Esa Nickle joined the Performa team in May 2005 to help launch the first Performa biennial as the Biennial Coordinator of Performa 05. In 2006 she expanded her role as the General Manager of the growing organization while overseeing the production of Performa commissions, projects, international partnerships and special events. In 2013, she was appointed as Producing Director and International Affairs and was pivotal to the launch of the international “Pavilions Without Walls” program for the biennial. Over the past 18 years Esa has worked closely with Performa’s founder RoseLee Goldberg to develop and deliver an innovative model for a three-week international biennial featuring over 1,000 artists at over 250 venues and locations throughout the city in collaboration with over 150 New York city cultural partners and private and public city agencies. She has overseen the delivery of each biennial program and has produced over 300 performances, installations, concerts, special events, publications, and films by contemporary artists including Isaac Julien, Jesper Just, Francis Alys, Dominique Gonzalez Foerster, Omer Fast, Mike Kelley, Pawel Althamer and Elmgreen & Dragset amongst many others. Esa has developed food and music projects for the biennial including projects by Jennifer Rubell, Marti Guixe and Marije Vogelzang and has co-curated several large-scale music programs including “Music for 16 Noise Intoners” featuring performances by Blixa Bargeld, John Butcher, and Joan La Barbara; “Screenplay” by Christian Marclay and “City Symphonies Out of Doors” featuring Text of Light.
IX Nomination 2024/IX Sessions to be released soon!
"Pioneering the Future of Performance Art"
"Producing Performa - From Concept to Execution"
"Curating Contemporary Art - Trends and Perspectives"
"Building Global Collaborations in the Arts"
"Performa's Impact on Contemporary Art Practices"
"The Future of Performance Art and Cultural Partnerships"
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