INTRODUCTION

Abstract

The 2025 Edition

The fourth edition of the Performing Space project, in the form of the Performing Space 2025 Conference and Workshops, was held once again in Nafplio, Greece, from 4 to 7 July 2025. Building upon the momentum and achievements of previous editions, this iteration further consolidated the project as an international reference point for transdisciplinary research on performance and space, achieving a slight increase in participation compared to 2024.

The 2025 edition featured 81 presentations and three workshops, bringing together participants from 24 countries. On this occasion, the event was organised by the Performing Space Association — formally established in Madrid in 2024 — in collaboration with the Departments of Performing and Digital Arts and Theatre Studies of the University of the Peloponnese. This institutional development marks an important step in the consolidation and long-term sustainability of the project.

The conference was structured into 19 sessions, reflecting both the continuity of existing lines of research and the emergence of new thematic approaches: Body, Time and Space; Theatre and Social Change; Spatial Embodiment; Performative; Environmental Awareness; Changing the Perception of Environment through Performance; The Material as Narrative; Ritual Space; Performance as Research; Multimedia Performance; Social Change through Performance; Spatial Performativity; New Performative Spaces; Other Forms of Presence; and Performance Space.

As a significant innovation, this edition introduced four sessions of Performative Presentations, in which participants were invited to present their research through performative formats, expanding beyond conventional academic communication. These sessions reinforced one of the core principles of the project: that performance is not only an object of study but also a method of research and a mode of knowledge production. By integrating embodied, spatial and experiential forms of presentation, these sessions contributed to bridging theory and practice, fostering a deeper understanding of the relationship between performance and space.