INVERSE Performance Art Festival Takes Over the Momentary November 2-5, Celebrates Eight Years in Arkansas
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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — From November 2 through November 5, the Momentary will host INVERSE 2023, a four-day performance art festival grounded in community, gathering, and the collective. More than 45 artists from all over the country and right here in Northwest Arkansas will come together to showcase radical stories of freedom and experimentation, all celebrating the art of performance.
Each artist will join INVERSE carrying a unique message of liberation, activism, humor, and healing and weave together powerful narratives using the complex and evasive medium of performance art to challenge societal norms and ignite conversation. Through a diverse range of performances, audience members will witness a creative exploration and boundary-pushing, showcasing the power of performance and fostering connections within the artistic community.
“Now in its eighth year, INVERSE is helping to shape the way Arkansans view performance art,” said Momentary Curator of Performance Cynthia Post Hunt. “It creates unexpected and uncanny relationships between artists, audience, and the world, and it is truly spectacular to witness. This is sure to be an unforgettable journey for us all, and you won’t want to miss it.”
WHAT: INVERSE, a four-day performance art festival featuring more than 45 artists.
WHEN: Thursday, November 2 – 5, 2023 | FULL SCHEDULE BELOW
- Thursday, November 2: Festival Launches with a party thrown by transdisciplinary arts organization La Pocha Nostra, Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s ultimate and most long-standing project | 6 PM
- Friday, November 3: Artist Performances | 2 PM – 12 AM
- 2-4 PM Jessica Hale & Heidee Lyn Alsdorf (registration required)
- 5-7 PM Chelsea A. Flowers (registration required)
- 5-8 PM Chung Park
- 7-8 PM Grace DeVies
- 8-9 PM swim team
- Saturday, November 4: Artist Performances | 10 AM – 11 PM
- 10 AM – 12 PM Tereso Perfecto Contreras (registration required)
- 1 PM Jefferson Pinder | at Crystal Bridges
- 3-4 PM Class Collaboration Cohort (23): MFA Theatre Grads, Dept. of Theatre, Univ. of Arkansas
- 4-7 PM Brooke Ti^daw^kaw Benham
- 5-7 PM GeeXella (registration required)
- 7-8 PM Lela Shahrzad Welch
- 8-9 PM Princess (Alexis Gideon & Michael O’Neill)
- 9-10 PM Emily Ward Bevins
- Sunday, November 5: Group Performance – a collective performance by all artists | 11 AM – 1 PM
WHERE: The Momentary | 507 SE E St, Bentonville, AR 72712
WHO: Included in this year’s festival are global performance art leaders such as Guillermo Gómez-Peña of La Pocha Nostra who will open the festival with an eye towards creating fertile ground to create sacred space for this year’s performing artists. With distinctly different methodologies, artists Jefferson Pinder, Chelsea A. Flowers, and GeeXella envision a world of Black liberation and freedom. Princess and Emily Ward Bevins use abbreviated humor and participation to explore the discontents of the catastrophic world, imagining new ways to care for one other. Grace DeVies and Tereso Perfecto Contreras create intimate environments of care for the queer community, inviting opportunities for forgiveness, healing, and integration. Lela Shahrzad Welch and Chung Park use food to connect to their own personal histories and seek places of belonging. Brooke Ti^daw^kaw Benham, Jessica Hale, Heidee Lyn Alsdorf, and swim team all transform more traditional forms of theater, dance, and painting to share new perspectives on indigenous history and trauma, feminism, and radical collaboration.
WHY: A unique opportunity to watch artists push the boundaries of conventional methodologies and invite the audience to join them.
HOW: Festival passes include drop-in admission for all four days of INVERSE 2023. General admission is $25. Members are $20 and students are $10. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Box Office at (479) 657-2335.
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About INVERSE
The inclusive performance art platform INVERSE was co-founded by Momentary Curator of Performance Cynthia Post Hunt and Chief Curator of the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art Emma Saperstein. INVERSE strives to foster local dialogue about performance on an international scale and build a community of performance artists and supporters, providing opportunities for performance work to be cultivated in the community. The annual INVERSE Performance Art Festival began in 2016 and has been warmly received in its two host locations: Northwest Arkansas and San Luis Obispo, California.
About the Momentary
Opened in February of 2020 in Downtown Bentonville, the Momentary is conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. It is a catalyst for creativity and economic vitality, and a welcoming hub that gathers and celebrates local heroes and international stars. The Momentary was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of Tom, Olivia, and Steuart Walton. The Walton Family Foundation is supporting this project as a way to enhance the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas. Its commitment to cultivating arts and cultural experiences provides more opportunities for education, engagement, and enjoyment in our region. The Momentary is an extension of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Alice Walton. The Momentary welcomes all with free general admission. Additional offerings include live music, an artist-in-residence program, culinary experiences such as Onyx Coffee Lab and the sky-high Tower Bar, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, an outdoor festival space, and a retail shop. For more information, visit theMomentary.org. The Momentary is located at 507 SE E Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712. The Momentary’s Founding Funders are Walton Family Foundation, Walmart, RØDE Microphones, The Coca-Cola Company, Tyson Family Foundation, and Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation.