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 a series of live works, discussions, and collaborative encounters.

Through twelve live performances, the festival explores the diverse ways in which text can enter performance art: as spoken language, autobiography, recorded voice, instruction, appropriation, memory, and embodied presence.

Artists:

Katrīna Albuže (Latvia), Laura Feldberga (Latvia), Andris Freibergs (Latvia), Maipelo Gabang (Sweden), Maria Lepistö (Denmark), Anna Maskava (Latvia), Mailo Mēness (Latvia), Martin O’Brien (United Kingdom), Simona Orinska (Latvia), Pianka Pärna (Estonia), Tomasz Szrama (Finland), and Kristiāna Šuksta (Latvia).

VERBA CORPORIS brings together artists who engage with text and language as central materials in performance, each approaching them from distinct aesthetic, political, and personal perspectives. Through spoken word, recorded voice, textual appropriation, and embodied practices, the festival highlights the multiplicity of ways in which performance artists work with language. Unlike theatre, where meaning is traditionally rooted in a written play, performance art has often treated text as taboo, associating it with theatricality, mimesis, and excessive meaning-making. VERBA CORPORIS challenges this bias by exploring how text can inhabit performance in diverse forms and modes, opening new possibilities for artistic experimentation and expression.

Programme: twelve live performances, two workshops led by Simona Orinska and Laura Feldberga, video performances, a public discussion, as well as artist talk with Martin O’Brien moderated by Laine Kristberga. Through performances, practical exchange, and critical dialogue, VERBA CORPORIS creates a space for artists and audiences to explore the multiple ways in which text, voice, and language inhabit contemporary performance practices.

The project builds new networks through collaboration between Latvian and Finnish organisations – the Latvian Centre for Performance Art, Gallery Myymälä, Villa Ellaintarha, and UniArts Helsinki – as well as a diverse group of international artists. Bringing together twelve live performances, two workshops, video performances, networking events, as well as a public discussion and artist talk, VERBA CORPORIS creates opportunities for artistic exchange, knowledge-sharing, and meaningful dialogue across disciplines, generations, and national contexts. By fostering new professional relationships and strengthening existing partnerships, the festival contributes to the development of a vibrant and interconnected performance and live art community in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

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