IN SESSION: What is at Stake? Exploring urgency, drive and the making of sense in contemporary art practice.

Dr Despina Zacharopoulou

Dr Despina Zacharopoulou is a performance artist, theorist and academic, born in Arcadia, Greece. Working between London and Athens, Dr Zacharopoulou holds the ongoing position of the Course Leader of the Contemporary Art Summer School at the RCA (2018 onwards). Her current post-doc research at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2025-27), with a working title: ‘Remainders: On the Survival of Performance Art Images’, investigates embodied methodologies for dealing with archives, while also exploring performance art images’ potential to survive within the history of art.

Coming from a trans-disciplinary professional and academic background across the fields of architecture, fine art, sculpture, new media, installations, and costume design, Despina completed her practice-led Ph.D. in Philosophy & Fine Art (Performance Art) at the RCA (on an Onassis Foundation scholarship), supervised by Prof. Johnny Golding (Primary) and Professor Nigel Rolfe (second).

Her practice belongs to the emerging field of performance-philosophy while investigating performance as SPATIUM MONSTRORUM; surface and event of parrhēsia, aiming at reconstituting philosophy as embodied practice and method towards a life which is radically other.

Dr Zacharopoulou’s work has been presented at events of global impact, e.g.: PROMENADE, Athens Video Dance Project (Athens, 2025); Marina Abramović Institute Takeover at Southbank Centre (London, 2023); VII VENICE PERFORMANCE ART WEEK (Venice, 2023); AS ONE by NEON & the Marina Abramović Institute (Athens, 2016); London Frieze (2016, 2017); A Possible Island? by the Marina Abramović Institute & the 1st Bangkok Art Biennale (Bangkok, 2018-19).

Publications and Press include: Performance Research Journal (2023), Performance Philosophy Journal (2022), The NY Times (2016), The Nation Thailand (2018), CNN Greece (2016), Liberal Newspaper Greece (2017), The Art Newspaper Greece (2021). Dr Zacharopoulou is also a Stavros Niarchos Foundation ARTWORKS Fellow (2021) and won the UK Alumni Culture & Creativity Award in Greece (2024).

Despina’s website

Despina’s Instagram

Despina’s RCA staff profile

Evi Kalogiropoulou

Evi Kalogiropoulou is a film director and visual artist based in Athens. She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, and holds a Master’s degree in Moving Image from the Royal College of Art. Evi’s video art has been screened in spaces such as the Whitechapel Gallery and Sadie Coles HQ in London.

She has participated in artist residencies at Somerset House Studios and was featured in the exhibition “The Same River Twice” organized by the DESTE Foundation and the New Museum in New York. In 2020, she had a solo show at Kunstverein in Dresden.

Her first short film, Motorway 65, was part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2020 and was screened at several other festivals.

Her short film On Xerxes’ Throne was selected for the 61st Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, where it received the Canal+ Award. The film also screened in numerous festivals including AFI FEST, Sarajevo Film Festival and many other festivals.

In 2023, she directed My Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, as part of the Onassis Culture series inspired by C.P.Cavafys, was presented at the New Museum.

Her debut feature, GORGONÀ – recipient of the Eurimages Development Award, the Cinemart 2021 Award, and the ARTE Award at the Cinéfondation Atelier in Cannes—premiered at the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC) at the Venice Film Festival in 2025 and many other festivals.

Evi’s Instagram

Evi’s IMDb

Gorgonà Neda Film Productions website