NEW YORK.- PERFORMA -- a non-profit organization committed to the research, development, and presentation of high caliber performance by visual artists from around the world will present PERFORMA05, the first performance biennale in New York City. PERFORMA05 will offer a multidisciplinary program of month-long exhibitions, world premiers of exciting new performances, film series, and innovative symposia across multiple venues in New York City.

PERFORMA was established in April 2004 by renowned critic, curator and performance art historian RoseLee Goldberg, whose definitive book, Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present (1979 & 2000), pioneered the study of performance art.

�With its selection of highly accomplished work by both established and emerging artists, PERFORMA05 will encourage new directions in visual art performance,� said RoseLee Goldberg, Founding Director and Curator of PERFORMA. �As more and more contemporary artists from around the world make live art and performance-related film and video, we had to respond to the need for a more focused curatorial approach to the material.�

PERFORMA05 will run from November 3, 2005 through November 20, 2005, and is being organized in collaboration with a consortium of leading arts presenters, independent curators, galleries and museums. The list of venues and artists is in formation and is available upon request. A full confirmed biennial schedule will be released after June 30, 2005.