Context and History
The Western Front was founded in 1973 by eight people and five visual artists with the idea of creating a space for the creation and exploration of contemporary art. Since its inception, the Western Front has promoted critical investigations into and surrounding interdisciplinary, media-based, anti-object, and ephemeral practices with particular attention to the contexts and economies in which art is produced. Early influences included Duchampian and Fluxus based investigations into mail art, telecommunication-art, live electronic music, video and performance art.
Mandate
The Western Front Performance Art programme is committed to the critical investigation, production and presentation of contemporary performance art. Focused on the work of local, national and international artists, the programme aims to promote an open yet rigorous context for explorations between the representation of cultural production, its histories and its communities. The programme endeavours to expand the boundaries of performance art, and projects have included new media, cross-disciplinary works, and site-specific projects outside the gallery. When possible, the programme strives to further the discourse and dissemination of performance art by collaborating on catalogues, book publications, and poster projects.