ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Lina Lapelytė's Performa Biennial commission explores freedom through child performers in New York

opinion-review · 2026-04-20

Lina Lapelytė showcased The Speech (NYC) at Harlem Parish for the 2025 Performa Biennial, following the relocation from Federal Hall due to a US government shutdown. The performance involved approximately 100 students from private schools in Brooklyn imitating animal sounds, a concept initially created for the 2024 Festival d’Automne in Paris. Lapelytė, who won a Golden Lion for her 2019 opera Sun & Sea (Marina), sought to capture the essence of freedom through the instincts of children. However, issues arose as the children became caught up in their routines, causing discomfort. The piece drew on Walter Benjamin's essay from 1928/9 about proletarian children's theater, but critics deemed the focus on animal sounds predictable, lacking the political impact seen in Paris, revealing an underlying kitsch.

Key facts

  • Lina Lapelytė's The Speech (NYC) premiered at the 2025 Performa Biennial in New York
  • The performance involved approximately 100 private-school students from Brooklyn mimicking animal sounds
  • It was originally created for the 2024 Festival d’Automne in Paris and shown at the Shanghai Biennale
  • Lapelytė won the Golden Lion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019 for Sun & Sea (Marina)
  • The venue changed from Federal Hall National Memorial to Harlem Parish due to a 2025 US government shutdown
  • Walter Benjamin's 1928/9 essay 'Program for a Proletarian Children’s Theater' influenced the work
  • Philosopher Susan Buck-Morss discussed 'commonist ethics' at P.I.T. bookstore in Williamsburg
  • The performance aimed to explore freedom but faced criticism for its predictability and use of children

Entities

Artists

  • Lina Lapelytė
  • Walter Benjamin
  • Asja Lācis
  • Bill Viola
  • Susan Buck-Morss
  • W.E.B. Du Bois
  • Kazimir Malevich
  • Zohran Mamdani
  • Tadao Ando

Institutions

  • Performa Biennial
  • Festival d’Automne
  • Shanghai Biennale
  • Harlem Parish
  • Federal Hall National Memorial
  • The New York Times
  • P.I.T.
  • Venice Biennale
  • Bourse de Commerce

Locations

  • New York
  • United States
  • Paris
  • France
  • Shanghai
  • China
  • Vilnius
  • Lithuania
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Williamsburg
  • Brooklyn
  • Los Angeles
  • LA
  • Union Station

Sources