Lock up performance art

LOCK UP PERFORMANCE ART (LUPA) has been showing great performance art in a grimy garage since last year. And it also shows why we should put art in new places.

Lupa is a performance series curated by Jordan McKenzie, Aaron Williamson and Kate Mahony. Now into its 9th edition, it uses a tiny garage in an East London housing estate to show some surreal, eccentric performances.
The audience stands in the car park surrounding the entrance to garage waiting for the curator’s introduction and the door to be opened up, like the curtains of a West End show. The show lasts an hour and afterwards everyone, including the artists, meet up in a nearby pub.

Lovely LUPA
LUPA is now in its 9th “edition”. Previous editions have included An Audience with Helia, a young girl who likes acting (below) or Tom Woolner’s recreation of the garage itself including a skeleton puppet that emerges from it. Another fantastic performance was Guerilla Dressage, which featured three “horses” emerging from the garage and taking a show around the car park while the audience watches.

 

Art in car parks
Lots of the most interesting projects we have featured on LabKultur, have taken place in alternative spaces. From our review of cinemas everywhere, Bold Tendencies in a Peckham Car Park, or a cultural centre beneath a flyover, in London you only find new culture in new spaces.

Why is this? Rents are so expensive artists are forced from the commercial galleries. But it’s also exciting to go to events in unexpected places - and this is part of the experience.
Reviews of performances have been very good, despite having varying elements of amateurish. With low costs and a crowd they know are willing to experience new things - and so are less likely to be grumpy if things go wrong - LUPA have the garage-based performance art market locked up.

 

 

 

Image credits - all LUPA