Yana Schnitzler
HUMAN KINETICS
PERFORMATIVE ART
Tales of A Phoenix: The Letting Go Project (2020- ongoing)
A visual art exhibition and durational performance, Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project harnesses the power of ritual to bring women together from across the world in a unified release of old patterns that no longer serve their personal growth.
Over the past three years, women contributed pieces of fabric inscribed with their intentions of what they wish to let go of. In a series of meditative performances, Schnitzler stitched these testimonies together into a room-filling skirt, representing the global collective feminine voice. With pieces from over sixty different countries and states, the work creates a tapestry of personal stories from all walks of life and cultures, offering a glimpse of where women stand with the struggles they face.
In a seven-week run at the Chashama storefgallery in Manhattan's Garment District, Schnitzler created the original room-size skirt. Female onlookers were invited to participate by sharing their desires for release on a provided piece of fabric that was added to the performance project. As the garment grew over time, it emerged as a sea of fabric filling the entire space.
Following this durational event, the skirt is now traveling to exhibitions from New York City to Washington DC, Chicago, IL and Europe, for people to experience this sacred object, and inviting more women to participate in this growing work. Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project will culminate in a final dance performance, with Schnitzler wearing the skirt, and completing with the destruction of it as a powerful symbol of release and letting go, currently scheduled for summer 2024.
Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project is made possible, in part, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Further support was provided by Chashama, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Grove34 and The Feminist Art Project.
