An exhibition of outsider art from a performance perspective

Abstract

The present article investigates the performative dimension of the outsider art exhibition Why Are There Wars in the World, held in 2016 at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. The analysis focuses on intersections between disability and the creative agency of artists with disabilities, situating the exhibition within broader debates on the social and cultural construction of disability and artistic marginality. Treating the exhibition as a case study, this inquiry draws upon archival and organizational materials as well as critical commentaries published online in response to the event. The theoretical framework is informed by Richard Schechner’s concept of restored behavior and Victor Turner’s notion of liminality, interpreted through Erika Fischer-Lichte’s performative theory of aesthetic experience as a mechanism capable of transforming socio-cultural realities. From this perspective, performance is employed not merely as an art form but as an analytical and interpretive tool that enables a deeper understanding of the practices and behaviors of both artists and audiences. Particular attention is given to the ways in which artistic expression – especially when produced by those identified in the literature as “outsiders” – becomes a site for negotiating, destabilizing, or reaffirming dominant representations of disability.