What would the world look like without performative art?

Welcome to the second blog of my ‘What would the world look like without…’. Check out last week’s blog, What would the world look like without visual arts?

This week, I’ll be looking at what the world might look like if the performative arts disappeared.

First of all, let’s define what I mean by performative arts.

As the word performative suggests, it’s an art form to do with performance. You might associate this with theatre, and you’d be correct, but that’s not all the performative arts entail.

The earth is my stage and the sun my spotlight. – Joshua Teya

Performative arts is all about communicating to the audience, in a more personal way than visual arts.

It can be lot more personal and intimate because it’s real people rather than paint on a canvas.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at some examples.

Example 2

Bye bye movies and tv shows. No more movie marathons and no more cinema trips with overpriced popcorn.

Example 4

I could keep listing more and more performative art forms, but I think it’s important to recognise that if the performative arts didn’t exist anymore, we wouldn’t only lose great entertainment.

In conclusion

A large difference between the visual arts and performative, is that performative artworks are usually more personal; they have a way of reaching people deeply, of connecting people.

A piece of performative art will always include at least two people, usually directly.

Most times, you may be looking directly at a person acting out a Shakespearean monologue, or singing a pop hit song that you vibe with.

Whatever it is, performative arts foster not just a method of self-expression but of connections between people.

Long ago, in the dark ages before technology existed, all the content you scroll on social media, or the songs or movies you stream, they were all performed live; they brought communities together, through grief and through happiness.