Since 1967, the international exhibition Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space presents the best works in scenography with emphasis on the self-sufficiency of this artistic field.
The 15th edition will take place from 8 to 18 June 2023, the main location will be the Holešovice Market, and numerous parts will also be hosted in the National Gallery and The Academy of Performing Arts. PQ does not operate merely as a festival, gradually it has evolved into a platform, which explores progressive approaches, new media, virtual spaces and interdisciplinary relations. PQ2023 will introduce artworks from dozens of countries from hundreds of artists within the scope of projects curated by an international PQ team and the main competitive exhibitions.
Cyprus Theatre Organisation is pleased to announce the national participation of Cyprus in Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space 2023, Exhibition of Countries and Regions. The installation, artistically researched and designed by Melita Couta, based on an initial idea by the Curator of the exhibition Marina Maleni, is entitled Spectators in a Ghost City and is inspired by the artistic theme of PQ23, RARE and the ghost city of Famagusta.
The curatorial team proposes the use of scenographic methodologies as thinking processes, political acts, negotiating real spaces of conflict and artistic practices. Fragments from Famagusta, video archives from today and before 1974, experimental sculptural maquettes inspired by the city’s urban texture, acoustic environments and performative practices are used to connect this rare city with the Prague Quadrennial ’23 visitors.
How can we understand places of conflict and trauma through their materiality as carriers of memories? How can we connect with them through scenographic methodologies and ultimately envision their possible futures?
The visitor at PQ23 will be exposed to another view of the ghost city of Famagusta which has been completely enclosed for the past forty-six years, as a result of the Turkish military invasion of Cyprus in 1974, devoid of human presence, abandoned, inaccessible. In October 2020 entrance was permitted against UN resolutions, through a guided path, allowing people to experience the city-time capsule, painfully retrace their pasts or simply (like in many other places in the world where ruins attract tourists) take a selfie…
Turning the attention to the Space of the ghost city itself, one engages with it through notions of memory, belonging and displacement, attempting to grasp how the scarred and derelict urban landscape becomes both “Author” and “Dramaturgy”.
Understanding the often conflicted and complex geopolitical narratives while respecting human trauma and going beyond the aesthetic fascination of ruins, the curatorial team proposes a process of reversed scenography. How can we experience real places as dramatized spaces and how can we learn and create alternative narratives to the pre-existing ones?
We do not aim at providing answers, conflict resolutions or solutions. In looking to the future, we advocate for alternative ways of envisioning such spaces of conflict through artistic and performative practices. Spectators In A Ghost City attempts to communicate through empathy, the poetics of scenographic arts in a utopic vision of the future.
The proposal unsettles the role of the artist and the viewer as it addresses issues of appropriation, spectacle, voyeurism and the role of art itself in the face of human trauma that expands beyond Famagusta and echoes other ghost spaces in the world.
Curator – initial concept: Marina Maleni
Artistic research-Design: Melita Couta
Collaborating technical advisor: Harris Kafkarides
Art and Technology collaborator for Audio Visual: Giorgos Lazoglou
Video performance artists: Pascal Caron and Melita Couta
Graphic and web design: Philippos Vasiliades
Technical support in Prague: Doros Tsolakis
Technical support in Nicosia: THOC technical services
PQ23 opens on June 7th in Prague and it will be open to the public from 8-18 of June 2023.
More information about the world event at https://pq.cz.
More information on the Cyprus national representation website: https://www.cypruspq23.com/
Fragments, Pigments and Figments: An Individualised Walk Through a Buffer Zone
Interactive Installation, curated by Ellada Evangelou and Nihal Soğancı
With the artwork Fragments, Pigments and Figments: An Individualised Walk Through a Buffer Zone comprising of photography and poetry, Ellada Evangelou and Nihal Soğancı are being hosted in The Performance Space at the Prague Quadriennale of Performance Design and Space, taking place in Prague from June 8-18, 2023. The Performance Space Exhibition is curated by Andrew Filmer.
The artwork is an individualised art walk / promenade, a simulation of the possibilities to walk through the Ledra Palace buffer zone of Nicosia, the stretch of 430 metres between two crossing points via photography and poetry. The curators are working with photographers Rahme Veziroğlu and Constantinos S. Constantinou, who have taken 14 photographs of the in-between space of the Ledra Palace buffer zone in Nicosia. A contested space, a remnant of war, a prisoner exchange station, a peacebuilding zone, a UN barracks and many other historical stops, have left their mark on the space. The artwork aims to de-sensationalize the experience of the buffer zone and the question the developing dark tourism, by creating the simulation of a personal walk through 14 still pictures. Each of the images will be accompanied by its own haiku poem, contributed to the project by Cyprus-based poets Halil Karapaşaoğlu, Maria Kouvarou, Erina Charalambous, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, Gürgenç Korkmazel, Stephanos Stephanides, Avgi Lilly, Tamer Öncül, Nafia Akdeniz, Maria Siakalli, Tuğçe Tekhanlı, Lisa Suhair Majaj, Nese Yaşın, and Nora Nadjarian.
The opening of the Performance Space Exhibition, under the general title Acts of Assembly, will take place on June 8th and will remain open until June 18th, 2023, at the National Gallery in the Trade Fair Palace in Prague, Czech Republic.
Victor X
A Participatory / Immersive Experience
Team Victor after their successful performance that premiered at ETKO winery in Limassol, in July 2021, will present the new version of the project – Victor X at the International Festival, Prague Quadrennial of Performance and Space 2023, from the 9th to the 11th of June.
The performance was conceived, visualised and directed by Maria Mitsi and Nasia Papavasiliou, with the support of Dr Doros Polydorou. Members of the creative team also include Belinda Papavasiliou as the performer / choreographer. The soundscapes of the performance were composed by Dimitris Savva.
Victor X presents a participatory / immersive experience where the audience engages into a world of interconnectedness and exploration.
Life thrives within the intermingling realms, the floodplains, and the interconnecting threads that bind diverse organs within a human body and interweave distinct bioregions within a living planet. It is in these meeting grounds, where bodies engage and converse, probing and transforming one another making life’s boundless potential unfold and blossom.
Just as Frankenstein’s diverse composition ignited experimentation and change, the project experiments with the significance of diversity in ecosystems and DNA and creates imaginaries that fuel the flourishing of life.
Victor X harnesses these principles, resonating with contemporary and future scientific exploration, particularly within the realm of reproduction. As science evolves, new frontiers open up, inviting us to explore the complexities of life’s creation. By embracing diversity, examining intricate connections, and nurturing the interplay of genetic potentials, we embark on a path where science and nature converge, pushing the boundaries of what life can become.
By actively engaging with the exhibits, visitors will embark on a transformative journey, connecting with the profound mysteries of life.
