Festival of Hope 1 / 29 April 2020

From Blue to Metamorphose: Sardam Festival Projects

Arizona After the Raid: A cooperation of the writer Marilena Zackheos with the photographer Nicos Philippou, within the framework of Sardam festival’s 2019 edition.

Unser Dankeschön: A literary performance by Mara Genschel and Dovydas Laurinaitis, within the framework of Sardam Festival’s Residency programme 2019.

Metamorphose: The project is a collaboration between the writer and intermedia artist Kinga Toth and the photograph Kaspar Mattmann and explores in text and picture the relationship between the human and nature, the borderlands of living and non-living and the isolation and alienation we have to face both in society in general and in the current times. The series is inspired by the practice of catholic nuns creating artistic dioramas using everyday household objects and domestic waste. The main focus in the work lies on the objectification and distortion of the human form, as well as on the subjectification of the artists’ domestic waste material and the symbiotic relationship that is constructed in the process. The photo is shot on Kodak Portra 400.

Blue: A poem essay and meditation on the colour of home in times of hopelessness, by the writer and artist Ana Cavic (audio). Photos by Miha Colner.

Author

Sardam Festival

SARDAM, deriving from the greek word σαρδάμ (meaning 'verbal slip'), is an annual interdisciplinary literature festival, based in Cyprus (founded in 2013 by the writer Maria A. Ioannou and the artistic group 'aRttitude'). The festival, which received the EFFE LABEL 2019-2020 as one of the remarkable festivals of Europe, presents the work of writers from Cyprus and abroad in performative and interdisciplinary ways: slam poetry, sound poetry, live reading and contemporary dance, videopoetry, text and electronics, interactive writing-related software and so on. SARDAM festival is open to any kind of literary innovation and experimentation, as long as it has meaning and literary quality. Writers and artists from different parts of the world collaborate, challenging the boundaries of what literature is and how it is presented/performed. Besides showcasing evenings full of alternative literary readings/performances in different cities of Cyprus, SARDAM festival also presents exciting creative writing and performance writing workshops, as well as parallel events. Guests of honour of the festival's previous editions were Katalin Ladik (Yoko Ono Prize 2016), Giovanni Fontana ('epigenetic poetry') and Tomomi Adachi (Ars Electronica Prize 2019). More info: www.sardamcy.wordpress.com.