André Lepecki (New York University), one of the most prominent contemporary authors in performance studies, aesthetics, anti-colonial thought, and political philosophy, comes to Bucharest.
Lepeki will take part in the International Conference on Creativity in Dance (ICCD), held this April and organized through UNATC – The National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”. Professor Simona Șomăcescu is the Project Manager and the Curator of the ICCD 2026.
As part of the conference, André Lepecki will be in dialogue with Oana Șerban during the Aesthetics Panel, bringing together two distinct scholarly perspectives at the intersection of philosophy, performance theory, and contemporary artistic research.
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SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER – Prof. ANDRÉ LEPECKI, New York University
André Lepecki is a scholar working at the intersection of critical dance studies, performance theory, philosophy of art, political philosophy, and anti-colonial thought. He is Full Professor in the Department of Performance Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he also serves as Associate Dean of the Center of Research & Study.
He is the author of Exhausting Dance (2006), Singularities (2016), and Ídioritmia (2018), and editor of influential anthologies including Points of Convergence (2015), Dance (2012), and The Senses in Performance (2007).
A former dramaturge for leading choreographers such as Vera Mantero and Meg Stuart, he has curated major festivals and exhibitions, among them Kaprow’s 18 Happenings in 6 Parts (2006), PERFORMA 07, and Soiled: Paul McCarthy’s Early Performance Works 1971–76 (2024/25). Since 2003, he has collaborated with Brazilian performance artist Eleonora Fabião. His latest book, Co(reo)imaginar, was recently published in Lisbon by Edições do Saguão.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Assist. Prof. OANA ȘERBAN, PhD, University of Bucharest
Oana Șerban is a philosopher and professor at the University of Bucharest, where she teaches Modern Philosophy, Aesthetics, Biopolitics and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Philosophy and the UNESCO Chair in Interculturality, Good Governance and Sustainable Development.
Director of the Research Center for the History of Philosophical Ideas (CCIIF), her work focuses on aesthetics, modern philosophy, biopolitics, cultural capital and creative communication, as well as Holocaust studies and remembrance.
She is the author of Cultural Capital and Creative Communication (Routledge, 2023), After Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Aesthetic Revolutions (De Gruyter, 2022), and Artistic Capitalism (2016), and has co-edited numerous volumes on philosophy, culture and modernity. Her recent research explores the biopolitical dimensions of modern art, including in post-Holocaust contexts.
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Call for Applications – Aesthetics Panel
Pragmatist Aesthetics: Philosophical Perspectives on Performativity and the Ontology of Artistic Movement
The panel invites contributions on topics including:
Dance and Somaesthetics
Avangardist Perspectives: From Performative Beauty to Shock
Creativity and Expressivity: Philosophy of Dance
Phenomenological Perspectives on Body, Corporeality and Consciousness in Performative Arts
Performativity in the Age of Artistic Capitalism
