SHIRTSHOW

Choreographic performance | PREMIERE

What is it about?

A choreographic performance realized as part of the Anthropocene Museum project, in which a T-shirt becomes not only a piece of clothing, but also a tool for expression, protest, belonging, and storytelling. The project explores cotton as a material rooted in the history of industry and colonialism, but also as a medium enabling performative reflection on the present day.

At the intersection of movement, sound and text, a choreography emerges in which the T-shirt becomes an actor: it communicates, disrupts, narrates and remains silent. In the background: body politics, climate change and questions about the power of political slogans, catchphrases and gestures today.

By whom?

Agata Siniarska works in expanded choreography. She situates her practice between how we think about the world and how we move within it. Her current research concerns the idea of the Anthropocene museum, multispecies archives in times of war and extinction, and various alliances between human and non-human bodies. In addition to performance and choreography, Agata is involved in dramaturgy in the performing arts and has recently begun her journey through the underground music scene, playing in the band szum (alongside the noise-punk band rat milk). She lives in Berlin with her dog Foka. She is a big fan of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Zuzanna Berendt is a researcher of theater and performing arts, an editor, and a writer on theater and choreography. She recently defended her doctoral thesis on ecological thought in contemporary theater and choreography and began working on an NCN project devoted to researching the development of the dance scene in Poland between 1945 and 1989. She works as an independent curator and co-creator of artistic and research processes, and is a companion in the artistic practice of choreographer Agata Siniarska. As a theater critic, she collaborates with Didaskalia, Dwutygodnik, and the teatralny.pl portal, among others.

Ilja Subkoff is a Berlin-based musician and martial artist. Alongside his studies in theater and literature, he is involved in civic education and animal husbandry. He is particularly interested in the intelligence of microorganisms and the relationships and phenomena of the more-than-human world. He also strives to improve his knowledge of the Polish language, better understand Polish politics, and navigate Polish culture. To explore the cultural nuances of this fascinating nation with its wonderful mushroom-picking traditions, Ilja has devoted much time to studying recent Polish tragedies, such as the death of John Paul II and the Smolensk catastrophe.

Who is it for?

The event is aimed at adults, especially those interested in performing arts, choreography, contemporary visual narratives, and social and environmental issues. There are no age restrictions, but due to the form and context, it is best suited to people over the age of 18.

Why is it worth it?

This performance is worth seeing because the T-shirt—one of the most everyday and mundane items of clothing—becomes a starting point for reflection on global relations of power, labor, and environmental degradation. “Shirtshow” not only engages the body and movement, but also stimulates thinking – about the meanings encoded in clothing, about the message conveyed by fabric, about what can be expressed beyond words. This work combines art, theory, and physicality in an extraordinary way, and its setting is the symbolic space of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź – a place that is itself inscribed in the history of production, social change, and untold stories.

Partner

The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation

Availability

The Central Museum of Textiles building is architecturally accessible. The performance will take place on the ground floor. Guide dogs are allowed. There is accessible parking in front of the building with designated spaces for people with disabilities.

There are tram stops near the building: Piotrkowska/Milionowa, Piotrkowska/Milionowa

Photos

Agata Siniarska, Ilja Subkoff, photo by Karolina Kraczkowska

#Cotton #Anthropocene #ProtestTextile #BodyArt