How to collect performance art

How do you collect an art form that, by its very nature, refuses to sit still on a wall? Performance art lives in the moment, in the presence of the artist, the body, the audience, and time itself. So what exactly does a collector acquire when they “buy” a performance? A set of instructions? The right to re-stage it? Photographs, props, and documentation? Or simply the memory of having been there?

This talk explores the fascinating and often counterintuitive world of collecting performance art. We will look at how ephemeral works are captured, sold, owned, and preserved from the certificates and scores that allow a piece to be re-performed, to the questions of authenticity, value, and conservation that arise when there is no permanent object to hang on to. Drawing on real examples from artists and institutions, we will consider how museums, galleries, and private collectors approach acquisitions, what rights and responsibilities change hands, and how the market has learned to assign value to experience itself.