Dan Graham: Performance Café with Perforated Sides

Dan Graham’s Performance Café with Perforated Sides, a stainless steel pavilion sculpture, was commissioned by Anthony Kiendl for the City of Toronto and Plug In ICA, and was originally shown as part of Nuit Blanche in Toronto (October 2010). However, the design intention and permanent site was always to be the new Plug In ICA rooftop in Winnipeg, and this partnership and combined budgets made it possible to commission this ambitious work for both the City of Toronto and Plug In ICA. It should perhaps be mentioned that the pavilion emerged during planning for Contour 5, the Belgian Biennale, who ultimately decided to commission their own pavilion by Graham, Performance Pavilion for a Catholic City (2011), a kind of sister pavilion, also curated and organized by Kiendl, and now located in Mechelen, Belgium.

As the title of the piece indicates, the work was created as a stage for performance, but would also serve as a meeting place for quieter moments in an art gallery context. Graham worked with architects both in Toronto (Adrian Blackwood and Eduardo Aquino); and Winnipeg (Neil Minuk, Peter Sampson and David Penner) for the siting and installation of the artwork in each respective location. Kris Kimpe, the Antwerp-based architect managed the technical design and liaised with the Toronto fabricator.