10th Festival of Abstract Thought 🗓️ October 22-26, 2025 Jazdów Estate, Warsaw FROM THE BELLY. Body, corporeality, materiality. Program here: https://www.fma.waw.pl/ Meeting - no registration required (Un)ordinary bodies – critical disability studies 🗓️ Saturday, 25.10.2025 🕒 2:00 PM–3:30 PM Rotational House of Culture The concept of non-normative corporeality assumes the existence of a certain norm regulating socially accepted representations of the body. It is based on the idea of a universal body and serves to uphold this ideological construct that the "body" ultimately becomes. This leads to the exclusion and stigmatization of all types of corporeality and ways of experiencing it that do not fit within this norm. Starting from the category of "extraordinary bodies" introduced by critical disability studies pioneer Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and such spectacles as circuses, sideshows, or freak shows, which peaked in popularity in the second half of the 19th century, we will primarily look at contemporary phenomena and practices that critically reflect on the issue of physical, or more broadly, psychophysical difference. A particular focus will be on disability in contemporary theater and performance, with critical disability studies as the point of reference. Ewelina Godlewska-Byliniak – cultural studies scholar, researcher specializing in theater and performance as well as disability studies. She teaches at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. Author of the books Tadeusz Kantor: Double, Melancholy, Repetition (2011) and Tymoteusz Karpowicz’s Radio-logical Theater (2012); co-editor of the anthologies Recovering Presence. Disability in Theater and Performance (2017) and Disability and Society. The Performative Power of Protest (2018). She collaborates with the Teatr 21 Foundation, where, together with Justyna Lipko-Konieczna, she co-creates the publishing and research department as part of the Inclusive Art Center program. EVENT ACCESSIBILITY Meetings are held at the Rotational House of Culture, which is accessible to people with mobility disabilities. We organize translation of meetings and lectures into Polish Sign Language (PJM). If you need PJM translation, please submit your request here by 19.10. Link: https://forms.gle/EuJbZdYSDV7UzwVt7 The project is co-financed by the City of Warsaw Funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund. Organizing body: Otwarte Dziki Bez Association Our socials: - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fma.waw - Instagram: @festiwalmysliabstrakcyjnej
