Discontent: Faith

A durational participatory performance by Aliza Shvarts
Saturday, Aug 17th from 3-6pm

Over the course of three hours, audience members are invited to watch and/or drop in and participate in a one-on-one performance with artist Aliza Shvarts.

Sit down, and Shvarts will tell you a story that someone has told her about a time when they consented or dissented in the context of religion or faith. You will then tell her this story back, “reversing” the terms of consent or dissent. This reversal can range from replacing the terms used in the original narrative (for example replacing "yes" with "no") to inventing new details entirely. After that, you will tell Shvarts a story of your own about a time you consented or dissented in the context of religion or faith. This is the story she will tell as accurately as possible to the next person who sits down.

Discontent:Faith is a live iteration of Shvarts’ broader “Disconsent” series, which examine the relationships between consent, which often takes the form of a speech act, and its imperfect opposite—dissent—which often exceeds speech to take the form of silence, protest, or other forms of bodily action. These will be on view in the gallery during the performance.