Over the past half century, Marina Abramovic has earned worldwide acclaim as a pioneer of performance art. In the autumn of 2020 the RA is staging the first ever UK exhibition to include works from her entire career. Re-performances of some of her best-known and most radical works will join new works created for the exhibition. Produced in collaboration with the artist, this important publication brings expert voices into the debates that Abramovic’s work engenders. How far should an artist push herself in pursuit of her work? What role does the audience play in creating a performance? How can performance art outlive the moment in which it takes place? Among the authoritative authors are Hans Ulrich Obrist, director of the Serpentine Galleries, and the eminent theologian and author Devin Zuber. In an interview with Tim Marlow, Abramovic reflects on her extraordinary career and expands on the ideas behind her RA show. In addition to these texts, images in the book are linked to video content via image-recognition software, so that readers can see many of Abramovic’s original performance pieces come to life. AUTHORS: Adrian Heathfield is Professor of Performance and Visual Culture at the University of Roehampton. Thomas McEvilley was an American art critic and writer, who joined Marina Abramovic and Ulay for parts of their ‘Great Wall Walk’. Formerly Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, Tim Marlow is now Director of the Design Museum in London. Hans Ulrich Obrist is artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London. Svetlana Racanovic is Professor of the Theory of Contemporary Art at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Montenegro. Andrea Tarsia is Head of Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Devin Zuber is Associate Professor of American Studies, Religion and Literature at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Rebecca Bray is Assistant Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts. SELLING POINTS: . The catalogue of Marina Abramovic’s major 2020 Royal Academy of Arts exhibition, created in collaboration with the artist. The exhibtion runs from 26 September to 8 December . Includes video content, linked to images in the book via image-recognition software 200 colour illustrations