MCA Studio: Samantha Hill, 10 Body Performances

About

Artist Samantha Hill leads an interactive workshop and discussion that explore the history of performance art at the MCA. The program references Bodyworks, the MCA's 1975 exhibition that featured works by artists who used their own bodies as their primary medium of expression and included a series of body interventions in the galleries by artists such as Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. For 10 Body Performances, Hill invites visitors to create their own body performances based on works originally presented during the 1975 exhibition. Responding to the social and performative role of contemporary technology, Hill encourages visitors to document and share their body performances. The documentation is streamed live and projected inside the museum throughout the program.

10 Body performances is the first in a series of three public programs titled The Happenings, which were devised by Hill for the MCA. For this series, Hill explored the MCA's archives in order to develop interactive programs that consider different aspects of the museum's history.

About the Artist

Samantha Hill is a Chicago-based artist whose work emphasizes archives, social projects, and art facilitations. By assuming the role of artist as archivist, Hill applies her research to construct multimedia installations and performances within landmark buildings and community spaces, which are then transformed into an immersive or interactive environment. Hill has received several honors including the International Sculpture Center Award in 2006 and 2008, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Trustee Merit Scholarship in Sculpture, and the Philadelphia Sculptors Award, as well as a nomination for a 3Arts Award: Teaching Artist category in 2014\. She earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design.