VIRTA (current): An Evening of Performance in the Underworld
Open: 19:30 - 22:00 hrs
Tickets: € sliding scale 10><15
In dialogue with the notion of the underworld through Finnish and Karelian mythology, this evening asks what mythology looks like now: a landscape shaped by capitalism, machines, memes and desire. The program continues in London, with presentations at Chisenhale Studios and XYZ Kensal on November 27th and 28th.
Open 19:30
Start 20:00h
Amsterdam edition:
Irina Österberg
VIRTA is a performance that explores the quieter, often unspoken corners of the self. Hybrid between a concert, a real-time composed dance and a poetry reading, the work is loosely inspired by the Underworld of Finnish and Karelian mythology (The Kalevala), looking at how we navigate fundamental life experiences—relations, the search for knowledge, and an inevitable influence of what surrounds us. The piece, made by Irina Baldini (Österberg) in close collaboration with and performed by Emily Welther, Artémise Ploegaerts, Tashi Iwaoka, Katarina Kadijevic, and Simona Piras, moves in scenes, shifting from quiet vocals and beams of light into movement sections charged by electro-acoustic and bass guitar sounds, before settling into a dimmer, more reflective space of memory.
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THE COMMONS : CAPITALIST FOLKLORE
An artistic exchange between Amsterdam and London What are the myths and underworlds of contemporary urban life? In exchange with VIRTA, a performance drawing on Finnish and Karelian mythology, the commons presents Capitalist Folklore — an exploration of the strange mythology of the world we inhabit today. Emerging from collective conversations around power, technology, consumerism and digital culture, Capitalist Folkloreimagines a contemporary underworld populated by gods of money, data and desire, where memes become mythology, screens shape reality and the absurdities of everyday life take on a life of their own. On 12 November at 4bid Gallery in Amsterdam, the commons will bring its Collective Enquiry into a live, creative form for the first time, combining video, audio and interactive performance. Developed through shared conversations and experimentation, the work invites audiences into an evolving world shaped by the rituals, contradictions and power structures of contemporary life. Rather than beginning with a fixed outcome, the process brings together different voices, disciplines and perspectives to create a shared world — one that questions what we take for granted and considers what lies beneath the surface of our everyday lives.
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Viktoria Arvayova / Vaera
is a sound and multimedia artist from Slovakia, currently based in The Hague. Her practice moves between spatial sound composition, sound installation and audiovisual work. Exploring sound as a transforming presence that unfolds across physical and digital environments, she draws on field recordings, found footage, vocals, and synthesis. Through layers of digital processing, these elements are woven into evolving sonic environments, gradually unfolding in time.
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Tickets via: Amsterdam Alternative website
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