Visiting Professor Danae Theodoridou: APPEAR! And Other Acts to (Per)Form Democracy
Artist, performance maker and researcher Danae Theodoridou works on the relation between art and democracy through participatory performances and workshops.
About the lecture
Since 2019, under the title The Practice of Democracy, Theodoridou creates participatory work with residents of different cities in Europe. Main aim of this work is to investigate the way performance can enhance civic participation through a score-based design that proposes a corporeal, material, sensorial approach to practices of democracy such as public speaking, assembling, protesting, conflict. In this performance lecture, Theodoridou discusses the critical background of her artistic research by looking into the current crisis of democracy in Europe and the western world and the way art can contribute to our empowerment as citizens; shares insights from the research design as well as concrete tasks and practices from its participatory processes; and tests some of these tasks, in real time during the lecture, with the audience.
The lecture draws on Theodoridou’s latest books APPEAR!And others acts to (per)form democracy (2026) and Publicing – Practising Democracy Through Performance (2022) and elaborates on the term ‘publicing’, which she has coined to describe the way art can construct new forms of public space and ‘public time’ (Castoriadis, 1997), other than the individualistic, antagonistic, polarized spaces imposed by neoliberalism.
In Theodoridou’s artistic work, highly serious subjects are always accompanied by an absurd undertone, and moments of human humor emerge as well, at least for the most attentive participants.
The lecture will be particularly rewarding for artists and art students who are interested in artistic research and/or participatory art from a practice-led perspective, as well as for art scholars interested in artistic research, socially-engaged art and the relation between arts and politics.
About Theodoridou
Danae Theodoridou (www.danaetheodoridou.com) is a Brussels-based performance maker and researcher. She completed her practice-led PhD in Roehampton University in London (2013). Her work focuses on the way performance can activate citizenship and contribute to the democratization of political institutions. She teaches in the MA Performing Public Space in Fontys Academy of the Arts (NL), curates practice-led research projects, presents and publishes her work internationally. Currently, her artistic research Performing the Public Body takes place in the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. Danae is the co-author of The Practice of Dramaturgy: Working on Actions in Performance (Valiz, 2017) and the author of Publicing – Practising Democracy Through Performance (Nissos, 2022). Her new book, APPEAR! And Others Acts to (Per)Form Democracy, will be published in 2026.
Word from inviting teacher
A Q&A with Maiju Loukola, vice dean, university lecturer:
What inspired you to invite Danae Theodoridou as visiting professor?
“I appreciate Danae Theodoridou’s way of engaging with the pressing questions of our time as both an artist and a researcher. At the core of her practice is a deeply ethical imperative: an aspiration toward being together while questioning the power structures that erode democracy. She creates conditions for site- and situation-sensitive “democracy exercises,” inviting artists, students, and citizens of different ages and backgrounds to participate. These exercises often take a performative form and have been realized in a wide variety of spaces and environments, including city council chambers and other decision-making venues, cafés, streets, as well as art and research events.
Theodoridou visited as the keynote artist at our multi-day artistic research event, The City as a Space of Rules and Dreaming, held at Hietsu Pavilion in spring 2024. In an exercise exploring the role of embodiment in politics, participants formed a “people’s assembly” and examined, among other things, how being in a bodily relationship with others influences our political thinking, speech, and action. The relationship to space was an essential part of the exercise: space is a profoundly sensory condition that both manifests and channels positions of power, while also enabling freedom and looseness. In Theodoridou’s artistic work, highly serious subjects are always accompanied by an absurd undertone, and moments of human humor emerge as well, at least for the most attentive participants.”
What do you hope students will gain from her residency?
”Theodoridou’s practice is an excellent example of the way artistic research can exist in the world. For her, this is not about producing knowledge through art; rather, it is about being and acting in the world through artistic means, together with others. Her practice reminds us that art does not stand outside society but is an active part of it in many different ways. In her case, this is expressed through a particular attention to performativity, the significance of space, and collective embodiment.”
Who else do you think would find the lecture especially rewarding?
”Theodoridou’s lecture will undoubtedly be rewarding for everyone, and especially for those who still have doubts about the connections between art and democracy.”
Visiting professors
In the Visiting professor programme, distinguished international artists and art experts are invited to teach and share their knowledge at the Academy of Fine Arts for a fixed period. The visit also includes a lecture that is open for the audience.
About the lecture
Since 2019, under the title The Practice of Democracy, Theodoridou creates participatory work with residents of different cities in Europe. Main aim of this work is to investigate the way performance can enhance civic participation through a score-based design that proposes a corporeal, material, sensorial approach to practices of democracy such as public speaking, assembling, protesting, conflict. In this performance lecture, Theodoridou discusses the critical background of her artistic research by looking into the current crisis of democracy in Europe and the western world and the way art can contribute to our empowerment as citizens; shares insights from the research design as well as concrete tasks and practices from its participatory processes; and tests some of these tasks, in real time during the lecture, with the audience.
The lecture draws on Theodoridou’s latest books APPEAR!And others acts to (per)form democracy (2026) and Publicing – Practising Democracy Through Performance (2022) and elaborates on the term ‘publicing’, which she has coined to describe the way art can construct new forms of public space and ‘public time’ (Castoriadis, 1997), other than the individualistic, antagonistic, polarized spaces imposed by neoliberalism.
In Theodoridou’s artistic work, highly serious subjects are always accompanied by an absurd undertone, and moments of human humor emerge as well, at least for the most attentive participants.
The lecture will be particularly rewarding for artists and art students who are interested in artistic research and/or participatory art from a practice-led perspective, as well as for art scholars interested in artistic research, socially-engaged art and the relation between arts and politics.
About Theodoridou
Danae Theodoridou (www.danaetheodoridou.com) is a Brussels-based performance maker and researcher. She completed her practice-led PhD in Roehampton University in London (2013). Her work focuses on the way performance can activate citizenship and contribute to the democratization of political institutions. She teaches in the MA Performing Public Space in Fontys Academy of the Arts (NL), curates practice-led research projects, presents and publishes her work internationally. Currently, her artistic research Performing the Public Body takes place in the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. Danae is the co-author of The Practice of Dramaturgy: Working on Actions in Performance (Valiz, 2017) and the author of Publicing – Practising Democracy Through Performance (Nissos, 2022). Her new book, APPEAR! And Others Acts to (Per)Form Democracy, will be published in 2026.
Word from inviting teacher
A Q&A with Maiju Loukola, vice dean, university lecturer:
What inspired you to invite Danae Theodoridou as visiting professor?
“I appreciate Danae Theodoridou’s way of engaging with the pressing questions of our time as both an artist and a researcher. At the core of her practice is a deeply ethical imperative: an aspiration toward being together while questioning the power structures that erode democracy. She creates conditions for site- and situation-sensitive “democracy exercises,” inviting artists, students, and citizens of different ages and backgrounds to participate. These exercises often take a performative form and have been realized in a wide variety of spaces and environments, including city council chambers and other decision-making venues, cafés, streets, as well as art and research events.
Theodoridou visited as the keynote artist at our multi-day artistic research event, The City as a Space of Rules and Dreaming, held at Hietsu Pavilion in spring 2024. In an exercise exploring the role of embodiment in politics, participants formed a “people’s assembly” and examined, among other things, how being in a bodily relationship with others influences our political thinking, speech, and action. The relationship to space was an essential part of the exercise: space is a profoundly sensory condition that both manifests and channels positions of power, while also enabling freedom and looseness. In Theodoridou’s artistic work, highly serious subjects are always accompanied by an absurd undertone, and moments of human humor emerge as well, at least for the most attentive participants.”
What do you hope students will gain from her residency?
”Theodoridou’s practice is an excellent example of the way artistic research can exist in the world. For her, this is not about producing knowledge through art; rather, it is about being and acting in the world through artistic means, together with others. Her practice reminds us that art does not stand outside society but is an active part of it in many different ways. In her case, this is expressed through a particular attention to performativity, the significance of space, and collective embodiment.”
Who else do you think would find the lecture especially rewarding?
”Theodoridou’s lecture will undoubtedly be rewarding for everyone, and especially for those who still have doubts about the connections between art and democracy.”
Visiting professors
In the Visiting professor programme, distinguished international artists and art experts are invited to teach and share their knowledge at the Academy of Fine Arts for a fixed period. The visit also includes a lecture that is open for the audience.