To breathe out or die

Malcolm Peacock’s work To breathe out or die emerges from the artist’s sustained engagement with long-distance running as both a daily practice and an artistic framework. For Peacock, running functions as a compositional device through which he understands time, relation, and the stakes of embodied movement in public space. To breathe out or die is a choreographed, long-distance run performed by a group of Black runners across St. Louis, linking sites connected to the 1917 East St. Louis riots. The runners maintain synchronized footfalls, enacting what Peacock describes as “slow choreo,” a form of coordinated movement with shared intentionality that heightens awareness of bodily rhythm and mutual reliance. To breathe out or die is inspired by Peacock’s ongoing research into the 1928 and 1929 historic Bunion Derby, a nearly 3,400-mile transcontinental footrace, which included Black runners who faced targeted racial violence in the Jim Crow panhandle, including in St. Louis.

Viewing locations will be released the week of the performance.

Date: Sunday, October 25th
Time: 10 AM
Location: East St. Louis

To breathe out or die is a long-distance run that will take place in East St Louis and links sites connected to the 1917 East St. Louis riots. The performance takes the shape of what the artists describes as “slow choreo,” a form of coordinated movement with shared intentionality that heightens awareness of bodily rhythm and mutual reliance. To breathe out or die is inspired by Peacock’s ongoing research into the 1928 and 1929 historic Bunion Derby, a nearly 3,400-mile transcontinental footrace, which included Black runners who faced targeted racial violence in the Jim Crow panhandle, including in St. Louis.

Thank you to Paul Paige, Ricky Hughes, and Dorrian Gordon of STL Run Crew and Kwami Ketosugbo of Black Distance for their generous support in the development of this performance.