Mobius Artists Group
An artist-run Boston-area interdisciplinary collective and experimental arts organization focused on performance, installation, sound, video, and other intermedia practices.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Mobius Artists Group is an artist-run interdisciplinary arts collective based in the Boston metropolitan area. Founded in 1977 by artist Marilyn Arsem as Mobius Theater, the organization emerged from the experimental-theater culture of the period and gradually expanded into performance art, installation, new music, sound art, dance, movement, video, film, and other forms of intermedia practice. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional producing company, Mobius has functioned as a flexible community in which members develop projects independently, collaborate with one another, and work with invited artists from other disciplines and countries. The organization’s early work was rooted in experimental theater and collaborative composition. Performances commonly used texts by other writers as starting points for structured improvisation, with an emphasis on physical presence, endurance, real-time exchange with audiences, and the shared conditions of performance. Some early pieces used audience-activated structures in which audience decisions could influence the duration or development of a work. The cyclical quality of these projects helped inspire the Mobius name, referencing the form of a Möbius strip. From 1980 to 1983, the group worked in a fifth-floor loft on Kingston Street in Boston’s Chinatown. Because the space did not meet public-assembly and electrical requirements, it was mainly used for privately invited workshops and works-in-progress. Public projects were presented at venues including the Helen Shlien Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art and Design facilities, Gallery East, and the South Street Loft. The organization developed a distinctive workshop culture in which members and guests presented unfinished projects and discussed them with audiences. This practice continued in expanded form into the twenty-first century, including movement and student works. In 1983, with assistance from gallery director and advocate Helen Shlien, the organization secured space at 354 Congress Street in Boston’s Fort Point district. It changed its name from Mobius Theater to Mobius, Inc., signaling a move beyond a single medium, and opened a performance and gallery venue that became an important alternative-art center. In 1984, the membership and organization were renamed Mobius Performing Group. In 1987, membership was opened more broadly to artists outside theater and performance art, leading to the adoption of the name Mobius Artists Group. For two decades, the Congress Street venue provided a stable base for frequent exhibitions, performances, workshops, and visiting-artist programs. Mobius presented local and regional experimental artists while also building relationships with organizations elsewhere in the United States and abroad. Its artist-exchange programs connected members with groups in Seattle, San Francisco, Rochester, Bennington, Macedonia, Croatia, Poland, Taiwan, and other locations. These exchanges often emphasized site-specific work and the use of public or nontraditional spaces. The group’s international network became particularly significant from the mid-1990s onward. The Fort Point venue closed in June 2003 after the expiration of its lease, as rising development pressure transformed the formerly industrial neighborhood. Mobius marked the end of its tenure with Mobius 25, a festival presenting works by members, friends, and earlier participants. From 2003 to 2007, the group operated without a permanent presentation space, using donated, temporary, or affordable venues while continuing its regional and international activity. It moved to 725 Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End in 2007 and then to 55 Norfolk Street in Cambridge in 2011. Mobius has produced hundreds of original works and has involved thousands of artists through its own projects, exchanges, festivals, and presentations. Its membership has changed continually, generally numbering between roughly a dozen and two dozen artists at different times. The group has retained an artist-managed structure, with organizational directors drawn from the membership. Its cultural role lies less in a single signature product than in providing infrastructure for experimental practices, professional exchange, peer critique, and collaboration across media. The organization continues to be associated with Boston-area alternative art and with a long-standing commitment to new, site-responsive, and interdisciplinary work.
History
Mobius Artists Group began in Boston in 1977 when Marilyn Arsem founded Mobius Theater. The original company reflected the experimental-theater practices of the 1970s, using collaborative development, structured improvisation, demanding physical performance, and direct temporal contact between performers and audiences. Some works used audience-activated systems in which audience input affected the unfolding or duration of a performance. This emphasis on cycles and continuity contributed to the choice of the Mobius name. Between 1980 and 1983, the company rented a loft on Kingston Street in Boston’s Chinatown. The building was not approved for conventional public presentation and had limited electrical infrastructure, so the space was mainly used for workshops and privately arranged performances. Public work was shown at several Boston venues, including the Helen Shlien Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Overland Street theater, Gallery East, and the South Street Loft. The organization also developed monthly works-in-progress events, inviting members and guests to show developing projects and discuss them with an audience. A major institutional change occurred in 1983. Helen Shlien, whose Fort Point gallery was closing, helped the organization obtain a lease at 354 Congress Street. Mobius Theater adopted the broader name Mobius, Inc. and opened a combined performance and gallery space in the summer. The opening was marked by Orpheus, a long, multi-location work that began at the Kingston Street loft and concluded at the new Congress Street venue. The Fort Point site provided a permanent base for two decades and helped establish Mobius as a significant alternative, artist-run arts organization in Boston. In 1984, the organization became Mobius Performing Group. Its membership expanded beyond artists who identified mainly with experimental theater, and the program increasingly included independent projects by members and collaborations with artists working in other fields. In 1987, the group formally opened membership to artists outside theater and performance art and adopted the name Mobius Artists Group. The resulting organization included practitioners of performance, installation, sound, music, dance, movement, video, film, and related intermedia forms. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Congress Street space operated as a laboratory for local and visiting artists. Mobius presented frequent performances and installations, supported proposals from guest artists, published a newsletter carrying artists’ own statements, and maintained its works-in-progress format. Its artist-run structure gave members substantial control over programming and direction, although it also required extensive volunteer labor. Fundraising events known as ArtRages became prominent community programs during the late 1990s and continued into 2007, combining simultaneous performances, installations, and music. The organization also built an exchange network. Early American partners included the 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, The LAB in San Francisco, the Pyramid Art Center in Rochester, and NO BIAS in Bennington. By the middle of the 1990s, exchanges had expanded internationally. Projects with artists in Macedonia, Croatia, and Poland, among other places, often involved site-specific work and reciprocal visits. These programs connected Boston artists to a broader international performance-art community and became an important part of Mobius’s identity. The Fort Point era ended in 2003. Mobius’s lease expired as the district underwent rapid commercial redevelopment, reducing the availability of affordable artist space. The group commemorated the closure with Mobius 25, a two-week festival of performances and exhibitions. Between 2003 and 2007, it remained itinerant, using temporary, donated, and low-cost venues while continuing projects in the Boston area and overseas. The lack of a full-time venue made long-term planning more difficult, even as the variety of temporary sites introduced new possibilities for artistic development. Mobius established a new base at 725 Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End in 2007 and moved to 55 Norfolk Street in Cambridge in 2011. Its later work continued to emphasize experimental intermedia, site-specific performance, international relationships, and collaboration with students and emerging artists. Invitations to the INFILTRATE! festival at the Fountain Art Fair in New York in 2010 and to the Boston presentation of 100 Years (version #4 Boston, 2012) demonstrated the organization’s continued visibility beyond its home region. Throughout its history, membership has changed regularly, but the group has maintained an artist-managed model and a commitment to creating conditions for experimental work rather than promoting a fixed commercial product.
- 2012
Participation in 100 Years (version #4 Boston, 2012)
[1]The group performs in the Boston presentation of a project organized by MoMA PS1 in collaboration with Performa.
- 2011
Move to Cambridge
[1]Mobius relocates to 55 Norfolk Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 2010
Participation in INFILTRATE!
[1]Mobius members are invited to participate in the INFILTRATE! performance-art festival at the Fountain Art Fair in New York.
- 2007
Move to Harrison Avenue
[1]After an itinerant period, Mobius establishes a venue at 725 Harrison Avenue in Boston.
- 2007
ArtRages fundraising series concludes
[1]The organization’s late-1990s fundraising and community event series, ArtRages, continues through 2007.
- 2003
Fort Point venue closes
[1]The lease at 354 Congress Street ends and Mobius marks the transition with the Mobius 25 festival.
- 2003
Juliiett 484 exchange
[1]The organization conducts an exchange with artists in Ustka and Gdansk, Poland, with related presentations in Providence, Boston, and New York.
- 2001
Digging the Channel exchange
[1]Mobius develops a further exchange with artists in Zadar, Croatia.
- 1999
Usvajanje Slobode exchange
[1]The group begins an exchange with artists in Istria, Croatia, under the title Usvajanje Slobode, or Taking Liberty.
- 1996
Liquor Amnii exchange begins
[1]Mobius participates in an exchange with women artists from Macedonia in cooperation with Skopsko Leto and the Convergence Festival.
Products and positioning
An artist-managed alternative-arts platform for experimental, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and site-specific work.
Live performance · 1977
Experimental theater
Mobius’s earliest practice centered on collaboratively developed theater pieces using structured improvisation, physical endurance, real-time performance, and direct audience engagement. Early works often began with preexisting texts but treated them as frameworks rather than fixed scripts. Some pieces used audience-activated structures that allowed spectators to influence duration or other conditions of the event.
Interdisciplinary arts · 1984
Intermedia performance
Following its transition from Mobius Theater to a broader artist group, the organization supported works combining performance with visual art, sound, installation, video, film, dance, movement, and experimental technologies. Projects may be created by individual members, collaboratively by the group, or with visiting artists.
Installation and performance · 1990
Site-specific performance and installation
Since the 1990s, site-specific work has become an increasingly important part of Mobius activity. Members and exchange partners develop projects in response to particular buildings, neighborhoods, public places, and cultural contexts rather than treating the gallery or theater as a neutral container.
Artist development · 1980
Works-in-progress programs
Mobius has maintained a presentation format in which members, invited artists, movement practitioners, and students show developing work to an audience. Discussion and feedback are central to the format, making it both a public program and a peer-oriented laboratory for refining experimental projects.
International arts programming · 1987
Artist-exchange projects
Mobius organizes reciprocal exchanges with artist groups and independent practitioners. Participants may present work at Mobius or in partner locations, collaborate on new projects, and develop site-specific programs. The network has included organizations and artists from the United States, Macedonia, Croatia, Poland, Taiwan, and other regions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012100 Years (version #4 Boston, 2012)
United States
Mobius was invited to perform at the opening reception and during the first two weeks of the Boston presentation organized by MoMA PS1 and Performa.
Outcome. Connected the group with a major contemporary-performance exhibition framework and broadened its institutional visibility.
- 2010INFILTRATE!
United States
Mobius artists participated in a performance-art festival organized by Grace Exhibition Space at the Fountain Art Fair on New York’s Pier 66.
Outcome. Extended Mobius’s public presentation activity beyond the Boston region.
- 2007ArtRages
Boston metropolitan area
A recurring fundraising and community event series featuring simultaneous performances, installations, and music by local bands and musicians.
Outcome. Provided financial support and a visible annual gathering point for the Boston alternative-arts community.
- 2006Mobius International Festival of Performance Art
United States · International
A five-night Boston festival presenting more than 20 international artists alongside the work of all 15 members of the Artists Group at the time.
Outcome. Represented a high point of Mobius’s international-exchange activity and consolidated its role as a platform for experimental performance.
- 2003Juliiett 484
United States · Poland
An exchange with artists in Ustka and Gdansk, Poland, accompanied by presentations in Providence, Boston, and New York.
Outcome. Brought Polish artists and work into Mobius-related programming while extending the group’s American presentation network.
- 2001Digging the Channel
United States · Croatia
A further exchange with artists in Zadar, Croatia, presented under the Croatian title Prokopavanje Kanala.
Outcome. Strengthened Mobius’s reciprocal international programming and site-responsive practice.
- 1999Usvajanje Slobode
United States · Croatia
An exchange project with artists in Istria, Croatia, also identified in English as Taking Liberty.
Outcome. Created a sustained connection between Mobius artists and the Croatian experimental-art community.
- 1996Liquor Amnii
United States · Macedonia
An exchange involving women artists from Macedonia, developed with Skopsko Leto in Skopje and the Convergence Festival in Providence, Rhode Island.
Outcome. Expanded Mobius’s international exchange network and supported cross-border performance collaborations.
Brand decisions
2011
Relocated to CambridgeStrategyBackground
Mobius continued adapting its physical base within the Boston-area arts ecosystem.
Action taken
The group moved to 55 Norfolk Street in Cambridge.
Aftermath
The Cambridge location became the organization’s stated current base and supported its continuing artist-managed activities.
2007
Re-established a permanent Boston venueStrategyBackground
After several years of itinerant operations, Mobius continued seeking a stable location for exhibitions and performance.
Action taken
The organization moved to 725 Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End.
Aftermath
The move restored a dedicated base for programming before the subsequent relocation to Cambridge in 2011.
2003
Transitioned to an itinerant operating modelStrategyBackground
The lease at 354 Congress Street expired amid redevelopment and rising real-estate pressure in Boston’s Fort Point district.
Action taken
Mobius closed its long-running venue, presented the Mobius 25 transition festival, and continued programming through temporary, donated, and affordable spaces.
Aftermath
The group retained its regional and international activity but lacked a full-time presentation space until moving to Harrison Avenue in 2007.
1987
Opened membership beyond theater and performance artStrategyBackground
Members were increasingly producing work in multiple media and collaborating with artists from other disciplines.
Action taken
The organization broadened eligibility and adopted the name Mobius Artists Group.
Aftermath
Mobius developed a more explicitly interdisciplinary identity encompassing installation, sound, dance, video, film, and other intermedia forms.
1983
Adopted a broader organizational identityStrategyBackground
The group was moving from a theater-centered practice into a wider program of performance, visual art, and installation.
Action taken
Mobius Theater changed its name to Mobius, Inc. and opened a combined performance and gallery venue at 354 Congress Street.
Aftermath
The change established a long-term artist-run alternative arts center and created a base for broader intermedia programming.
Recent events
- 2012
Mobius participates in 100 Years (version #4 Boston, 2012)[1]
Campaign
The group was invited to perform at the opening and during the first two weeks of the Boston presentation of 100 Years (version #4 Boston, 2012), organized by MoMA PS1 in collaboration with Performa.
- 2011
Mobius moves to Cambridge[1]
Other
Mobius moved from its Harrison Avenue location in Boston to 55 Norfolk Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 2007
Mobius relocates to Harrison Avenue[1]
Other
After several years without a permanent presentation venue following the closure of its Fort Point space, Mobius moved to 725 Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End.
- 2003
Mobius presents its twenty-fifth-anniversary program[1]
Other
The organization concluded its twenty-year tenure at 354 Congress Street with Mobius 25, a two-week program of performances and visual-art exhibitions involving members and associated artists.
Sources1 sources
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