Ahead of its 2025 grand opening, the Performance Art Museum (PA Museum) is pleased to present 21 & Over, a performance art series spanning three nights in October at L.A.’s iconic Catch One nightclub.
Taking place on three consecutive Tuesdays (Oct. 15, Oct. 22, and Oct. 29), 21 & Over will feature an intergenerational lineup of over 21 local and international performance artists hailing from the worlds of art, music, dance, opera, nightlife, rave culture, and more.
Creativity Abound…
Artists include Rocío Boliver “La Congelada de Uva,” Trisha Brown, Nao Bustamante, Mariel Carranza, Patrisse Cullors, Carmina Escobar, keyon gaskin, Guillermo Gómez-Peña & Balitrónica (La Pocha Nostra) with Sarah Stolar, Sebastian Hernandez, Hugo Hopping, Keioui Keijaun Thomas, Terence Koh, Kia LaBeija, Paul McCarthy, Ashland Miles, Linda Mary Montano, Elliot Reed, and Ebun Sodipo. Legendary nightlife personalities and drag performers Page Person, Miss Barbie-Q, and Dynasty Handbag will serve as event emcees. Multidisciplinary artist Alima Lee will serve as the series DJ and musical director, creating a unique soundscape throughout the program.
Sebastian Hernandez, Reverb, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA 2023. Credit: Elon Schoenholz.
Founded in 2023, the Performance Art Museum (PA Museum) is an emergent non-profit organization that centers performance art in the foreground of contemporary practice.
“We’re honored to present this lineup of artists that represent a broad and unique range of performative practices, and we’re thrilled to showcase their work at Catch One, the legendary nightclub known for its service to the LGBTQ+ and Black communities — a place that has been a center of self-discovery for many of the participating artists, and thanks to an anonymous donor, we are thrilled to be able to offer the series free of charge. Truly allowing the museum broaden it audience for performance art.”
Catch The Performance!
Jewel’s Catch One was opened in 1973 by businesswoman and activist Jewel Thais-Williams, the first Black woman to own a nightclub in the United States. As both the nation’s first Black disco and the longest-running Black gay dance club in Los Angeles, it served as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ and Black communities for decades. Revered as the “unofficial Studio 54 of the West Coast,” Catch One hosted legendary performances by Donna Summer, Rick James, Madonna, Whoopi Goldberg, Vaginal Davis, Sylvester, Luther Vandross, and others.
Brown Disco (iteration #1), photo, OCD Chinatown, NYC 2022, Variable Dimensions – Courtesy of Performance Art Museum
Elliot Reed. Credit: Annie Forrest. Courtesy of Performance Art Museum.
Honoring a history often relegated to the margins, 21 & Over celebrates the spaces where performance is born: in the streets, in the clubs, among the people. Extending the vision of the forthcoming PA Museum, the series seeks to challenge preconceived notions of what performance art is and can be.
Following a successful conversation series presented in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre earlier this year, PA Museum continues to host engagements throughout Southern California as the new museum takes shape.
Rocío Boliver “La Congelada de Uva,” Balancing on the edge/age, Defibrillator Gallery, Chicago, 2014. Courtesy of Performance Art Museum.
Each 21 & Over evening will feature performances by an array of artists representing diverse practices from Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Mexico City, London, Portland, Copenhagen, and beyond, spread across the various unique dancefloors of Catch One.
Performances will incorporate elements of experimental opera, costumed tableaux, sculptural dance, body modification, dream rave, spoken word, durational work, intimate experiences, vocal choreography, disco, installation, and more. Live artworks range from dressing as Bob Dylan while singing the seven chakras to participatory exchanges of custom objects such as posters to a durational work that moves from room to room every 15 minutes. Additionally, various performances will honor Jewel Thais-Williams’ legacy of promoting wellness and nutrition in her community.
Opening nigh, held Tuesday, Oct. 15, featured performances by Mariel Carranza, keyon gaskin, Sebastian Hernandez, Kia LaBeija, Paul McCarthy, Ashland Miles, and Ebun Sodipo; hosted by Page Person
Tuesday, Oct. 22 features performances by Trisha Brown, Carmina Escobar, Terence Koh, Linda Mary Montano, Guillermo Gómez-Peña & Balitrónica (La Pocha Nostra) with Sarah Stolar, and Elliot Reed; hosted by Miss Barbie-Q.
“Untitled (After Carl Sagan)” from the series, New Directions for Future Pilgrims, 2009–2019. Hugo Hopping, 2024. Courtesy of Performance Art Museum.
Tuesday, Oct. 29th features performances by Rocío Boliver “La Congelada de Uva,” Nao Bustamante, Patrisse Cullors, Hugo Hopping, and Keioui Keijaun Thomas; hosted by Dynasty Handbag.
Produced by Alejandra Herrera and Jamie McMurry with support from Pamela West, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Jay & Deanie Stein Foundation Trust and Berry Stein, Performance Art Museum is the first museum dedicated exclusively to the presentation and preservation of the art of performance, the PA Museum is the central venue for the discovery, interaction, and study of contemporary and historically significant performance artworks.
Lead support for the Performance Art Museum courtesy of Karen Hillenburg. Major support courtesy of Laura Donnelley and the Good Works Foundation, with additional support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., Teiger Foundation, and Laura Maslon.
Advance tickets for each individual night are $30.00 ($40 at the door). Tickets for all three nights of 21 & Over are $80.00. Tickets can be purchased at pamuseum.org. Catch One is located at 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019.
