28/05/2026
PERFORMATIVITY
I first encountered Judith Butler's theory of performativity during a lecture on identity politics for an essay.
The theory posits that identity is not something we are, but something we do.
20 years later and it is this theory which underpins my closing comments on the arts landscape of the UAE.
The world is made up of Zeuses and Sisyphuses. The chasm between them exists because Zeuses have something Sisyphuses need. It is structural. Butler's theory becomes relevant the moment we discern another chasm. Between what Zeuses say and what Zeuses do.
👀 The Zeuses host a new awards ceremony touted as a celebration of artistic excellence.
They award based on performances judged by a panel of experts. When questioned by a Sisyphus, the Zeuses confirm that only some productions have been seen by anyone on the panel and only some are asked for their recordings instead.
For future, all Sisyphuses should be judged against the same criteria which at the very least begins with all judges watching every performance in each category.
👀 The Zeuses commit to a continuation of a community initiative after a successful debut.
Despite attempts from the Sisyphuses to confirm any answer (even a no!) for 3 months, the Zeuses choose silence, then withdraw over text just 1 month before opening night.
For future, when Zeuses collaborate with Sisyphuses for the community-centric optics, consciously centering the community experience over their own is important. Human-to-human dissolutions preferred!
👀 The Zeuses have a professional and personal relationship with a Sisyphus who has contributed to their space for years.
One day, a like-for-like offering is kickstarted with another entity inside their walls. The Sisyphus who created the original offering feels like the boulder she was pushing up the mountain was inherited by someone else without warning.
For future, relationships with Sisyphuses who have contributed to arts inclusion alongside Zeuses are respectfully owed a conversation. Not to ask permission, but to ask if we want to collaborate with this new offering in support of the initiative we believed in first.
Say and do are two different verbs.
