Willow Smith wants to make a difference with a powerful piece of performance art exploring mental health. As People reports, beginning on Wednesday night at 9 PM ET, Smith and her fellow musical collaborator Tyler Cole will visually enact different stages of anxiety from the confines of a glass box. The 24-hour long performance will take place at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles.
Smith and Cole to exhibit 8 different stages of anxiety
In a Los Angeles Times exclusive, the news outlet shares that during the duration of the performance, Smith and Cole will cycle through the eight different stages of anxiety. From paranoia, rage, sadness, and numbness to euphoria, strong interest, compassion, and finally acceptance, they'll spend 3 hours in each stage as they convey what it looks like.
While they will not be speaking at all during the performance, Smith said to the LA Times that "We might grunt or scream — it’s going to be very primal". The performers will be allowed 2-minute bathroom breaks, as well as breaks for food and sleep.
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Smith on her anxiety performance art: "this is on something real"
Smith also shared with the LA Times that she and Cole aren't putting on this performance just for attention. As the news outlet reports, audience members who wish to view the installation at the museum will be able to do so for a maximum of 15 minutes at a time. If they wish to continue watching before that period of time has elapsed, they are then able to go into a room that has a livestream of the performance as well as mental health resources.
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"This is not so that people are like, ‘Oooh!’ This is for awareness,” Smith said, before going on to talk about how she and Cole plan to make their message clear to the audience. "The first thing we’re going to be writing on our title wall is something along the lines of: ‘The acceptance of one’s fears is the first step toward understanding,'" she explained. "So then you know this is on something real".