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In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who will be the guests at the Arter ’s Performance Programme in Spring 2020. Our next guest is Mette Edvardsen. Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer [The Turkish translation of this interview is published and can be accessed on art.unlimited ] Mette Edvardsen - Portre (Photo: Antero Hein) What is the essence of performance in your opinion? How do you define contemporary performance today?  I think of it as a form of listening. There is something specific in the being present, sharing the space. It can be a really great thing. Performance makes other spaces possible. Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How?  Yes, but – it’s not a single gesture operation. It’s a process, something we need to be continuously engaging with. When you consider the current state of the world in every sense, what is the most important and urgent issue for you as an...

In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who will be the guests at the  Arter ’s Performance Programme  in Spring 2020. Our next guest is Ant Hampton. Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer [The Turkish translation of this interview is published and can be accessed on art.unlimited ] Ant Hampton, Photo: Britt Hatzius  What is the essence of performance in your opinion? How do you define contemporary performance today? There’s a great, small text in Tim’s book ‘Certain Fragments’ called ‘On Risk and Investment’ which I think goes a long way towards getting at the essence of what performance is or should be. The rest of the book is also fantastic and has always been, for me, the most useful writing in this regard. As for contemporary performance today, I prefer to see it as undefined and continually in flux. Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How? I can only really give personal exa...

Dimitris Papaioannou- Portrait (Photo: Julian Mommert) At the end of November, when I was at Megaron Hall in Athens to attend the final performances of Dimitris Papaioannou’s The Great Tamer , I was introduced, in the foyer, to a lady by my Greek friend: Vicky Marangopoulou, the founder and former artistic director of the Kalamata Dance Festival, Greece's most famous and well-established dance festival. When my friend told her that I came all the way from Istanbul just to watch this piece, Ms. Marangopoulou said with her sparkling eyes: “ Years ago, the director of your festival, Dikmen [She refers to Dikmen Gürün, who was the director of the Istanbul Theater Festival between years 1993-2012] asked me to recommend a Greek company, and I told her Papaioannou's Medea . ” In other words, before Papaioannou became famous with the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games , and long before he became a sought-after and praised figure worldwide in the last...

[The Turkish translation of this interview is published and can be accessed on  art.unlimited .] Dimitris Papaioannou- Portrait (Photo: Julian Mommert) On the first Sunday morning of December in a sunny and warm weather, we meet with the painter, director and visual artist Dimitris Papaioannou in a cute café in Pangrati, one of Athens’ bohemian and green neighborhoods. Dressed in a black tracksuit Papaioannou is in an emotional and sad mood. Following its 2.5-year-long world tour in 38 cities of 23 countries with more than 70,000 spectators, his last work The Great Tamer was performed for the last time on two previous sold-out evenings (29-30 November 2019) at the Megaron, Athens' largest theater of 1750 people. When I ask him about how he feels, Papaioannou describes the final performance of The Great Tamer as “ the funeral, the funeral of the show ” and adds: “ I very much like the fact that we closed The Great Tamer , we finished it, but I’m also very emotional about th...