Yoko Ono, 'Cut Piece', 1964, filmed March 21, 1965. Performed by Yoko Ono in 'New Works of Yoko Ono', Carnegie Recital Hall, New York. Film by David and Albert Maysles. Film, 16mm, black and white, and sound (stereo), 8min, 27sec. © Yoko Ono.
Photo Credit
2025 marks 60 years since Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece was performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall. To celebrate, join us for a discussion as we explore this seminal work and its enduring legacy.
This panel discussion will be chaired by Caroline Vercoe, Associate Professor of Art History at Waipapa Taumata Rau/The University of Auckland, who will be joined in conversation with artists Jo Bragg, Alice Canton and Nathan Joe.
All are welcome.
Associate Professor Caroline Vercoe (Vailima, Samoa, Aotearoa New Zealand) teaches Global Art Histories, Māori and Pacific Art History and Visual Culture, and Contemporary Art in Aotearoa New Zealand. She specialises in contemporary Pacific art and performance art, with a particular interest in issues of race, gender and representation, and has been teaching, curating and researching in these areas for thirty years. She has published in the Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, the Journal of Pacific History, as well as in many publications including In Pursuit of Venus, Gauguin in Polynesia, Pacific Art Niu Sila, Declaration A Pacific Feminist Agenda, and Empowerment Art and Feminism. She has also published an online bibliography Contemporary Pacific Art for Oxford Bibliographies.
Co-founder of Meanwhile Artist-Run Initiative, Tamaki Makaurau born and based Jo Braggv (Takatāpui, he/they pronouns, Ngati Porou Iwi) is a still and moving image based visual-artist, poet, art critic, gender theorist, writer and researcher. Bragg holds an MFA by Research, awarded with First Class Honours (in 2021) by Monash University (Naarm, Melbourne) for their practice-led thesis: Fail like you mean it! – how to escape the spectacle of “queer” in visual art, theory and writing. Within which, there is a chapter dedicated exclusively to Yoko Ono's Cut Piece, (1964) and its relevance to contemporary Trans-feminist practice and theory. Bragg’s photographic works feature in the collections of both the Wellington City Council and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Their debut collection of poetry is set to be published by Bad Apple/Āporo Press and released early in 2026.
Alice Canton (White_mess) is an award-winning theatre-artist and producer based in Tamaki Makaurau. Her work explores identity, culture and community through live theatre and performance. Notable works include ORANGUTAN, WHITE/OTHER, BREAK BREAD (Silo Theatre), and the live documentary theatre project, OTHER [chinese].
Nathan Joe 周润豪 is a Chinese New Zealand playwright and performance poet. He was born and raised in Ōtautahi, but is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau. He was the recipient of the 2021 Bruce Mason Playwriting Award and the 2020 National Poetry Slam Champion. His poetry short film, Nathan Joe: Homecoming Poems, commissioned by Going West Writers Festival, premiered internationally at the Toronto Queer Film Festival 2022. His best known work Scenes from a Yellow Peril premiered at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in 2022. He is currently doing his postgraduate diploma in Creative Practice at Unitec, looking at the relationship between performance poetry and performance art.
2025 marks 60 years since Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece was performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall. To celebrate, join us for a discussion as we explore this seminal work and its enduring legacy.
This panel discussion will be chaired by Caroline Vercoe, Associate Professor of Art History at Waipapa Taumata Rau/The University of Auckland, who will be joined in conversation with artists Jo Bragg, Alice Canton and Nathan Joe.
All are welcome.
Associate Professor Caroline Vercoe (Vailima, Samoa, Aotearoa New Zealand) teaches Global Art Histories, Māori and Pacific Art History and Visual Culture, and Contemporary Art in Aotearoa New Zealand. She specialises in contemporary Pacific art and performance art, with a particular interest in issues of race, gender and representation, and has been teaching, curating and researching in these areas for thirty years. She has published in the Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, the Journal of Pacific History, as well as in many publications including In Pursuit of Venus, Gauguin in Polynesia, Pacific Art Niu Sila, Declaration A Pacific Feminist Agenda, and Empowerment Art and Feminism. She has also published an online bibliography Contemporary Pacific Art for Oxford Bibliographies.
Co-founder of Meanwhile Artist-Run Initiative, Tamaki Makaurau born and based Jo Braggv (Takatāpui, he/they pronouns, Ngati Porou Iwi) is a still and moving image based visual-artist, poet, art critic, gender theorist, writer and researcher. Bragg holds an MFA by Research, awarded with First Class Honours (in 2021) by Monash University (Naarm, Melbourne) for their practice-led thesis: Fail like you mean it! – how to escape the spectacle of “queer” in visual art, theory and writing. Within which, there is a chapter dedicated exclusively to Yoko Ono's Cut Piece, (1964) and its relevance to contemporary Trans-feminist practice and theory. Bragg’s photographic works feature in the collections of both the Wellington City Council and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Their debut collection of poetry is set to be published by Bad Apple/Āporo Press and released early in 2026.
Alice Canton (White_mess) is an award-winning theatre-artist and producer based in Tamaki Makaurau. Her work explores identity, culture and community through live theatre and performance. Notable works include ORANGUTAN, WHITE/OTHER, BREAK BREAD (Silo Theatre), and the live documentary theatre project, OTHER [chinese].
Nathan Joe 周润豪 is a Chinese New Zealand playwright and performance poet. He was born and raised in Ōtautahi, but is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau. He was the recipient of the 2021 Bruce Mason Playwriting Award and the 2020 National Poetry Slam Champion. His poetry short film, Nathan Joe: Homecoming Poems, commissioned by Going West Writers Festival, premiered internationally at the Toronto Queer Film Festival 2022. His best known work Scenes from a Yellow Peril premiered at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in 2022. He is currently doing his postgraduate diploma in Creative Practice at Unitec, looking at the relationship between performance poetry and performance art.
