MODA Vi Initiatives
Global Performance Project
A Civic Infrastructure of Cultural Expression
This is not a traditional festival. It is a distributed, city-embedded sequence, in which performances emerge in tandem with local businesses that already function as relational nodes in their neighborhoods. The program maps urban space not by zoning, but by attention—foregrounding places where people already gather, linger, and connect.
Performing the Everyday
The Global Performance Project reveals existing civic layers through performance. It recasts familiar locations as spaces of inquiry—asking what happens when art coexists with labor, leisure, and daily routine.
Performance Integration Examples:
Transforming grooming spaces into venues for community laughter and storytelling. The intimate setting creates a unique dynamic where performers work with the ambient sounds of clippers and conversation, while audiences experience humor in an unexpectedly personal environment.
“Civic performance takes place at the intersection of systems we move through and the rituals we inhabit. MODA Vi designs from this intersection.”
Active Venues
Global Network, Local Expression
The initiative operates through MODA Vi's Civic Partner network and city-specific research teams. It draws on the Royal Danish Academy's work on human-scale urbanism, Jane Jacobs' foundational theories of embedded street life, and more recent scholarship on performance as spatial pedagogy.
Research Framework
Each city's performance program is developed in collaboration with local Civic Partners who understand the unique character and needs of their communities. This ensures that while the project operates globally, each manifestation is deeply rooted in local culture and space.
Research Partners
Key References
Philosophy & Core Principles
“The Global Performance Project does not build stages. It illuminates temporarily what was always there, a sacred stage hiding in the everyday.“
This approach recognizes that cities are already theaters of daily life, and that strategic cultural intervention can reveal and activate the performative potential inherent in urban space. Rather than imposing external structures, the project works with existing social and commercial infrastructure to create moments of heightened awareness and community connection.
Core Principles
Join the Performance Network
The Global Performance Project operates through MODA Vi's Civic Partner network. Venues that serve as community gathering spaces are invited to participate in this ongoing experiment in cultural urbanism.
Documentation & Impact: Installations are documented not just as creative works but as urban artifacts—inscribed in a broader inquiry into what makes cities livable, meaningful, and memorable.
Each project contributes to a civic archive, helping us understand how atmosphere and narrative function as economic and social infrastructure.
Participation Pathways
Interested in bringing performance infrastructure to your city?
Connect with the Network