Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)
Q&A with Laure Prouvost

January 2022
Roberts Institute of Art
Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019) is a year-long programme of interviews, podcasts and contributions from some of the artists who participated in the twelve editions of the celebrated Evening of Performances. Highlighting the evenings’ extraordinary legacies, we will be exploring what the next wave of contemporary performance can become with the artists who have shaped it so far.
Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost.

Courtesy the artist.

What is the first memory that springs to mind when thinking back to your performance at Evening of Performance 2010?

Vegetables fell from the sky. It was amazing.

Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost, From The Sky, 2010, at An Evening of Events, DRAF, Fitzrovia, 2010.

Courtesy the artist.

Is there a performance that made you want to perform yourself?

Looking for the fake teeth of my grandfather.

Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost, Grandma's Tea room, installation view at M HKA, Antwerp, 2019.

Courtesy the artist. Photo: Eva Dmitrenko
Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost, Grandma's Tea room, installation view at M HKA, Antwerp, 2019.

Courtesy the artist. Photo: C Clinckx

Do you have a pre-performance ritual?

Have some of my grandma's special tea.

Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost.

Courtesy the artist.

Have the pandemic, the climate emergency and social justice movements like BLM and ecological justice movements affected your performance practice? If so, how?

I now mostly hand over performance to objects, films, octopuses — they perform instead of me to pass on messages.

Roberts Institute of Art
Courtesy the artist. © Ren Netherland / Barcroft Media.

How does your use of the loud (ALL CAPS) and soft whispering translate to your performances?

Sometimes granddad screams, grandma whispers back.

Roberts Institute of Art

Laure Prouvost, Exhausted...excited exhaustion with Trim, 2017, (X) An Evening of Performances + DRAF 10th Anniversary Party at KOKO, 2017.

Courtesy the artist. Photo: Max Colson

Laure Prouvost

Laure Prouvost lives and works.

Here a long list of museums and institutions. A line, interesting things, a coma, a line, a list of residencies and prizes. A selection of solo projects including: an elastic arm hold in tight in Copenhagen, a Swallowing and Breathing in Eindhoven, a Smoking Mother in Copenhagen, a Melting Into Another in Lisbon, an Occupied Paradise in Aalst, Deep See Blue Surrounding You in Venice, Toulouse and Lille; a Waiting Room with objects in Minneapolis, a New Museum for Grand dad in Milano, A tearoom for grand ma in Derry, a karaoke room in Brussels, a new octopus ink vodka bar for Gregor in Rotterdam, A travel agency for an Uncle in Frankfurt, a lobby for love among the artists in the Hague and Luzern... tea bags, and wet floors and tentaculees.

Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)

For well over a decade, we have been championing performance across its many forms – from intimate spoken word to absurdist interventions, DJing, dance, music, theatre, fashion and much more. We’ve brought this all together as exhilarating one-night showcases in our Evening of Performances.

As we move into a new phase of programming, it is time to draw the curtain on this format and explore other sustainable and meaningful ways to support performance artists and audience engagement across the UK. As we prepare for this exciting new chapter, we also turn to the artists and performers we have closely collaborated with in the past, to celebrate, listen and learn from their perspectives and keep evolving with the field of performance.

(X) An Evening of Performances + DRAF 10th Anniversary Party at KOKO

Roberts Institute of Art

Evening of Events
at DRAF, Fitzrovia

Roberts Institute of Art

Curators’ Series 10: Greater than the Sum

Curated by Kunsthalle Lissabon

at DRAF, Camden

Roberts Institute of Art

Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)
Interview with Mark Wallinger

Roberts Institute of Art