Artist Residency & Site-Specific Performance Intensive |
Greece 2026
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A curated international performance residency in a Natura 2000 landscape in Lake Kaiafa, Peloponnese region, Greece (Europe)
A curated international performance residency in a Natura 2000 landscape in Lake Kaiafa, Peloponnese region, Greece (Europe)
9–12 July 2026
Tutors: Dimitra Nikolopoulou & Eliza Soroga
9–12 July 2026
Tutors: Dimitra Nikolopoulou & Eliza Soroga
The four-day site-specific performance & artist residency “The body as site, the site as body” at Lake Kaiafas is an intensive educational program in performance & live art offering opportunities for artistic research and creative experimentation within the natural landscape of the Peloponnese.
Participants will engage with fundamental tools for creating performance and live art actions in dialogue with nature and the extra-urban environment through site-specific approaches centered on the concepts of “place” and “body.”
Workshop participants will cultivate spatial and artistic methodologies on both research and practical levels, developing new individual and collective performance works while exploring new concepts in dialogue with the surrounding environment: the lake, the regenerated Strofilia pine forest, the two ancient therapeutic springs, and the distinctive coastline with its unique sand dunes. The Kaiafas area is a protected Natura 2000 site and has functioned as a thermal spa location since antiquity
How do we create a site-specific performance?
How does the body function as a rich site of experiences, social and political identities, emotions, memories, etc.?
How can the poetics of a place be integrated into the compositional process?
Within the artistic residency framework, questions are activated through experiential practices aiming toward the creation of new individual and participatory collective works through a site-specific approach, where the natural landscape becomes the starting point of the work and enters into an interactive dialogue with its central concept, informing its structure, research, and development.
Body – natural landscape – movement – time functions as key conceptual axes.
During the practical sessions, emphasis will be placed on developing the spatial awareness of the artistic subject through the body, introducing notions such as time, natural elements (water, flora, fauna, soil, etc.), scale, sensorial-motor experience, personal storytelling, spatial memory, rhythms of trust, and more.
The exercise toolbox includes: walking meditations, activation stillness practices, butoh, collaborating ensembles, scores, sensorial-motor actions, field research, community art practices, psychomotor exercises, voice-body-speech activation, non-linear narratives, and development of individual artistic poetics.
Exercises and activities combine both individual and collaborative processes and will primarily take place within the natural outdoor landscape.
Dialogue with the Landscape of Kaiafas
The rich and distinctive natural environment — the lake, the coastline of exceptional beauty, Mount Lapithas, the characteristic sand dunes, the active wetland ecosystem with Mediterranean and striped terrapins, migratory birds, wildlife refuges, dense reed beds, the Strofilia forest regenerated after wildfires, the caretta caretta nesting areas along the shoreline, the historical continuity of the site from antiquity to the present, local mythology, the therapeutic identity of the springs, inactive railway tracks and the local train station, as well as the improvised seasonal huts built by local families until the 1970s — constitute fertile material for artistic exploration and reflection.
Natural elements (fruits, pine forest, lake, flowers, sea), history, geography, landscape architecture, perspectives, and light diffusion form an observational canvas that becomes the compositional foundation of artistic works, engaging with personal experience and the urgency of artistic creation in the present — the “here and now.”
Indicative thematic directions for open exploration include:
body & natural elements, human–nature relational dynamics, healing–nature–body relations, environmental and climate crisis, migratory birds and migratory worlds, etc.Within the residency framework, participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy the therapeutic baths of the Kaiafas Thermal Spring, part of the Natura 2000 protected network, as well as access to the outdoor swimming pool.
The Kaiafas thermal springs are renowned for their baths; the healing properties of the water have been known since antiquity and are connected with rich mythology, as the caves of the springs were recorded as dwellings of nymphs. Historical writings (66 BC – 24 AD) already attest to the therapeutic qualities of the baths. Information about the hydrotherapy center can be found here: hydrotherapy link
Structure
The four-day workshop is structured as follows:
● 70% methodological material for performance & live art creation with emphasis on developing site-specific spatial awareness through the body and its relationship to the natural environment
● 20% tutorials and feedback during the composition process
● 10% reflection and collective feedback around the works including theoretical framing and audiovisual documentation (photography, video, etc.).
Basic Info
The workshop will be conducted in English.
The workshop is open to everyone regardless of age or previous studies and aims to form a diverse group whose members will share knowledge and experiences while co-creating new performance and live art works in dialogue with the natural landscape.
Application deadlines
15 May 2026 — domestic participants & international participants
Applicants will be notified by 16 May 2026
Due to limited hotel capacity, participation is limited and a selection process will take place.
Participation Fee
● 530 € + VAT for international participants
● 400 € + VAT for domestic participants (ID copy required)
Early Bird
● 500 € + VAT international participants (deadline: 15 April 2026)
● 370 € + VAT domestic participants (deadline: 30 April 2026)
The first three workshop days are full-time.
On the final day (Sunday 12 July), project presentations will take place followed by departure.
Participation fee includes:
• one breakfast and one main meal daily (home-cooked food with vegan option) for 4 days
• one hydrotherapy session at the Kaiafas Thermal Baths
• access to the outdoor heated swimming pool for one day.
Payment instructions will be sent electronically to selected participants.
Payment confirmation deadlines
● 30 May 2026 — domestic participants
● 15 May 2026 — international participants
Accommodation fees etc.
Accommodation includes 4 nights from 8–11 July 2026 at Kaiafas accomodation , located on the small island of Lake Kaiafas, see map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xrZhoscNUPbzk3bL7
Accommodation cost is not included in the participation fee:
● Single room: 43 € / day
● Double room: 27 € / day per person (roommate option available)
● Triple room: 22 € / day per person (shared accommodation)
A climate resilience tax of 2 € per room per day is not included.
These are special discounted rates exclusively for workshop participants.
Detailed hotel information (facilities, services, etc.): kaiafas-springs.gr/
Transportation
Travel to and from Lake Kaiafas is the responsibility of participants. Detailed travel information will be provided after participant selection.
Indicatively:
Intercity KTEL buses operate two daily routes to Zacharo. From there, participants may travel via local bus (frequent routes) or taxi (approx. 10 minutes / approx. 10 €).
Cancellation Policy
No refunds are provided except in the case of workshop cancellation by the organizers. As this is a small-scale residency with limited places, participation fees are non-refundable once payment is confirmed.
For further information or clarification: kaiafasperformance@gmail.com
Important Dates
Early Bird deadline (international): 15 April 2026
Early Bird deadline (domestic): 30 April 2026
Application deadline international & domestic: 15 May 2026
Payment confirmation deadlines:
30 May 2026
Hotel arrival: 8 July 2026
Workshop begins: 9 July 2026
Workshop ends: 12 July 2026
Departure: 12 July 2026
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