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On Stage: Lineages

Jan 31–Apr 19, 2025

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Three female-presenting people dressed in white performing on a stage lit with red light. The middle person in front holds a microphone.
A dancer on a stage dressed in marigold yellow poses with their left arm raised into an S shape; their right arm in a C shape with their hand pointed to their hip.
A group of people of various ethnicities holding various positions against a black brick wall.
A female-presenting person with a fake grey beard and British red coat attire in front of a podium filled with microphones
Three female-presenting people dressed in white performing on a stage lit with red light. The middle person in front holds a microphone.
A dancer on a stage dressed in marigold yellow poses with their left arm raised into an S shape; their right arm in a C shape with their hand pointed to their hip.
A group of people of various ethnicities holding various positions against a black brick wall.
A female-presenting person with a fake grey beard and British red coat attire in front of a podium filled with microphones

Each spring the MCA presents a suite of performances that are shaped by a rigorous curatorial theme reflecting our contemporary moment. The 2025 series focuses on the concept of “lineages,” and features works by four artists who explore formal, temporal, and personal notions about identity and shared history from outside and within the art world: Elisa Harkins, Anne Collod, Miguel Gutierrez, and Kaneza Schaal.

These performances interrogate mainstream, Western ideas defining what is “contemporary” in performance art, especially when non-Western art forms have historically been categorized as “traditional” or “cultural” despite developing synchronously. In doing so, Lineages examines the plurality and multiplicities of timelines, reshaping what we consider to be new.

Lineages is organized by Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator of Performance.

Schedule

Funding

Lead support for the 2024–25 season of MCA Performance is provided by Elizabeth A. Liebman.

Generous support is provided by Ginger Farley and Bob Shapiro, Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation, N.A., Trustee; Anne L. Kaplan; and Carol Prins and John Hart/The Jessica Fund.

The MCA is a proud member of the Museums in the Park and receives major support from the Chicago Park District.