Performing Space is a research project that explores the relationship between performance and the built environment, taking into account the different perspectives of disciplines that study human activity and space, such as anthropology, archaeology, architecture, cognitive sciences, economics, geography, law, performance studies, philosophy, sociology, and theatre studies. The project understands ‘performance’ as “all activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way any of the other participants” (Goffman, 1956, pp. 8–9). Following this definition, any activity that people carry out with the conscious or (usually) unconscious intention of influencing their social and spatial environment can be considered a form of performance. Catherine Bell (1992) and other authors argue that our performances influence our environment by transforming it; at the same time, the environment influences our behaviours and mental states. The title of this project, Performing Space, refers to this circular process of environmental transformation through our performances and the reciprocal influence of the environment on those performances, as well as to the space in which performances take place: the built environment.

The primary objective of Performing Space has been to establish a platform for presenting, experimenting with and debating research from different disciplines on performance and its environment. In other words, the project aims to foster an international network dedicated to discussing and disseminating the performative understanding of space, which is essential for both interpreting and shaping our environment. To this end, the project has been developed through international conferences that include academic and artistic research presentations, alongside workshops designed to experiment with methodologies that explore the relationship between space and performance. Since its first edition in Nafplio, Greece, in 2022, Performing Space has steadily grown as a collaborative and interdisciplinary community.