LADA supports contemporary culture’s most radical artists, practices and ideas.
As a Centre for Live Art, all our specialised resources, opportunities, projects and events are driven by our unwavering commitment to experimentation and risk, to the sustainability of our planet, and to difference and diversity in all its forms.
We believe in Live Art as a means to challenge the status quo and initiate meaningful social change.
About LADA
Isaiah Lopaz, Madinah-Farhannah-Thompson and Miranda Whall. Images Courtesy of the artists
Study Room
Our core resource, housed at the LADA space in Bethnal Green, is the world’s largest collection of research materials on Live Art, containing over 8,000 items that include out-of-print books and rare documentation.
The Study Room is open to visitors 3 days a week. The schedule currently alternates through Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Visit the Study Room
The Garrett Centre. Image by Adrian Dutton.
Upcoming Events
We present regular public talks, screenings and events online, at The Garrett Centre and elsewhere. All our events are free to attend.
All Flesh is Good: Madinah Farhannah Thompson in conversation with Valerie Uchechukwu Ebuwa
11 Oct 2024
Please join us on Friday 11th October 2024 at 7pm for a conversation about Madinah’s Black Artist in Residence research and the experience of performing at the Abramović exhibition
Read moreLatest Activity at LADA
Dangerous Border Crossers: performingborders x La Pocha Nostra
02 Aug 2024
performingborders invites you to delve with them into LADA Study Room’s resources around borders and performances
Read moreAmy Kingsmill – Light Source
26 Jul 2024
Please join us on Friday 26 July 2024 at 7pm for an event performed, hosted and curated by artist Amy Kingsmill.
Read moreThe extraordinary Pocha Nostra: A deep dive into LADA’s archive with Ansuman Biswas
05 Jul 2024
Join us for a deep dive into LADA’s archive led by artist Ansuman Biswas.
Read moreLa Pocha Nostra in London: 100 Ways to Cross the Border
09 Jul 2024
Join us for the film screening with a special performative introduction from Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Balitrónica, followed by drinks.
Read moreWhat can LADA do for you?
Whether you are an artist, curator, writer, producer, student, educator, researcher or activist, we are here to help you understand, appreciate, dig into, and take inspiration from a huge breadth of Live Art and performance practices – contemporary and historic.
How we work
Travis Alabanza. Image by Manual Vason
Current Opportunities
LADA provides professional development opportunities for artists, arts workers, and academics at all stages of their careers.
Desk Scheme – Open Call Closed
We are re-launching our subsidised Desk Scheme for artists, producers, curators, researchers and writers
Read moreResources
We provide free-to-access resources for artists, students and professionals. This includes Live Online, our video platform, research facilities, information, downloadable documents, and programming packages.
With Artsadmin, we have compiled a series of links and resources for artists, which we think are useful to artists working in Live Art and contemporary performance in the UK. These FAQs, links and lists of organisations and venues are intended as a starting point for your research and project development.
LADA Study Room, Bethnal Green
The Study Room
Our Study Room in Bethnal Green, London contains over 8,000 items, including out-of-print books and rare performance documentation.
You can book your visit today, and search our full Study Room catalogue online.
Visit the Study RoomOnline Resources
We offer online resources including:
- Study Room catalogue
- Video channels
- Free downloads
- Study Room guides
- Project websites
Recent Projects
Curatorial projects and programmes featuring ground-breaking artists and developing new contexts, dialogues, and audiences.
Live Art in Rural UK
Live Art in Rural UK is a year long programme conceived by LADA’s former Director, Vivian Chinasa Ezugha. It focuses on amplifying the embodied practices of artists living and working in rural locations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Read moreReimagining Care
LADA’s latest project Reimagining Care focuses on contemporary discourses about care and care practices, exploring how they can contribute to transforming the art sector.
Read moreDonate to LADA
Donations help make influential artists’ development initiatives like DIY possible, support new publications and projects by extraordinary artists, and help us buy essential books and DVDs for our Study Room.
Donate
Scottee image by Holly Revell
LADA Publishing
LADA is a publisher. The books, films and artists’ editions published and co-published by LADA feature some of the most provocative ideas and practitioners working in Live Art, and pioneering research by thinkers in the field.
As well as partnering with major publishers on key titles, we publish our own books and editioned artworks and collaborate with artists working on independent publications.
See our Titles
The Live Art Almanac Volume 5
Unbound - Online Shop
Unbound, is the world’s only online shop dedicated to Live Art related materials, and features the unusual and independent alongside major critical works. Our carefully-curated selection includes books from major publishers, hard-to-find artists’ editions, and a full range of LADA publications.
As a not-for-profit initiative, buying from Unbound directly benefits the UK’s Live Art infrastructure, with many of our supported artists counting it as a direct funding stream.
Find out more
