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The Parade, What's Going On?
 

photo via Nancy Nassiff

A vibrant performance; a feast that celebrates mixed gender and queer identity. Performed at the Sarasota Art Museum as well as at the Untitled Art fair in Miami. At this happening, participants are invited to engage with art through the lens of queerness, challenging norms and fostering a dynamic dialogue within a public space. ‘The Parade, What’s Going On?’ unfolds as an animated situation, creating a sudden dynamic confusion and lively agitation among people in a public space. The parade features 12 performers donning purpose-made costumes, each a living canvas representing diverse queer and gender identities. Accompanied by musicians, the performers carry banners and objects, engaging in a ritual dance with the intention to denounce societal norms. Notably, some costumes may be adopted by members of the public, encouraging spontaneous participation in this vibrant happening.

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Ringling College of Art and Design has provided students with the opportunity to gain industry experience through an experiential education program called INDEX. Through this program I had the honor of participating in Belgian artist, Lieven De Boeck's thesis project; The Archive of Disappearance, a Field Guide to Getting Lost. I was a part of two performances among many Liven has organized, one at the Sarasota Art Museum and the other at the iconic UNTITLED Art Fair. Our group was tasked with making our own Parangolés, which are costumes originating from the late Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica.

 

Liven's project was a beautiful queer revival of Oiticica's original work. Each costume was reflective of an existing pride flag that each participant felt suited them best, in my case I chose the bisexual flag. Identity is an ever-changing entity that moves and shifts in form, much like the shifting and changing of our costumes. As we moved the garment was temporarily passed onto willing strangers.

 

photo via Harry Sayer Media 

In order to form connections with our group and ease our anxiety for the performances, Liven had arranged a myriad of ice breaker activities. This ranged from writing down what we wanted to get out of the project (it was optional to share aloud), dancing in our costumes with our eyes closed, and dancing with a partner without breaking eye contact. I was interested in this project as a way to overcome social anxiety and participate in an artwork unlike anything I've ever done before. The intimate and sometimes scary process of confronting one another through dance was healing and transformative.

As someone who has loved performing in orchestras, I have always found the highlight of the experience is rehearsals. The same is true for the opportunity Liven provided us and like an orchestra we relied on one another to successfully unify this event. We switched from different areas of Ringling's campus to become comfortable with improvising in the unpredictable new landscapes. Someone had the idea of going to practice outside on the back deck of Ringling's Academic Center. We went through our usual routine, over time we started stomping and swiftly became one living organism stomping in rhythm. 

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photo via Bradley Webster

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photo via Nancy Nassiff

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