The study critically reclaims participatory art beyond its co-option as a fuzzword of neoliberal governance. It examines a range of artistic practices from community theatre, immersive performance and the visual arts in different sites around the world. It offers a refreshing theorisation of participatory art as gesture.

Sruti Bala is Associate Professor in Theatre Studies at the University of Amsterdam

Introduction
1 The gestures of institutional critique
2 On the inconvenient means and ends of participation
3 Unsolicited gestures of participation
4 Vicarious gestures of participation
5 Delicate gestures of participation
Conclusion: between image, act and language
Index