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Visual artist Eleni Kamma publicly defends the research project 'Taking Place: Parrhesiastic Theater as a Model for Artistic Practice' on 2 December. At 10.00, Kamma will publicly elucidate her artistic work for the doctoral examination committee in the exhibition 'Casting Call: The Collector of Proverbs, The Animal, The Fool, The Selfie-Junkie, The Innocent, The Child, The Drunk, The…'. At 13.45 on the same day, Kamma will defend her dissertation in the Academy Building of Leiden University.

Eleni Kamma examines how local and traditional European forms of 'parrhesiastic theater' relate to and provide new insights into critical artistic practices today. Kamma’s understanding of parrhesiastic theater comprises events, actions, and performances staged by characters who speak their minds through scenes of excess and laughter. Parrhesiastic theater takes place in public view and incites the spectator’s agency to speak their mind.

Kamma’s research resonates in 'Casting Call' (2017–ongoing), a series of artistic attempts, events, and manifestations that address aspects of miscommunication between citizens of the European Union due to its many languages and regional rituals. Kamma employs performative strategies inspired by old, stereotypical characters from European popular culture, art, theater, and cinema, brought together in the format of a parade. Kamma developed the Parade through a collection of commissioned texts and props and invited professionals, extras, and respondents to speak their minds by using this collection in playful ways.

PUBLIC DEFENSE ELENI KAMMA
2 December at 10.00
West Den Haag
Lange Voorhout 102, The Hague

2 December at 13.45
Great Auditorium
Academy Building, Leiden University
Rapenburg 73, Leiden

EXHIBITION CASTING CALL: THE COLLECTOR OF PROVERBS, THE ANIMAL, THE FOOL, THE SELFIE-JUNKIE, THE INNOCENT, THE CHILD, THE DRUNK, THE…
26 November 2021 – 30 January 2022
Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 12.00 – 18.00
West Den Haag
Lange Voorhout 102, The Hague

SUPERVISORS
Prof. dr. Janneke Wesseling, Professor in Practice and Theory of Research in the Visual Arts, Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Leiden University
Prof. dr. Bart Verschaffel, Professor at the Department of Architecture & Urban Planning, Ghent University
Jean Bernard Koeman, visual artist, exhibition maker and scenographer