IFPA 2021

The third edition, which took place from September 8–11, 2021, focused on the theme “the gendered body in performance / the political through the performativity of gender”, inspired by the ideas of Judith Butler and the implications of our contemporary times. Based on this theme, the invited artists and academics were asked to frame their presentations accordingly. An excerpt from the open call written by the artistic director of the event, Mr. Ioannis Mitrou, is as follows:

“The gendered body refers to each individual’s choice of sexual identity. It is an active potential which, under dominant patriarchal logic, is often targeted by various forms of new-type bio-logical positivism. However, in the post-feminist era and within the queer and post-queer condition, the dynamic of gender identity becomes a dimension of the political. A political dimension that, through gender performativity (Butler), becomes a structural issue against the new biopolitical control and disciplining of the body.”

The following artists participated with live performances: Mary Zygouri, Filippos Vasileiou, Maria Charela, Filippou Tsitsopoulos, Sebastian Tsifis, Haris Messiniotis, Yanina Orellana (Mexico), Giannis Mitrou, Giorgos Symeonidis, Maro Galani with students from the University of Patras, Haris Kontosfyris with students from the University of Western Macedonia, Kyriakos Apostolidis and Fani Arapi. The IFPA forum showcased a wide range of perspectives on this year’s theme, with invited speakers including artists, theorists, and academics. The two-day forum included the following participants: Eleftheria Panousi, Eleni Gkini, Vicky Konstantinidou, Maro Galani, Penny Bouska, Sotiris Bahtsetzis, Meryl Murman (USA), Kostis Stafylakis, Giannis Mitrou, Venetia Koutsou, and Nikos Mykoniatis. The third, but equally important, component of the IFPA – the educational student program – was also a great success. 25 students from three universities (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Patras, University of Western Macedonia) were hosted for the three-day event and took part in the educational program. Workshops during IFPA were held by: Maro Galani (Univ. of Patras), Haris Kontosfyris (Univ. of Western Macedonia), Meryl Murman (USA), Yanina Orellana (Mexico), Giannis Mitrou, and Maro Theodosiou (AUTH). At the same time, and for the first time at IFPA, a special tribute/exhibition was held for an invited artist. For this edition, creator Giorgos Drivas was invited and presented his exhibition titled “Immaterial Matter”. During the three days of IFPA, video projections of Drivas’ works were displayed in various locations in the Agia Varvara park. In parallel, the Viewing Room hosted 31 performance and video art works by creators from 16 countries, including Israel, Tenerife, Serbia, Bulgaria, China, Brazil, France, as well as Canada, Argentina, Palestine, Puerto Rico, and many more.