Who’s Behind those Foster Grants?

Celebrating Boston’s emerging performance and collaborative artists with exhibits at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

The James and Audrey Foster Prize, a prestigious biennial exhibition devoted to recognizing emerging artists from Greater Boston, is taking a new direction this year. For the first time, all the winners — three artists and one collective — are devoted to performance and collaborative methods of art-making.

The list of exhibits and performances taking place at the Institute of Contemporary Art through August 9, 2015 proves the eclectic point.

On June 6, for instance, prizewinner Sandrine Schaefer, who creates “ephemeral artwork that explores cycles of the invisible becoming visible,” according to the ICA’s website, will prompt visitors to activate the gallery space with their own bodies.

Vela Phelan, Obscurus Conventus | Photo by Natasha Moustache Photography

Winner Vela Phelan pairs a site-specific video installation, Obscurus Fidem, with live performances dedicated to Jesus Malverdo, a folk legend elevated to sainthood by Mexican narco-traffickers. The nine live-action performances in honor of Malverdo, called Obscurus Novena, take place inside the ICA and in other public spaces in Boston.

Multimedia visual artist Ricardo De Lima, whose work is known for its collaborative aspects — he curates Spectacle Boston, a collaborative performance space for experimental music and visual arts — is presenting a series of sculptural installations and collaborative projects as part of his prize exhibition.

Ricardo De Lima, Field Service Radio Project | Photo by Natasha Moustache Photography

And the final winner is — appropriately, given this year’s prize theme — a collective called kijidome. Founded by artists Sean Downey, Carlos Jiménez Cahua, Lucy Kim, and Susan Metrican, kijidome created an exhibition space at the ICA to present multiple artists in consecutive group exhibitions.

The Foster Prize performances and events are organized by John Andress, ICA associate director of performing arts, and senior curator Jenelle Porter.