Building on Whitechapel Gallery’s long history of commissioning and staging performance, The London open live provides a vital opportunity to map the different types of live art practices in London right now.

The 13-week programme showcases artists from different generations whose broad responses to liveness offer an invitation to gather around new ideas and experiences. Encompassing a wide range of concepts including testing the limits of the body under endurance, investigating gender constructs, exploring the texture of verbal and non-verbal language and imagining new worlds, each performance provides a distinct and timely snapshot of live art practice today.

The participating artists are Devika Bilimoria, Season Butler, Shaun Caton, Helen Davison, Tim Etchells, Plastique Fantastique, Helena Goldwater, i.as.in.we, William Mackrell, Nando Messias, Will Pegna, Roshana Rubin Mayhew, Mahsa Salali, Aaron Williamson and Joshua Woolford.

Performances will take place Thursday to Sunday throughout June–September 2025 at Whitechapel Gallery. An accompanying film programme will be presented in the Zilkha Auditorium & Studio featuring: Babeworld, Rita Evans, Rosie Gibbens, Adrian Lee, Lynn Lu, Jonas Lund and Sweatmother.