Pageant Collective Brings 25-Performance Marathon to MoMA
In August, Pageant, a Brooklyn-based artist-run space, completed a month-long residency at the Museum of Modern Art, culminating in the extensive seven-hour marathon performance titled Pageant Presents Pageant. This event showcased 25 ten-minute performances, beginning with "MoMAlogue #1" by Isa Spector, who creatively interpreted a "painting of dance." Spector’s performance concluded with five Pageant co-founders—Sharleen Chidiac, Lili Dekker, Jade Manns, Owen Prum, and Alexa West—dancing in red gloves to parody Henri Matisse's iconic work "Dance (I)." Pageant, established in 2022, aims to contextualize artistic practices in the evolving post-COVID environment.
Key facts
- Pageant, an artist-run Brooklyn performance space, held a month-long residency at the Museum of Modern Art in August.
- The residency culminated in a seven-hour performance marathon titled Pageant Presents Pageant, featuring 25 ten-minute performances.
- The first performance, "MoMAlogue #1," was by Isa Spector, who was asked to make "a painting of dance" in 10 minutes.
- Spector's performance ended with five performers in red gloves twirling in a circle, parodying Henri Matisse's "Dance (I)" (1909).
- The five performers were Pageant co-founders Sharleen Chidiac, Lili Dekker, Jade Manns, Owen Prum, and Alexa West.
- Pageant was established in 2022 in a third-story loft on Graham Avenue in East Williamsburg.
- West said there was initially "no clear marketing vision" for Pageant, which aimed to provide context for their practices in a post-COVID landscape.
- Chidiac stated, "We didn't set out with the intention for it to be like an institution."
Entities
Artists
- Isa Spector
- Sharleen Chidiac
- Lili Dekker
- Jade Manns
- Owen Prum
- Alexa West
- Henri Matisse
Institutions
- Pageant
- Museum of Modern Art
- Hyperallergic
Locations
- Brooklyn
- United States
- East Williamsburg
- Graham Avenue
- New York City