By Tom Winchester

Tomorrow, Dec. 1, at 11 am at the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design, Belgian performance artist Lieven De Boeck and a group of Ringling students will be performing, What’s Going On? The piece begins with De Boeck and the students reciting a manifesto of relational art before dancing in a circle to celebrate individuality and freedom. The performers all wear loosely fitting, brightly colored fabrics they have sewn together themselves, including De Boeck. Ringling College student Noa Walker ’27, Illustration, said they wanted to be part of the performance because it celebrated “Costumes, gender identity, and performing—and I love all those things. Everyone handmade their own costumes, and it’s meant to be a representation of your identity. So, it’s important that we make the costumes. For me, I chose the trans flag, all the colors are the colors of the trans flag. It’s nicer than a flag; it’s a couture flag.” 

Tomorrow’s performance of What’s Going On? at the Sarasota Art Museum is a warm-up for the main event scheduled next week at the Untitled Art Fair in Miami Beach. De Boeck and the performers plan to perform the piece during the art fair and then parade around Miami Beach in celebration of individuality and freedom with the hopes of encountering passers-by who’ll join in. If you feel like joining in, if you feel like dancing, then join in with What’s Going On? at the Sarasota Art Museum tomorrow at 11 am! After the performance, De Boeck will give a talk, The World as Museum, about the project and how it engages with the work of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica at 1 pm. 

This project was made in collaboration with Ringling College’s INDEX Center, an experiential education program that provides students campus-wide the opportunity to gain professional experience prior to graduation.

Tom Winchester is an adjunct professor in the Liberal Arts Department at Ringling College of Art and Design twcritic.com.