Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Tilda Swinton's MoMA Performance Art Has Been 7 Years In The Making
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2013
Modified Mar 25, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jen Chung / Gothamist
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2013
Modified Mar 25, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Tilda Swinton's live performance art at the Museum of Modern Art was a surprise to visitors today, but the museum has actually been working on staging "The Maybe" for seven years. (See update below—she's back on Monday, March 25.)
"The Maybe" was originally staged by Swinton in 1995, at the Serpentine Gallery in London, in collaboration with the artist Cornelia Parker. Swinton later staged it in Rome and Paris, without Parker.
MoMA Chief Curator at Large Klaus Biesenbach revealed to us that discussions for bringing "The Maybe" to the MoMA started when Swinton was working on another museum project. Back in 2005, she started filming her scenes for the MoMA-Creative Time film installation, Doug Aitken's sleepwalkers, which involved eight films projected on the MoMA's exterior walls (it premiered in 2007). Biesenbach said, "We were sitting in a trailer... and we talked about 'The Maybe,'" and he mentioned to her that the museum wanted to bring back "historic" performance art.
Biesenbach, of course, is the man behind the museum's blockbuster Marina Abramovic retrospective, which included a piece where Abramovic sat across from museum vistors for 736 hours and 30 minutes in the atrium.
"The Maybe" will appear randomly at the MoMA, in different locations, throughout the year. Update: She's there again, Monday, March 25—details here.
Tagged
klaus biesenbach
moma
museum of modern art
performance art
sleepwalkers
the maybe
tilda swinton
original
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 23, 2026
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
By
Hannah Frishberg
A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history
By
Sonia Rao
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .