Marina Abramović | Debbie Harry

Known for her performance art, in which she bares her body and presence in the most intimate of ways, Marina Abramović now offers insight into the person behind the work—her ruminations, her thoughts, her experiences—in her new memoir, Walk Through Walls. In celebration of her captivating oeuvre, LIVE welcomes her to its stage in conversation with Blondie's Debbie Harry.  

MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ has pioneered performance as a visual art form, creating some of the most important early works since the beginning of her career in Belgrade during the early 1970s. The body has always been both her subject and medium, withstanding pain, exhaustion and danger in her quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. She has presented her work at major institutions in the US and Europe, including Berlin’s Neue National Galerie and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. She has also participated in many large-scale international exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (1976 and 1997) and Documenta VI, VII and IX, Kassel (1977, 1982 and 1992). In 2010, Abramovic had her first major U.S. retrospective and simultaneously performed for over 700 hours in “The Artist is Present” at Museum of Modern Art, New York. Awards include the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale; the Austrian Commander Cross for her contribution to Art History; and Officer to the Order of Arts and Letters in France. Abramovic founded the Marina Abramovic Institute, a platform for immaterial and long durational work to create new possibilities for collaboration among thinkers of all fields. 

DEBBIE HARRY is a vibrant global force and shaper of pop culture, with chart-topping success, more than 40 million albums sold worldwide, acclaimed solo projects, and a fearless spirit and rare longevity that led to an induction into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame for Blondie in 2006. With Blondie, one of the most trailblazing and influential bands of our time, she and co-founder Chris Stein brought the worlds of rock, punk, disco and ska together, and broke ground by combining hip-hop and pop. She continued to defy expectations with genre-busting efforts as a solo artist. As an actor she has over 30 film and television roles to her credit. 

A note to our patrons: LIVE from the NYPL programs begin promptly at 7p.m. We recommend arriving twenty minutes before the scheduled start time to get to your seats. In order to minimize disturbances to other audience members, we are unable to provide late seating.

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Engage with the brightest at The New York Public Library’s premier cultural series! LIVE from the NYPL offers conversations with notable writers, artists, and leaders, hosted by Paul Holdengräber. Learn more about LIVE.

Come hungry and come thirsty! LIVE at the NYPL is happy to be teaming up with our friends at Amy's Bread to provide food and soft drinks for purchase before the start of shows in Bartos Forum. Also our very own NYPL bar will be selling wine, beer and cocktails to pair with an evening of dynamic conversation. 

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