Hide a Body, Amazona Assem | Finale of the Performative Residency

Duration / Length: 1 h
Age / Age: 18+
Language / Language: English with Polish subtitles / English with Polish subtitles

Content warnings / Content warnings: themes of sexual violence (rape, molestation) and trauma, discrimination (in the content or as a critical theme) / themes of sexual violence (rape, molestation) and trauma, discrimination (in the content or as a critical theme)

Format warnings / Format warnings: loud noises, high-intensity music, strobe lights / loud noises, high-intensity, strobe lights

Following the performance on June 13, there will be a conversation with the artist (duration: approximately 1 hour) / After the performance on June 13, there will be a conversation with the artist (length: about 1 hour).

"Hide a Body" by Amazona Assem is a work drawing on the private experiences and stories of trans women, combining elements of theatre, performance, and visual art. It was created as part of a performative residency at the Pavilion – a programme supporting artists entering the professional art world who experiment with various theatrical forms and seek new scenic languages. Programme participants receive financial support, facilities, and production budget, as well as expert guidance and consultations with specialists.

In "Hide a Body", the artist addresses themes related to her identity as a trans woman, weaving them into a broader political narrative – depicting life in a world where bodies must hide to survive. It is primarily a story about trans women navigating a medical system built from the perspective of cisgender people (those who experience alignment between the sex assigned at birth and how they feel) on queer bodies.

Amazona Assem is an interdisciplinary artist from Cairo, based in Poznań for several years, a graduate of the intermedia programme at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts. She works with various media (film, performance, sculpture, installation); she is an author