The 3rd International Festival of Performing Arts “Stories”
24–26 July 2026
Masovian Museum in Płock, Poland
World-class performers, legends of contemporary art, and artists from fifteen countries will gather in Płock this summer. For three days, the city will become an international capital of performance art, welcoming creators from Poland, Switzerland, Cuba, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Bolivia, Ukraine, Senegal, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The third edition of the “Stories” Festival will present works by some of the most exciting and respected figures in contemporary performance art.
Festival Highlights
Among the festival’s guests will be VestAndPage – the Italian-German duo of Verena Stenke and Andrea Pagnes, widely regarded as one of the leading formations in European performance art. Their works, presented around the world, combine intense bodily experience with reflections on memory, place, and social relationships. The artists will also lead a four-day workshop preceding the festival (20–23 July).
The programme will include a “Tribute to Valie Export”, dedicated to the Austrian avant-garde icon who passed away in May. Part of the project will take place in public space. “Monologues from Gaza” will be individually performed and read by participating artists.
The festival will also welcome Marcia Farquhar, an internationally acclaimed artist whose performances have taken place in museums and galleries as well as in everyday environments, from parks to private homes.
Bolivian artist Giovanna Miralles will introduce audiences to a world inspired by Mayan ceremonies. Cuban-Belgian artist Lázara Rosell Albear will present a solo concert combined with video projection. Swiss performers will explore the artistic universe of Niki de Saint Phalle.
The Ukrainian collective GALAS (Vlad Gryn and Taras Gembik) will invite audiences to participate in a communal feast. Dutch artists Steef Kersbergen and Caro Ruoff will address the intimate experience of transition and identity. Natalia Zagórska-Thomas will create a long-duration participatory action as well as a separate performance.
International guests will also include Viktor Fucek (Slovakia), Sara Simeoni (Italy), and Mamadou Góo Bâ (Senegal), who will collaborate with composer and improvising pianist Andrzej Rejman on a unique interdisciplinary project. Simon Zagórski-Thomas (United Kingdom) will introduce audiences to his world of music and animation.
The 30-minute film How to Understand the World, produced by Louisiana Channel, will present one of the most important contemporary artists, William Kentridge of South Africa, through his own words and artistic practice. An installation by Renata Buziak (Australia), combining video and textile elements, will introduce visitors to her innovative photographic technique known as Biochrome.
Outstanding Polish Artists
The Polish programme will feature Ewa Zarzycka, a legendary figure of Polish performance art, Grażyna Chmielewska, a renowned butoh dancer, and Ola Kozioł, known for her extraordinary voice.
Other participating artists include Urszula Ziemkiewicz, Jagoda Kwiatkowska, Kornelia Ciejka, Łukasz Horbów, Maciej Kryński, Agata Szuba, Karol Górski, and Julia Borowiecka.
The festival is not only a showcase of established artists and emerging creators selected through the open call. The programme also includes workshops, participatory projects, and actions developed together with local communities. Audiences will become not only spectators, but active co-creators of the event.
This year’s festival motto is:
“To reach the source, one must swim against the current.”
(S.J. Lec, Unkempt Thoughts)
All events are free of charge.
The full programme and further information about participating artists will be announced soon.
Follow the festival and visit:
www.opowiesci-stories.pl
The festival is organized by the Masovian Museum in Płock in cooperation with the Themersons Płock Centre for Culture and Arts. Financial support is provided by the Self-Government of the Mazovian Voivodeship and the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.
Curator: Małgorzata Sady
Coordinators: Agnieszka Płocieniak-Kaniewska, Milena Kolibczyńska
Festival Spirit: Leonard Sobieraj, Director of the Masovian Museum in Płock