Dis Place

Dis Place is Drastic Action’s multi-media exploration of the American legacy of displacement. The seed of Dis Place was a deep dive into the history of “urban renewal” in the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area in Manhattan’s Lower East Side which branched out to encompass multiple related concepts and histories including: the human right to a home, the experience of being unhoused, New York’s current housing crisis, and the multiple ways we create and define home. To date Dis Place has included two iterations: one a video, and the other an interactive, live performance piece. The works make palpable the experience of displaced individuals and surface the absurdity of housing policies as well as solutions for affordable, sustainable housing. Audience members are evicted, led in an “emotional distancing meditation” and invited to participate in a carnival-like demolition game. Dis Place premiered at Arts on Site in January 2024.