LONG ISLAND CITY, NY.- P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and Performa 09 present 100 Years (version #2, ps1, nov 2009), an exhibition presenting influential moments in the past century of performance art history. With over 200 works including film, photography, documents, and audio, 100 years presents a wealth of information that is largely unknown and is intended as an archive for students, scholars, and enthusiasts of the history of performance art. A special presentation organized by Electronic Arts Intermix, a New York-based nonprofit that is a leading resource for video art, will accompany the exhibition. 100 Years is on view in the Third Floor Main Gallery from November 1, 2009 through April 5, 2010.

Artists participating in the performance art biennial Performa 09 are invited to contribute to the “living exhibition” nature of 100 Years, by adding performances, happenings, actions, and gestures that they consider influential to their own artistic careers. These will be added to the exhibition and then celebrated at a special event for the closing of Performa 09 from 3 - 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 22 at P.S.1.

Organized by P.S.1 and Performa, a non-profit interdisciplinary arts organization committed to presenting and researching performance art, 100 Years is presented on the occasion of Performa 09, the third visual art performance biennial happening November 1-22, 2009. This exhibition was conceived as a research project that will travel to other venues, including The Julia Stoschek Foundation in Germany, with content varying and developing over time.

In conjunction with 100 Years, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) has organized a special presentation 45 Years of Performance Video from EAI. Featuring works from 1965 to the present, this survey highlights over four decades of artists’ performances created specifically for video, from conceptual exercises of the late 1960s to new, digitally-mediated performance narratives.

100 Years (version #2, ps1, nov 2009) is organized by P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and Performa. The exhibition is curated by Klaus Biesenbach, P.S.1 Chief Curatorial Advisor and MoMA Chief Curator of Media and Performance Art; and RoseLee Goldberg, Performa Curator and Director.