Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis
Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis
Online Conference | Zoom Platform | 20–21 October 2025
“Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis” is an interdisciplinary scientific conference dedicated to examining the political potential of the performing arts in times of social crises. It will be held online on 20 and 21 October 2025 and will bring together experts in theatre, performance, culture, and media, as well as students and artists from Serbia and abroad.
Performance as political intervention, creativity and resistance in times of crisis, theatre and labour movements, street theatre and new public performance spaces, challenges of cultural policy and censorship, cultural diplomacy as a tool for international solidarity, horizontal models of governance, the role of the body in protests, theatre programming policy as a reflection of social realities, and the dilemmas of engaged theatre are among the questions the conference will seek to address.
Through lectures, panels, and discussions, participants will explore the possibilities of transforming crisis through art — redirecting it, reshaping it, and creating new forms of solidarity and collective experience, rather than merely reflecting social problems.
The working language of the conference is English.
Participation fee: Free of charge
Those interested in participating can apply via the online form (https://forms.gle/qfCSnDUUdoEEwR9s5) no later than 15 September 2025. Selection results will be announced on 1 October 2025.
Application Deadline Extended!
The application deadline for the conference Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis has been extended until 20 September 2025 (Saturday).
Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis
Online Conference | Zoom Platform | 20–21 October 2025
“Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis” is an interdisciplinary scientific conference dedicated to examining the political potential of the performing arts in times of social crises. It will be held online on 20 and 21 October 2025 and will bring together experts in theatre, performance, culture, and media, as well as students and artists from Serbia and abroad.
Performance as political intervention, creativity and resistance in times of crisis, theatre and labour movements, street theatre and new public performance spaces, challenges of cultural policy and censorship, cultural diplomacy as a tool for international solidarity, horizontal models of governance, the role of the body in protests, theatre programming policy as a reflection of social realities, and the dilemmas of engaged theatre are among the questions the conference will seek to address.
Through lectures, panels, and discussions, participants will explore the possibilities of transforming crisis through art — redirecting it, reshaping it, and creating new forms of solidarity and collective experience, rather than merely reflecting social problems.
The working language of the conference is English.
Participation fee: Free of charge.
Those interested in participating can apply via the online form (https://forms.gle/qfCSnDUUdoEEwR9s5) no later than 20 September 2025 (Saturday). Selection results will be announced on 1 October 2025.
Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis
Online Conference | Zoom Platform | 20–21 October 2025
The conference Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis will take place next Monday and Tuesday, 20–21 October 2025, bringing together scholars, artists, and students from Serbia and abroad to explore the political potential of the performing arts in times of social crisis.
Through lectures, panels, and discussions, participants will reflect on how performance can become an act of resistance, a tool for dialogue, and a space for solidarity.
Online tickets are free of charge and can be obtained by registering via link.
Follow the conference live on Zoom: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/85052719280?pwd=4u6aoX0D4V0RpD3CuGWzdwq61EKda1.1
Join us online as we explore how performing arts can shape crisis, not just reflect it.
Book of Abstracts: Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis
We are proud to present the official Book of Abstracts for the international online conference Right to Perform, Right to Resist: Performing Arts Shaping Crisis, held on 20–21 October 2025, organized by the students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade.
This publication brings together contributions from scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners from Serbia and around the world who explore the intersections of performance, politics, and resistance in times of social crisis. Through a diverse range of perspectives, the Book of Abstracts reflects on how performing arts can become acts of courage, dialogue, and solidarity.
It includes the full conference program, abstracts of presented papers, keynote lecture details, and insights from researchers and artists who believe that the right to perform is inseparable from the right to resist.
Download and read the full Book of Abstracts here.
