Performance Art Festival VERBA CORPORIS (Words of the Body)

VERBA CORPORIS – THE WORDS OF THE BODY

31 August – 6 September 2026

Gallery Myymälä2, Helsinki

How does language inhabit the body? What happens when words become material for performance?

Presented by the Latvian Centre for Performance Art as part of RAW 2026 – Relational Art Week, VERBA CORPORIS – The Words of the Body brings together artists from Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and the United Kingdom. Curated by Laine Kristberga, the festival examines how language inhabits contemporary performance through live works, discussions, workshops, and collaborative encounters.

Monday, 31 August

Gallery Myymälä2

Curated video programme

Video performances by Latvian artists

Tuesday, 1 September

Live Performances

Gallery Myymälä2

18:00 — Maria Lepistö (Denmark)
Born to Be Wild

19:00 — Katrīna Albuže (Latvia)
Yes ⇄ No → YES!

Wednesday, 2 September

Public Discussion

15:00–17:00 UniArts Helsinki

Moderated by Laine Kristberga

Participants:

Maria Lepistö (Denmark)

Maipelo Gabang (Sweden)

Tomasz Szrama (Finland)

Pianka Pärna (Estonia)

Live Performances

Gallery Myymälä2

18:00 — Kristiāna Šuksta (Latvia)
The Death of an Opera Singer

19:00 — Mailo Mēness (Latvia)
This Sentence Needs Your Body

Thursday, 3 September

Live Performances

Gallery Myymälä2

18:00 — Maipelo Gabang (Sweden)
I Am Not Your Tea Girl

19:00 — Laura Feldberga (Latvia)
Miss Riga

20:00 — Andris Freibergs (Latvia)
Absurd Pleasure Machine

Friday, 4 September

Live Performances

Gallery Myymälä2

18:00 — Tomasz Szrama (Finland)
Communicatio

19:00 — Anna Maskava (Latvia)
You May Have Come from God, but I Came from My Mother’s Vagina

20:00 — Pianka Pärna (Estonia)
Mother, Don’t Forget My Stories Yet

Saturday, 5 September

Workshop

12:00–15:00
Gallery Myymälä2

Simona Orinska (Latvia)

The Feminine: Embodiment, Memory, and Transformation

Artist Talk

17:00–18:00
Gallery Myymälä2

Martin O’Brien (United Kingdom)

Moderated by Laine Kristberga

Live Performances

Gallery Myymälä2

19:00 — Simona Orinska (Latvia)
Femina Corporalis

20:00 — Martin O’Brien (United Kingdom)
This Unending (Doorway)

Sunday, 6 September

Workshop

13:00–16:00
Gallery Myymälä2

Laura Feldberga (Latvia)

Embodied Images: Personal Archive and Ritual

The project builds new networks through collaboration between Latvian and Finnish organisations – the Latvian Centre for Performance Art, Gallery Myymälä, Villa Elaintarha, and UniArts Helsinki – alongside a diverse group of international artists.

Bringing together twelve live performances, two workshops, video performances, networking events, a public discussion, and an artist talk, VERBA CORPORIS creates opportunities for artistic exchange, knowledge-sharing, and meaningful dialogue across disciplines, generations, and national contexts. The festival contributes to strengthening the performance and live art community across the Nordic and Baltic regions by fostering new professional relationships and developing existing partnerships.

Free entrance.

The festival is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Culture and Art Programme