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The Performa 2021 Biennial took place in November 2021, eighteen months after New York shut down almost entirely at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. This book provides a vivid account of eight ambitious Performa Commissions created during this intensely difficult and unprecedented time by Kevin Beasley, Ericka Beckman, Sara Cwynar, Danielle Dean, Madeline Hollander, Andrés Jaque, Tschabalala Self, and Shikeith. Their performances responded to the social, political, and emotional complexity of this time in radical and meaningful ways. Created especially for the streets, parks, and beaches of New York, they brought together audiences in the city’s newly invigorated public spaces to celebrate the persistence and necessity of creativity in times of crisis.