100 Performances For the Hole: Marathon of artistic moments
returning WINTER 2020/2021
100 Performances for the HOle: MARATHON of artistic moments…
About the festival:
A nonstop marathon of short performances. Low tech to no tech microcosm of the most compelling artists today that blurs the line between artist and audience. Part punk rock concert, part, part speed dating, part un-conference, part explosion, 100 Performances is a hive of constant innovation and uncompromising time-based creativity.
The goal of this festival is present 100 performance artworks across all disciplines of action-oriented and body-based art. Each performance is allotted two minutes to perform, one minute to set up and one minute to strike/clean up, or a total of four minutes to use as they see fit. Performances include a diverse array of practices including performance art, experimental music, body rituals, expanded theater, dance, social practice and everything in between, but what the festival promotes is the presentation of new and experimental actions that push artistic practices into new realms. The festival was first invented by Justin Hoover in 2009 for The Garage Biennale (San Francisco) and manifest four more time at SOMArts between 2010 and 2019. Additionally, festival components were also featured at Performance Studies International 19 at Stanford University.
This festival is fundamentally a forum for experimentation; a platform to break free of the confines of conventional performance structures and contexts. It is an opportunity to venture in new directions and is both microscopic (in duration) and macroscopic (in terms of community reach). It’s a testing ground, a place to bridge diverse understandings, and an opportunity for bonding.
There are four tiers of performers: major commissioned headliners, established performers, emerging performers, and walk-up performers. Major headliners are scheduled to perform at specific times evenly spaced throughout the night. Established performers make up the core of the performances. Emerging performers usually explore how their art can enter into a time-based arts framework. The fourth tier is for day of walk-ups. The festival keeps approximately one spot out of every 10 spots open until day-of, as a structured pathway for access for anyone to perform just by signing up, day-of. This encourages the passive viewer to become an active participant.
The festival is positioned within a literal hole in the ground. This hole can be found at SOMArts Cultural Center’s Main Gallery.
Originally known as the 100 Performances for the Hole, and first launched as a project at the Garage Biennale, this festival was designed to showcase the essence of performance practices across diverse community.
