TALLER CLEANING THE HOUSE – 2004

From the 12th to the 19th of June, the NMAC Foundation acted as a base for the performances undertaken by 33 young international artists who formed part of the organisation: IPG (Independent Performance Group), founded by the artist Marina Abramovic at the beginning of 2004.
All the performances took place on Saturday the 19th of June in the forest which plays host to the NMAC Foundation’s sculpture trail.  Prior to this, from the 12th to the 17th, Marina Abramovic’ ran a workshop with the 33 artists entitled “Cleaning the House”.  For 5 days, they submitted themselves to a purification process through fasting, sexual abstinence, silence and the practice of physical and psychic exercises.
The majority of the artists involved in the workshop with Marina Abramovic´ have already worked with her on various occasions presenting performances at different international events such as the last Venice Biennial (2003) or at the “Museo de Arte Contemporáneo” in Santiago de Compostela (CGAC) in 2002.
On conclusion of the workshop the artists prepared a programme of performances which took place in the forest surrounding the NMAC Foundation on the 18th of June. This project was subsidised by the General Directorate of Fine Arts and Cultural Assets under the Ministry for Culture and thanks to the collaboration of the contemporary art centre PS1/MOMA in New York, where the artists travelled a few days after the performances.