Open Call: LALKA NOVA 3 International Performance Conference – CONNECTIONS
Apply by October 5, 2025 to take part in this unique gathering in Wrocław, Poland
From our friends at the Stanisław Wyspiański Academy of Theater Arts in Kraków, Wrocław Branch, comes an extraordinary opportunity for artists, researchers, and thinkers who want to explore the future of performance.
This November, the third edition of LALKA NOVA International Performance Conference returns to Wrocław’s Puppetry Department with the theme: CONNECTIONS.
Why CONNECTIONS?
This year’s program is built around the relationships between humans, technology, puppets, artistic form, identity, and science. The puppet is not only a form — it becomes matter, sound, algorithm, avatar — a medium for exploring who we are and where we’re going.
Through lectures, workshops, installations, and performances, participants will investigate questions such as:
How is identity shaped through artistic forms?
What happens when puppetry merges with AI, robotics, and new media?
How do old traditions meet new technologies — and what comes next?
What You Can Submit
Applicants are invited to propose:
Scientific papers and presentations
Performative presentations and installations
Workshops
Artistic projects in progress (pitching sessions)
LALKA NOVA is one of the first conferences of its kind in Poland, combining rigorous academic perspectives with experimental performance practices. Previous editions (2021, 2023) sparked powerful conversations about the role of art in an evolving technological and cultural landscape.
The Program
Expect a rich mix of:
Keynote lectures and masterclasses
Performances and art installations
Panel discussions and debates
Practical workshops and pitching opportunities
In addition to exploring technology’s role in performance, the conference also makes space for slowing down — through the “Novy Nurt” strand, which turns attention inward, asking how art can resist algorithmic pressures and nurture our humanity.
Key Details
📅 Conference dates: November 26–28, 2025
📍 Location: Wrocław, Poland
⏰ Deadline to apply: October 5, 2025
🔗 More information & application form: www.lalkanova.com
Why Apply?
Whether you are an artist exploring interactive installations, a researcher unpacking questions of identity, or a student testing a new project, LALKA NOVA offers an international platform to share, experiment, and connect. It is a space where puppetry crosses borders into philosophy, bioart, robotics, performance, and beyond.
Join the conversation — and help shape new definitions of contemporary performance.