Greece’s participation in the Student Exhibition of the Prague Quadrennial dates back to 2003, with the School of Drama of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1), while in the following years the presence of students from Greece in the exhibition gradually expanded. Indicatively, in 2015 Greece was collectively represented by eight departments with 240 students in the Student Exhibition of PQ15 (2). At PQ23, Greece participates in the competitive Student Exhibition with ten departments from eight academic institutions from four cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Nafplio and Florina), joining forces and presenting projects by about 350 students, realised during the last two years. This student participation is both extensive in volume and expansive in its scope and design focus, the result of the diligent and imaginative response to the open call for the Greek student participation and to the theme formulated: Rethinking cities: performing places and stories of resilience.
 

We would like to point out that it is the first time that the theme of the Greek Student Exhibition is collectively shaped and differentiated from the professional Countries and Regions Exhibition. This theme is the product of collective initiative and action through the process of an open call and the implementation of many group gatherings and diverse collaborative practices among the tutors/supervisors of the many educational institutions. The theme functioned as a common thematic umbrella, to which each department responded by proposing different projects focusing on their specific interests and making use of local dynamics and human resources. The theme itself responded to PQ23’s thematic call for the Student Exhibition: Rare stories from unique places - in relation to its general exhibition theme Rare; and also, it diversified the general thematic by reflecting multiple locations and agents in the field of professional and/ or specialist training in scenography and performance design in Greece.

 

The intense diversity that emerged is indicative of the possibilities offered by the many different educational institutions, teaching subjects ranging from architectural and visual art approaches to the study of scenography, to more performative explorations and practices (with additional deviations in terms of performing and visual arts), to the cinematic space and the search for the audiovisual image and new digital media. To somewhat summarise this panoramic perspective, we could say that it largely echoes an expanded philosophy and practice of scenography. Placed within an inclusive scientific/artistic context, the above approaches are also indicative of divergent interdisciplinary scenographic perspective which tends to characterize the landscape of higher and/or specialised education in Greece, since no stand-alone university degree in the field of scenography and costume design is offered; in some departments, such courses are offered either as electives or as a more organised course of study in the programme syllabus (3). In any case, this polyphony and multiplicity of approaches reflects to a large extent a timely and desirable convergence with the aspirations of contemporary expanded scenography and costume design, being also a characteristic feature of the education provided in Greece in the fields of scenography, costume design and performance design. The rich and varied material offered by the Greek student participation encourages us to reflect on the contemporary educational process itself in these fields and to further explore in the future and consolidate certain collaborative practices that have proven to be fruitful and effective in practice.
 

The theme of the Greek Student Exhibition in PQ23 Rethinking cities: performing places and stories of resilience highlights in particular the function of cities as a key experiential common performative space with all its social, cultural and historical specificities. Moreover, influenced to some extent by the archival turn in art (4), it addresses urban environments as living archives of experiences and events, as environments of inspiration, artistic expression and public intervention, as well as fecund sources of local knowledge (5). The theme also highlights the different possibilities and artistic processes of urban
reactivation, reflecting the diverse responses after the catalytic experience of the pandemic. The reflection on the lived urban environment and the creative and imaginative use of public space and the public sphere connects-in one way or another- all the separate contributions of the educational institutions, highlighting the particular importance of the theme for experiencing urban space in Greece (6). It also documents the great interdisciplinary value of this particular artistic research field, while a significant part of the contributions, following established international trends, explores more specifically the performative
aspects of this dialogical relationship between urban and performance space (7).
 

The performative use of space is equally important in relation to the overall design of the outdoor exhibition
space of the Greek Student Exhibition, the Tent Stage. Both the theme and the design concept advocate knowledge of place, the use of public and outdoor space as fertile ground for performance space, flexible performativity and a collaborative ethos, features that we believe will be vital to the sustainable future of scenography and costume design and, in general, the performing arts.

​

1 For more information see https://www.thea.auth.gr/international/prague-quadrennial/
2 For more information see https://www.scribd.com/document/328609111/Catalog-of-the-hellenic-participation-PQ-2015#
3 For a concise historical background on this subject see Giovani, D., Karakosta, E., Konstantinakou, P., Pipinia, I. (2021). «Teaching Scenogarphy in Greece (1958-1976); a Research». Journal of Arts & Humanities, 10, pp. 30-45.
4 For the archival turn in art, see indicatively: Κaraba, Ε. (2011). «Το αρχείο ως δημοκρατική δημόσια τέχνη. Μια θεσμίζουσα πρακτική». Επιστήμη και Κοινωνία, 26, pp. 82-109· Merewether, C., ed. (2006).The Archive. Documents of Contemporary Art. London: Whitechapel Ventures Limited · Sabiescu, Α. G. (2020). «Living Archives and the Social Transmission of Memory». https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ full/10.1111/cura.12384 · Κaraba, Ε- Kouros, P. (2012). Αrchive public. Athens: Cube art editions.
5 For the interdisciplinary conception of the city as a living and resistant archive, see Βurgum, S. (2020). «This City is an Archive: Squatting History and Urban Authority». Journal of Urban History, pp. 1-19.
6 See indicatively, Avgitidou Α., ed. (2021). Δημόσια Τέχνη, Δημόσια Σφαίρα. Thessaloniki: University Studio Press.
7 See for example, Whybrow, N., ed. (2014). Performing Cities. London: Palgrave MacMillan.