On Stage: Frictions

Each spring, the MCA presents On Stage, a suite of performance works connected by a rigorous and relevant curatorial theme. In 2023, the series focuses on the frictions that exist in a society shaped by race—and the transformative power of productive resistance.

Frictions presents performances by three artists—Will Rawls, Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, and Barak adé Soleil—who explore blackness through bodily movement. Through in-person performances in April and May, as well as performance-driven video installations on view until June 18, their works engage themes including queer intimacy, disabled bodies in motion and at rest, and the relationship between animation, race, and history. Defying conventional notions of blackness, queerness, movement, dance, and performance, Frictions invites both audiences and performers to engage with the productive tensions that emerge through each work. Learn more.

Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, Touch of RED
April 6–8, 2023
Set inside a contemporary boxing ring, this duet for two Black men explores Black multiplicity and human connection.
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Will Rawls, [siccer]
April 27–30, 2023
Encompassing dance, photography and sound, [siccer] addresses the relationship between blackness and image-making.
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Barak adé Soleil, SHIFT
May 6, 2023
This newly commissioned work amplifies the presence of Black neurodiverse and disabled bodies by occupying the museum’s spaces both digitally and physically.
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