One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Stefanos Tsivopoulos’ film, videos, performances, and public interventions challenge traditional constructs of space and publicness. The artworks combine a variety of classical symbolism and media references to present the viewer with a new understanding of past histories, obliging the audience to reconsider the present, and reimagine the new possibilities that the future might offer. The Greek and New York based artist has exhibited at numerous international venues including the 55th Venice Biennale and documenta14.

The performance One Step Forward, Two Steps Back was realized in Washington D.C. as part of the public program of the Museum of Contemporary Cuts. It was a collaboration with the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art at the Hutchins Center, at Harvard University. The collaboration between Lanfranco Aceti, director and founder of MoCC, and Vera Ingrid Grant, director of the Cooper Gallery, made the event possible. The intention was to enshrine in art history a moment by blending art and politics in what was both a performance and a silent protest. It was the first time that a 24hr durational art performance was possible on the White House sidewalk. It involved local activists and community leaders, who brought to light the silenced grievances of an increasingly divided society with it fractious politics via an art performative event.