Since entering the performance lexicon in the 1970s, the term Live Art has been used to describe a diverse but interrelated array of performance practices and approaches. This volume offers a contextual and critical introduction to the scene of contemporary Live Art in Britain. Focusing on the key artists, companies and organisations with a prolific body of work and which have been vital to the development of contemporary practice, this edited volume maps the landscape, illuminating the origins, concerns and aesthetics of Live Art in the UK today. The editor situates Live Art in relation to other related areas of artistic practice such as Performance Art and Body Art, and explores Live Art as a British phenomenon, considering questions of cultural specificity, financial and institutional support, and social engagement