In questioning social hierarchies and inequity, Ayana Evans (b. Chicago, IL) shows up “ready to do the most” by creating and protecting spaces where people can be their most authentic selves, and be celebrated for it. Trained as a painter, Evans established a convincing, unapologetic, and emotionally invigorating voice as a practicing performance artist. Her first live works were active social experiments: the Operation Catsuit series was the first time she donned a signature neon green, zebra-striped catsuit in public. With it, she sought to challenge her own self-confidence and to experience how other people—an unsuspecting audience—would receive her.

Evans’s work is direct, purposeful, and insightful. She explores how live and collective experiences can produce accessible, humorous, challenging, and often profound results. Through her work, Evans shares her own experiences as a Black woman and builds bridges with her audiences. 

Nobody’s Gonna Love You the Way I Do is the first museum survey exhibition celebrating the Brooklyn-based artist’s decades-long dedication to live performance. This presentation will introduce audiences to Evans’s artworks—including new and recent videos, a schedule of unsanctioned live performances, and ephemera that invites viewers to become intimately acquainted with Evans’s stories, and her world.

Ayana Evans: Nobody’s Gonna Love You the Way I Do is organized for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis by Dean Daderko, Ferring Foundation Chief Curator.