As already reported, legendary performance artist Marina Abramovic’s current Kickstarter campaign which is meant to support her newly founded MAI (Marina Abramovic Institute), a multidisciplinary place for art, science, technology, and spirituality, bringing these fields into conversation with long durational work. To raise funds for her project, Marina Abramovic has launched her campaign and with each day passing, not only new supporter such as Lady Gaga avow themselves supporters of Abramovic and her vision, but also the artist herself has just released a new reward release called “The Embrace.”

While Lady Gaga was instructed by the performance artist in the Abramovic Method (a series of exercises designed to heighten participants’ awareness of their physical and mental experience in the present moment) and takes off her clothes to boost Abramovic’s Kickstarter campaign, Abramovic has also created a special event, called “The Embrace.” All backers, past and future, of the Kickstarter campaign are invited and – to express her gratitude for the tremendous outpouring of support for MAI – Marina Abramovic will thank everyone who has joined her to create Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI) with a personal hug at this event.

“The Embrace” will be held in two undisclosed locations, one in New York City and one in Europe, with exact dates and times to be announced. Founders who are unable to attend will be offered a special reward in lieu of a hug from Marina, to be revealed shortly.

General information: If you contribute to this Kickstarter campaign, your money will fund “will cover phase one of MAI’s development: the design process. Given that MAI is the first of its kind, its early design phase demands an innovative approach. Your pledge will contribute to early MAI programming, office operations, and schematic designs of architectural elements, including building structure, lighting, acoustics, and AV. Leading this process are world-renowned architects Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), whose unique vision will help MAI to create new ways for audiences and performers to interact.” The project will only be funded if at least $600,000 is pledged by 25 August 2013. Back the MAI Kickstarter here.

Drawing: Cassandra Long.

Performance artist Marina Abramovic has impressed us with her projects for more than 40 years, first of all with her most recent performance, “The Artist Is Present” (2010), which showed her sitting motionless in MoMA’s atrium for three months, offering her gaze to anyone willing to sit across from her. Based on this intensive experience Abramaovic not 0nly felt that this has changed herself but also, this let her realise how important her visitors’ participation and involvement is. As a result she founded MAI (Marina Abramovic Institute) which is “dedicated to the presentation and preservation of long durational work, including that of performance art, dance, theater, film, music, opera, and other forms that may develop in the future. MAI will foster collaboration between art, science, technology, and spirituality, bringing these fields into conversation with long durational work. MAI will provide an educational space to host workshops, lectures, residencies, and research.” To support the artist’s ambitions and raise funds for her project, Marina Abramovic Institute has launched a Kickstarter campaign.

In the video below Marina Abramovic explains her project’s vision and why she needs your help:

If you contribute to this Kickstarter campaign, your money will fund “will cover phase one of MAI’s development: the design process. Given that MAI is the first of its kind, its early design phase demands an innovative approach. Your pledge will contribute to early MAI programming, office operations, and schematic designs of architectural elements, including building structure, lighting, acoustics, and AV. Leading this process are world-renowned architects Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), whose unique vision will help MAI to create new ways for audiences and performers to interact.” The project will only be funded if at least $600,000 is pledged by 25 August 2013.

Learn more about the Kickstarter campaign here.

Moreover, Marina Abramovic will be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) today at 12:30pm EST (18:30 CET). At that time the link to the AMA will be provided on Facebook, so save your questions. 

Images via Facebook.

This scenes recalls a performance which is a few month ago: the grande dame of 1970s performance art, Marina Abramović, spent three months in silent vigil at New York’s Museum of Modern Art alongside a major new retrospective of her work (“The Artist is precent“, March 14–May 31, 2013). Yesterday we saw another performance which involved viewer participation too. The protagonist: Jay-Z. The location: Pace Gallery in New York.

Similarly, Jay-Z, who just relased his new LP “Magna Carta … Holy Grail”, invaded the exhibition space and performed his song “Picasso Baby” for six straight hours – a performance that will be compiled into a music video. Guests included Marina Abramović herself, among other celebrities and local New Yorkers. See Jay-Z and Marina Abramović on stage:

videos via Cedar Pasori.