Performance Platform Lublin is a cyclical encounter with ephemeral art, a combination of art theory and criticism with artistic practice – with both functioning on equal terms. Apart from performance art shows, the event involves workshops, lectures, discussions, presentations and film screenings; the account of the whole event is given via the Internet. The festival has become a permanent fixture in Lublin’s cultural calendar, every year enriching its range and formula. The ‘platform’ in its name brings the public closer to the artists and stimulates the viewers in terms of individual expression. Performance Platform Lublin aims to present various paths, strategies and directions in the art of performance. The artists who take part in the festival come from numerous, often very distant countries and belong to different generations – among them there are acknowledged classics alongside young authors.
This year, Performance Platform is a jubilee as it marks the 35th anniversary of the ”Performance and Body” festival. International Artists Meeting ”Performance and Body”, which was organized in Lublin by the Labirynt Gallery in 1978, was a milestone in the history of the performance art in Poland. Lublin was the cradle of action art in Poland, the starting point for such artists as Jerzy Bereś, Zbigniew Warpechowski, Krzysztof Zarębski, Przemysław Kwiek and many others. Among the guests of the festival, there were such extraordinary performers as Shirley Cameron, Kees Mol, or Peter Stembera. Performance Platform Lublin 2013 aims to commemorate that event. To mark this occasion, the festival will include an exhibition presenting archive footage from that memorable meeting as well as from before the year 1978, highlighting the important phenomena and figures of Polish and international action art. The artists invited to take part in the festival will be those who participated in ”Performance and Body” three decades ago as well as the classics of modern performance art. As a counterbalance, young artists selected on the basis of an open call will make their appearance alongside their more experienced counterparts. The confrontation of generations will allow for a reflection on the evolution of art, the relevance of the problems it tackles and the transformations in the field of artistic strategies. The presentations and lectures will be accompanied by workshops for young people which will be held by the artists.
