National Performance Network

National Performance Network As an artist-centered, field-generated network, the National Performance Network is unique in its structure.

The National Performance Network (NPN) supports artists in the creation and touring of new work, and advances racial and cultural justice in the arts presenting field. Its active and engaged network of presenters form an interconnected web or relationships through which support and services are strategically designed, effectively distributed, and successfully leveraged.

Chasah West and Charliese West, working together as The West Sisters, are Louisiana-based composers and filmmakers whose...
06/18/2026

Chasah West and Charliese West, working together as The West Sisters, are Louisiana-based composers and filmmakers whose stories center characters of color. In their Take Notice Fund interview, they talk about their approach to storytelling, and how their childhood in Africa influenced how they view popular entertainment. “Why don’t we see a Black girl who’s Lara Croft?" Chasah asks. "We always wanted to see what was around us, which was not just American culture.”

Read the full interview on our Voices from the Network blog: https://npnweb.org/an-interview-with-the-west-sisters/

Pictured: Chasah West (left) and Charliese West (right), aka The West Sisters

Repost from •Creative Labor, Creative Conditions continues across the country following its May Day activation in New Yo...
06/15/2026

Repost from
•
Creative Labor, Creative Conditions continues across the country following its May Day activation in New York!

From Honolulu to the Bay Area, Boston, Minneapolis, Newport and New Orleans, artists and cultural workers are leading site-based activations that make visible the conditions of creative labor across place, history and community.

Learn more and find an event near you at the link in bio.

Each month, NPN’s staff and board engage with a reading that deepens our understanding of how to embed liberatory practi...
06/12/2026

Each month, NPN’s staff and board engage with a reading that deepens our understanding of how to embed liberatory practices throughout our work. This month, we are reading “Be Resolute: Art Is Water” by former NPN board member Harold Steward. In the face of funding cuts and political threats to artistic freedom, Harold argues that the urgent task is not to prove art’s value but to secure the conditions that allow art and artists to thrive equitably across communities.

Join us in this reading: https://emilkang.substack.com/p/no-country-has-this-right

The Collective Learning Series is organized by NPN’s Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building (DRJaM).

Pictured: Harold Steward

Repost from •Join us for the 25th Anniversary FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL ‼️3 unforgettable nights of groundbreaking performance...
06/05/2026

Repost from
•
Join us for the 25th Anniversary FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL ‼️3 unforgettable nights of groundbreaking performance featuring boundary-pushing dance, music, drag, theater, and interdisciplinary performance! We’re celebrating 25 years of trans and q***r artistry, resilience, and joy!🎉

For 25 years, the FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL has been a home for trans, q***r, and gender-expansive artists to take the stage boldly, unapologetically, and brilliantly. This June, we gather to celebrate a legacy of artistry, resistance, joy, survival, and community unlike anywhere else in the world.

📣Featuring world premieres by:
B. DeVeaux
Pangaea
Shawn Lee with Bay Area Independent Chinese Dancers
JanpiStar

🌟 Plus performances by:
Filipino American drag supergroup Filipinx .pinx
New Voices Bay Area Transgender, Intersex & Genderq***r Chorus
Zuzu Beloved .beloved
Shawna Virago
Sean Dorsey Dance

✨This is more than a performance festival. It’s a celebration of trans and q***r brilliance, community resilience, and the power of gathering together in a time when coming together matters deeply.

✨ Arrive early for our pre-show red carpet celebration featuring:
📸 Photo booth
🎶 Music + community gathering
💃 Red carpet glamour moments
❤️ Joy, connection, and celebration!

Audiences are encouraged to dress in formal “red carpet” attire and celebrate 25 years with us in style.

📍 Z Space
450 Florida Street, San Francisco

🗓️ June 19–21, 2026
Friday, June 19 @ 8PM
Saturday, June 20 @ 8PM
Sunday, June 21 @ 3PM

Repost from •On June 12, 2026, “Excavación del presente / A Tender Excavation” opens at CECUT / Tijuana Cultural Center ...
06/05/2026

Repost from
•
On June 12, 2026, “Excavación del presente / A Tender Excavation” opens at CECUT / Tijuana Cultural Center () in Mexico. This is the first international traveling exhibition for the organization in its 48-year history!

Expanding on its original presentation at The Luckman Gallery, the exhibition has been thoughtfully reimagined for one of CECUT’s 5,000-square-foot galleries.

Artists featured in the exhibition include Zeynep Abes, Susu Attar, Jamil G Baldwin, Mely Barragán, Artemisa Clark, Arleene Correa Valencia, Mercedes Dorame, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Leah King, Tarrah Krajnak, Heesoo Kwon, Ann Le, Arlene Mejorado, Star Montana, and Camille Wong.

This partnership reflects our shared commitment to fostering binational dialogue at a moment when the border remains a site of intense political scrutiny. Visit the link in our bio to learn more about the public programs presented by LACE and CECUT.

“Courage,” writes cultural strategist Roberto Bedoya, “is not linked to the lone, brave soul who runs into a burning hou...
06/05/2026

“Courage,” writes cultural strategist Roberto Bedoya, “is not linked to the lone, brave soul who runs into a burning house to save lives, but the fire bucket brigade that, as a unit, works to put out the fire." In his recent essay, “The Courage of Imagination, A Pro-Democracy Movement, and the Civic We,” he offers an analysis of today’s authoritarian efforts to dismantle civic life, challenges to arts philanthropy, and remedies for civic trauma.

Read Roberto Bedoya's article: https://reader.giarts.org/read/courage-imagination-civic-we

Pictured: Roberto Bedoya

When external forces threaten our organizations, we pay attention. But what about the cracks that form from within? “Tra...
05/29/2026

When external forces threaten our organizations, we pay attention. But what about the cracks that form from within? “Transforming Our Organizations, Transforming Ourselves” from Convergence Magazine, featuring NPN Director of Racial Justice and Movement Building Sage Crump and other movement leaders, offers examples of how organizations are navigating the pressures of 2026, from re-examining urgency to addressing anti-Blackness to clarifying roles and decision-making.

Read the full article: https://convergencemag.com/articles/transforming-our-organizations-and-ourselves/

”We Are the Promised Land” is a multimedia altar to Black land legacies in the Mississippi Hill Country curated by Annet...
05/26/2026

”We Are the Promised Land” is a multimedia altar to Black land legacies in the Mississippi Hill Country curated by Annette Hollowell (Foxfire Ranch) and free feral, with support from NPN's 2021 Creation Fund, 2023 Development Fund, and 2024 Documentation & Storytelling Fund. With all the Black land loss stories in Mississippi, this project explores how the Hollowell family has kept their land for over a century, and what it has cost them.

Experience the audio altar, listen to the podcast, and join the Substack community: https://www.wearethepromisedland.net/

Each month, NPN’s staff and board engage with a reading that deepens our understanding of how to embed liberatory practi...
05/22/2026

Each month, NPN’s staff and board engage with a reading that deepens our understanding of how to embed liberatory practices throughout our work. This month we're recommending “Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in a Time of Crisis” by Maurice Mitchell. The article explores how movements on the Left can overcome internal obstacles that impede progress and sap resources, and it will be the subject of a free webinar by Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ) on May 28.

Join us in this reading, watch an interview with the author, or sign up for the free webinar: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/building-resilient-organizations-toward-joy-and-durable-power-in-a-time-of-crisis/

The Collective Learning Series is organized by NPN’s Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building (DRJaM).

Pictured: “Building Resilient Organizations" author Maurice Mitchell.

Where do the stories we carry come from, and what happens when we weave new ones? Card 22 of the Mixed Metaphor Liberato...
05/22/2026

Where do the stories we carry come from, and what happens when we weave new ones? Card 22 of the Mixed Metaphor Liberatory Learning Deck, “Storytelling,” invites reflection on the narratives that shape us, who gets to tell them, and the power of crafting liberated narratives toward the world we want.

“History is not the past. It is the stories we tell about the past. How we tell these stories... has a lot to do with whether we cut short or advance our evolution as human beings.” —Grace Lee Boggs

Explore this card and others in our interactive version of the Mixed Metaphor Liberatory Learning Deck: https://npnweb.org/field/resources/lane/mixedmetaphor/learning-deck/

Address

8121 Fig Street
New Orleans, LA
70118

Telephone

+15045958008

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when National Performance Network posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to National Performance Network:

Shortcuts

Share

Category