Marina Abramović and MAI

in dialogue with Joseph Beuys

13 July–26 October 2025

In 2005, Marina Abramović presented 7 Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where she meticulously restaged seven performances by different artists, each lasting seven hours. For each performance she obtained permission from the artist or the estate and compensated them for the use of their ideas. One notable piece she re-performed was How to Explain the Pictures to a Dead Hare by Joseph Beuys, originally conceived in 1965 and first performed it at the Schmela Gallery in Düsseldorf. The documentation of Abramović’s re-performance and Beuys’s original staging serves as a vital foundation for ongoing artistic research in the Joseph Beuys Archive and within the collection of the Museum Schloss Moyland in collaboration with the Marina Abramović Institute (MAI). 

A group of international artists will thus create a series of new, site-specific, long duration performances aimed at revitalising the performative nature of the Beuys holdings at Museum Schloss Moyland. These performances will foster a renewed dialogue between the artwork and museum visitors, transforming the way audiences engage with the collection. In this innovative approach, the traditional rules governing the use of a collecting art institution will be suspended in favour of an experimental openness and processuality. For the first time, the Marina Abramović Institute will co-organise a month-long residency at the museum, during which artists will develop new performances informed by their research in the archive and collection on site.

Curated by: Serge le Borgne (France), Billy Zhao (USA) and Antje-Britt Mählmann (Germany) 

Participating performance artists: 
Isaac Chong Wai (Hong Kong/Germany), Cristiana Cott Negoescu (Romania/Germany), Maria Stamenković Herranz (Serbia/Spain/France), Sandra Johnston (Ireland), Rubiane Maia (Brazil/UK), Francesco Marzano (Italy/Germany), Virginia Mastrogiannaki (Greece), Michelle Samba (Friesland, Netherlands/Congo), Luisa Sancho-Escanero (Spain/Germany), Evan Macrae Williams (Canada/Germany), Yan Jun Chin (Malaysia/Germany), Martin Toloku (Ghana/Netherlands) and Eşref Yıldırım (Turkey)

Photos and shoots: 
Kirsten Becken (Germany)

An international performance project
A group of international performance artists will engage intensively with Beuys' work in the archive and in the collection as part of a month-long research residency at the ArToll art lab. The participating artists from Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ghana, Brazil, Greece, Hong Kong, Romania, Italy and Ireland, among others, will develop site-specific performances that will be presented in the museum spaces. This artistic dialogue will open up new perspectives on Beuys' work and make his influence on contemporary performance art visible. A film documentary by Kirsten Becken will be released for this project and will be available in the Moylandshop and online.

Live performances and interactive supporting programme
A highlight of the exhibition are the staggered live performances that take place in the first month. Later, relics, videos and photographic documentation of these performances will be exhibited. From the beginning to mid-October, the exhibition will once again enter into a direct dialogue with visitors through a further live programme.
In addition to the performances, Museum Schloss Moyland offers a varied educational programme with lectures, tango workshops, artist talks and workshops. Young adults in particular are addressed through interactive formats. Inclusive programmes such as sign language tours and school workshops are also planned. Digital offerings such as interviews, podcasts and an accompanying magazine will enhance the exhibition experience.

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