Rotterdam Cultural Histories #7: Perish festival

Rotterdam Cultural Histories #7 revolves around the performance festival Perish, organized on May 24 & 25, 1997, by artists’ initiative Duende in Rotterdam. For 28 years, 1984-2013, Duende offered studio spaces, residencies and exhibitions to Rotterdam-based and (inter)national artists. The Perish festival brought together videos of performances from the 60s and 70s – including works by Dan Graham, Hélio Oiticica, Bas Jan Ader, and Joseph Beuys – and (filmed) performances by contemporary artists such as Bik Van der Pol, Jeroen Eisinga, Alicia Framis, Charlemagne Palestine, Otto Berchem, Yael Davids, and Yvonne Trap. Perish explored the relationship between early performance art and performances from the late ‘90s, reflecting on the role video occupied as a medium and meditator within both contexts.

Rotterdam Cultural Histories is a collaborative project between TENT and Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art that explores our common roots in Rotterdam and articulates meeting points between both of our programs. Rotterdam Cultural Histories is conceived by Defne Ayas (Director of Witte de With) and Mariette Dölle (Artistic Director, TENT).

Concept and Research: Adelheid Smit and Wendy Bos (Witte de With)
Loans: Bik Van der Pol, Kamiel Verschuren and the municipal archive Rotterdam.
Graphic design: Rick Vermeulen, Via Vermeulen