In addition to the in-person programming at IF 2025, we are pleased to present a collection of curated archival pieces from the first iterations of the festival.
This archival material from IF 2020, IF 2021, and IF 2022 is available to view for one week (from 6 PM ET on November 28th until December 5th at 6pm ET). This retrospective also features a selection of videos celebrating the festival’s founding artistic director, Dr. Ajay Heble.
Though the festival has evolved into an in-person event, IF began as an ephemeral celebration of improvised art during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was clear: to commission new, improvised performances, and showcase these innovative pieces for a global audience via online streaming. This was a massive undertaking. Over the first three years of the festival (2020—2022) IF showcased over 400 artists from over 25 countries. The festival’s archive from those early years has become an invaluable time capsule. These artworks, which cover all imaginable disciplines, are in-the-moment responses to the pandemic, articulating its impact on life, art, and community.
These archival selections are a testament to artists’ ability to transcend limitations, communicate feeling, and make meaning out of whatever is at hand. It became trite during the pandemic to say that “we need art now more than ever”; in re-sharing these performances, we make the argument that we need art in our lives, today and every day.