Skip to main content

Live Art Almanac Volume 4: Launch Event

Free Launch Event

The Live Art Almanac Volume 4
Co-published by Live Art Development Agency and Oberon Books

Buy The Live Art Almanac Volume 4 Now

Drinks will be served

The Live Art Almanac Volume 4 is
 a collection of ‘found’ writings about and around Live Art that were originally published, shared, sent, spread and read between January 2012 and December 2014. Selected through recommendations and an open call for submissions, Volume 4 reflects the dynamic, international contexts that Live Art and radical performance- based practices occupy.

Volume 4 will be launched at The White Building in an event featuring two open discussions on the state of writing from Live Art, chaired by Megan Vaughan (LADA Programmes Manager and cultural blogger). The editors of the Almanac Lois Keidan (LADA co-director), Aaron Wright (former LADA Programmes Manager and new Artistic Director of Fierce Festival) and Harriet Curtis (Kings College London) will talk about the editorial processes and content of Volume 4. This will be followed by a debate on new developments in critical thinking around Live Art with three of the most significant writers working in the UK today, Diana Damian, Maddy Costa and Mary Paterson.

Live Art is experiencing a huge
surge in interest with major museums embracing this disparate area of practice, formerly cult artists becoming household names, and everyone from Shia LaBeouf, Lady Gaga and Jay Z trying to get in on the action. Reflecting the diversity of approaches and key developments from the last few years, the Live Art Almanac Volume 4 is grouped into seven loosely themed sections: Locating Performance; Performance Under Attack; Speaking Up/Speaking Out; Show Me the Money; High Art in Low Places; Reviews; and Dearly Departed.

This volume includes writings by,
 and about: Ai Weiwei, Pussy Riot,
Tim Etchells, Karen Finley, Vaginal Davis, Ann Magnuson, Shaheen Merali, Jennifer Doyle, Marilyn Arsem, Guy Brett, Nigel Charnock, Claire Bishop, Bryony Kimmings, Matthew Barney, Coco Fusco, Stuart Hall, Miley Cyrus, Petr Pavlensky, Reverend Billy, Ron Athey, Mike Kelley, Oreet Ashery, CHRISTEENE, Marcia Farquhar, Morgan Quaintance, Adrian Howells, Amelia Abraham, Brian Boucher, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Mat Fraser, José Esteban Muñoz, Kembra Pfahler, Hennessy Youngman, Joan Rivers, Mykki Blanco, Monica Ross, Wu Tsang, boychild, Wendy Houstoun, the vacuum cleaner and many more.

Volume 4 takes forward a cultural dialogue started in Volumes 1 (2008), 2 (2011) and 3 (2013) with the aim of being a useful resource and an enjoyable read for everyone from artists to academics, programmers to producers, writers to students and all those with a curiosity about contemporary Live Art practice.

Latest events

Tiziano Cruz – Performance Lecture

27 Nov 2026

A performance lecture by Tiziaon Cruz, presented in collaboration with Performance Art Video and Future Ritual at CEREMONY Festival.

Read more

Study Day: Listening to Live Art Archives

21 Nov 2026

Join us for a performance lecture with Johanna Linsley and sound artist Nicol Parkinson, drawing from Deveron Projects’ archive.

Read more

Live Art Bookshop: ABSCISSION Launch

20 Nov 2026

Join us for the launch of ABSCISSION, a book by performance artist, educator and researcher Dani d’Emilia, published in 2026 by Canadian arts organisation Musagetes.

Read more

Live Art Bookshop: Apocrypha Launch

28 Oct 2026

Join us for the launch of Apocrypha by Kasra Jalilipour, published my Montez Press.

Read more

Study Day: At a Crossroads

03 Oct 2026

Join us for a group walk, followed by food and discussion, exploring walking, public space and governance with Mark Farid.

Read more

Thinking Images: A Short Course in Video Essay Production

10 Sep 2026 - 25 Mar 2027

Five-week course with film scholar and video essayist Dr. Darren Elliott-Smith, exploring the innovative practice of Video Essay creation as a cutting-edge development in film criticism.

Read more

Live Art Bookshop: Globus Hystericus Book Launch

22 Jul 2026

Join us for the UK launch of performance art duo Kainulainen & Latva’s book Globus Hystericus, published in 2025 by Finnish publishing house Taide.

Read more

Donation

£