While the frozen conflict of Cyprus offers a comforting, nostalgic umbrella for the work, as the Artistic Director of the festival from 2019-22, she has come to realise that there are several elements of the practice of organising and curating an international festival, which is also hyper-local, that constitute violent ruptures within the practice and need to be taken into consideration. These ruptures have become more accentuated in 2020 and 2021, a time when the global pandemic enveloped the world and made both artists and festivals even more vulnerable.
In her talk, she will address two key points that relate on the one hand to the artistic and ethical integrity of a festival, and on the other, to the well-being for artists and the creative team as a main pillar of the planning. Examples will be shared, of mechanisms that emerged in order to create a fluid community of exchange and thought, while at the same time acknowledging the practicalities of addressing day-to-day challenges.
Finally, the talk will address the underlying colonising practices that are omnipresent in the margins, and address questions of dignity and care within the global (and local) arts system.
Bio
Dr. Ellada Evangelou was born and raised in Cyprus. She has studied in Cyprus and the United States, and was a recipient of a Fulbright scholarship. Her background is in English, Dramaturgy, and Theatre Studies/Cultural Studies. She has worked as a dramaturge, theatre director, workshop facilitator, and independent consultant, in collaboration with theatre companies, NGOs, and international organisations.
She teaches theatre and dramaturgy courses in higher education in Cyprus and the United States. She is interested in the relationship between theatre/dramaturgy and identity, and works in the intersection of artivism and scholarship in post-colonial, post-conflict communities.
She is co-founder of Rooftop Theatre, active in arts for conflict transformation in Cyprus, since 2004, a member of the Leadership Circle of the IMPACT project (2017-21), and a 2020-21 Global Fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts, as well as the Artistic and Executive Director of the Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival 2019-2020-2021 and a Co-Director in 2022, in Nicosia, Cyprus. In 2021 and 2022, she has been a collaborator of The Festival Academy, working on festival-making in (post)conflict communities.
In 2021, she was a Global Faculty in Residency, at the Gallatin School of Independent Study, NYU. She currently teaches at the Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus.