions to the performance medium, the evening presented an immersive showcase of artistic prowess. From curator Job Piston’s Performa XX: 20 Looks, a costume installation that greeted guests upon arrival, to commemorations by luminaries including photographer Tyler Mitchell, a larger-than-life dancing pistol and a series of live acts, the night unfolded as a celebration of radical and true expression.

“We’re fierce in believing that we have to be out there and make this landscape very exciting. Tonight, we’re gathering people who are brilliantly talented and building energy for the next year,” Founding Director and Chief Curator RoseLee Goldberg shared during the pre-show cocktail.

As guests settled into their seats for dinner, a series of speakers illuminated the work of the organization and toasted the honorees. In a warm surprise, an excerpt of Self’s 2021 performance commissioned by the organization, Sounding Board, was performed with the original costumes (a collaboration between Performa, the artist, and UGG) and performers from the show.

“The process of making Sounding Board changed my trajectory as an artist—I have to come to understand the significance of a fully immersive environment,” Self shared in her speech.

Next, Tyler Mitchell, who rose to particular prominence after shooting Beyoncé for the cover of Vogue’s 2018 September issue, introduced and represented honoree Paul Pfeiffer, the widely venerated multi-medium artist with a kindred Georgia connection to Mitchell through his artistic practice.

“Paul’s art resonates with a complicated claritys. He interrogates devotion, belonging, and desire, forces that bind us or pull us apart,” Mitchell explained.

Holding up a phone to the microphone, a pre-recorded Pfeiffer then introduced members of The Marching Cobras marching ensemble, a reference to a 2019 work of the artist’s at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Members of the band then burst through the door with a galvanizing musical salute that saw audiences cheer and clap along with jovial captivating.

As the evening shifted from dedication to dance party, the space saw the convergence of a masterclass of art and culture world peers. Guests ranging from 52 Walker's Ebony L. Haynes, designer Kim Shui, and artists Chloe Wise and Miles Greenberg, to members of the downtown literati joined during the Artist Party thrown in collaboration with Document Journal (and featuring the fast-paced musical tempo of Kevin Aviance, S'aint Panic, and Alyssa Brianna).