Marina Abramović wants Glastonbury Festival crowd to be quiet for a minute

Artists, musicians and philosophers have long explored the value of stillness, emptiness and silence. In his White paints (1951), artist Robert Rauschenberg painted monochrome canvases that revealed life in the form of shadows of the viewer. Composer John Cage provoked the music world with his composition 4’33” (1952), in which a pianist sits at his instrument for the allotted time, so that the ambient noise helps define the music itself. The artist Yves Klein showed an empty white gallery in Paris, simply calling it The void (1958).

Today, artist Marina Abramović is calling for a period of silence at an event known for the opposite: the Glastonbury Festival, which began fifty years ago as a simple music festival on a farm in the English region of Somerset, and has since grown to gigantic proportions as an event for theater, comedy, dance and various other art forms.

On the festival’s iconic main forum, the Pyramid Stage, Abramović will call for silence at 5:55 p.m. local time today, in a performance titled Seven minutes of collective silence. The silence is a response to the festival’s 2019 theme: peace. The performance is curated by Josef O’Connor as part of Glastonbury’s ongoing collaboration with Circa, a contemporary arts platform.

“Silence is a powerful tool that allows us to communicate with ourselves and each other in a way that words cannot communicate,” Abramović said. “At a festival like Glastonbury, where the sound and energy are constantly evolving, these Seven minutes of collective silence offer a unique opportunity for unity and introspection. It is about being present together, experiencing the power of silence as one.

For the occasion, Abramović will wear a dress created by her friend, the famous fashion designer Riccardo Tisci, which, according to press materials, features “a surprise detail” that will appear during the performance.

This is truly a massive stage for the performer, who has long sought to break out of the role of visual artist and become something much bigger. The Glastonbury Festival provides a venue for this on an unprecedented scale: legend has it that, including the gatecrashers, a record 300,000 people attended the 1994 festival, headlined by the Levellers.

“We are honoured to have Marina Abramović bring us such a rich and profound experience at Glastonbury,” said festival co-organizer Emily Eavis. “Her work has consistently pushed boundaries and inspired deep reflection, and we believe this moment of collective silence will be a memorable and impactful addition to the festival.”

Abramović will be followed by a set by English musician PJ Harvey.

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