Performance artist Marina Abramovic has launched a Kickstarter to create an Interdisciplinary Performance and Education Center
An institute for the benefit of all is best funded not only by a few large donations, but also by smaller contributions from the people it will serve, who can then share in its creation. After paying for phase zero, Abramovic is turning to the public to join her in funding phase one of Marina Abramovic Institute, dedicated to the presentation and preservation of long durational work, including that of performance art, dance, theater, film, music, opera, and other forms that may develop in the future. MAI will foster collaboration between art, science, technology, and spirituality, bringing these fields into conversation with long durational work. We will also provide an educational space to host workshops, lectures, residencies, and research.
Abramovic aims to create a global community of collaborators, and wants anyone who supports the project conceptually to be able to contribute to it financially. We are using Kickstarter, a platform that will allow us to communicate directly with future visitors, and to offer rewards that engage them in our mission. By inviting the broader public to contribute to the early development of MAI, Kickstarter helps to affirm and build the engaged community necessary for sustaining the institute into the future.
Some of these rewards include an 8-bit video game version of the institute called Digital MAI ($5), access to live stream demonstrations of Abramovic Method exercises led by the artist herself ($25), or mementos that celebrate the early stages of MAI’s development, such as architectural design materials from OMA ($50). One experiential reward is pre-registration for a ride in the compatibility racer, a brain-powered cart developed by neuroscientists for future installation at MAI ($250). At higher levels, backers can select to workshop their project via webcam with Abramovic, or attend an event and lunch in New York City with the artist.
If this initiative succeeds, backers will have helped to found both the largest cultural institution ever to get off the ground using Kickstarter, and the only project of its kind in the world.
KICKSTARTER LINK: http://kck.st/15kYWJe
Facebook: Marina Abramovic Institute