Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founder of the Moscow-based feminist performance art group Pussy Riot, has announced live appearances in Houston and Austin this March.
Nadya Tolokonnikova presenting a TED Talk. Photo by Gilberto Tadday / TED
Founded in 2011, Pussy Riot has approximately 11 members, all of whom are women. Over the past decade, the group has staged guerilla-style public performances, many of which have been filmed and shared online. Because of her outspoken opposition to Russian President Vladmir Putin, Ms. Tolokonnikova has been named an enemy of Russia. In a TED Talk presented last year, she spoke about her imprisonment and her motivations for resistance.
In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the group hung a banner that read “matriarchy now” from the rotunda of the Texas State Capitol building. Also, in 2017 at the Day for Night festival in Houston, Ms. Tolokonnikova spoke and the group performed. In 2016, other members spoke during the Sound on Sound festival in Austin.
In 2023, members of Pussy Riot visited Texas cities as part of their Riot Days North American Tour, and in December Ms. Tolokonnikova came to Dallas when her short film, Putin’s Ashes, opened at the Dallas Contemporary. The work was on view for one month and was accompanied by public events.
On Thursday, March 14, Ms. Tolokonnikova will present a musical performance in Houston at the White Oak Music Hall. The New Orleans-based singer and performance artist Boyfriend (Suzannah Elizabeth Powell) will be the opening act. Tickets can be purchased here.
Details have not yet been released about Ms. Tolokonnikova’s South-by-Southwest (SXSW) appearances in Austin, though it will be scheduled during the festival, which runs from March 8 to March 16. Stay up to date about the SXSW schedule via the event’s website.
