The 2025 Performance Art Festival – Bodies Craving to Believe will take place on Friday, November 7, from 7:00 PM in the unique industrial space of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Prague-Bubeneč (Čistírna1906). Six original performances exploring corporeality as a medium of emotional expression, hope, and queer self-determination are being prepared by artists Miriama Kardošová, Dominik Styk, eva susová, Aliza Orlan, Skjold Rambow & CTM, and Alex Franz Zehetbauer. The event is organized by tranzit.cz and the Biennale Matter of Art in collaboration with Čistírna1906.

The program explores corporeality as a source of transformation and hope through queer experience. Rather than viewing the body as a tool of production, it presents it as an autonomous medium that deconstructs ingrained norms. Through movement, sound, desire, and bodily expressions (including taboo ones), the artists challenge rigid social expectations and open space for authentic self-determination. The wastewater treatment plant serves as a metaphor for re-evaluating what is considered pure or impure. In an anxious world, the body becomes both an obstacle and a tool of faith—and art offers a possibility of temporary awakening through embracing its full complexity.

Aliza Orlan opens the festival with the installation and performance thorns grow out of my body. This intimate work, inspired by fairy-tale and pop-culture images of femininity, explores queer bodily experience and the transcending of gender boundaries. Dominik Styk presents the absurd dance burlesque Pissed Prophet. Through personifications of a bladder and a fish, he connects physiological body processes with their anthropological interpretations. Skjold Rambow & CTM create a dialogue between contemporary dance and cello in their project Bow, focusing on subtle shifts in posture and behavior. Miriama Kardošová, as Victoria Oren, premieres the performance “Shake my hair over the dirt we sweat off.” She confronts patriarchal expectations and stereotypes through living, hysterical euphoria. Alex Franz Zehetbauer presents the Czech premiere of his queer stand-up show “sixsixsix.” In the role of a jester, he embodies repressed and uncontrollable aspects of corporeality. eva susova & Publik Universal Frxnd close the festival with a “queer assemblage.” They combine breath, laughter, spoken word, and cello to explore the relationship between embodied knowledge and systems of power. 

Čistírna1906
Papírenská 199/6
Prague 6, 160 00

Admission to the festival is free of charge. If the venue reaches capacity, admission will only be possible once other visitors have left the building. If you plan to visit the festival, please register using the form so that we can easily contact you regarding any changes to the program and additional information.

The building will be accessible throughout the event, though capacity is limited, so early arrival is recommended. Most areas are standing-room only; a limited number of seats will be available for people with reduced mobility, and a seating zone will be provided for rest between performances. Most of the program is in English, with select performances in Czech and English. On-site materials will be bilingual. The festival is suitable for ages 15+. Content warnings (trigger warnings) will be published in October on the festival website and at the venue.

Curator: František Fekete
Artists: Miriama Kardošová, Dominik Styk, eva susová, Aliza Orlan, Skjold Rambow & CTM, and Alex Franz Zehetbauer
Organized by: tranzit.cz and the Biennale Matter of Art in collaboration with Čistírna1906
Graphic Design: Day Shift Office
Production: Jakob Schubert, Frederik Statwald
Producer: Max Dvořák
PR and Communications: Nela Pietrová

Main Partner: ERSTE Foundation
Supported by: City of Prague, National Recovery Plan, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Danish Arts Foundation, Austrian Cultural Forum, National Recovery Plan, European Union – NextGen EU
Media Partners: ČT art, A2, Deník Alarm, Artalk, ArtMap, Kapitál