Having played a catalytic role in the development of literary performance in Cyprus, the International Interdisciplinary Literature Festival SARDAΜ returns for its 13th year! Bringing literary performance once again into the spotlight, the audience will have the chance to engage with writers, performers and other artists from Cyprus and abroad, who share original ways of writing, reading and performing literature, through live performances, workshops, and parallel events. Literature and speech are combined with contemporary or traditional means of expression, such as theater, sound/music, spoken word, contemporary dance, sound poetry, video poetry, technology, the visual arts, and so on.

 

The Group Events of live performances will be divided into two evenings (starting at 8pm, at Synergeio Theater Space in Limassol), showcasing different short acts each night, on September 26 and 27, with the participation of well-known, awarded and emerging writers and artists from Cyprus, Greece, the USA, Ireland, Finland and Iceland! On September 28, an additional evening, featuring an open mic and a closing event, will be held for the first time at the same venue (starting at 6pm), in collaboration with The Bad Poetry Social Club from Greece and KENO Publications, including a group performance by the five members of The Bad Poetry Social Club and an intimate live gig by the musician and songwriter Lefteris Moumtzis (Freedom Candlemaker). The festival is also expanding its workshop programme this year, with two workshops at The Old Vinegar Factory / Palio Xydadiko (September 25 and 26 in the afternoon) and two at Synergeio theatre space (September 27 and 28 in the morning). This year’s workshop programme is dynamic, diverse, and highly creative, with amazing speakers and facilitators, so pre-booking is strongly advised.

This year’s Guest of Honour is poet, performer and cultural critic Danez Smith, coming to Cyprus all the way from Minnesota, USA (Forward Prize; Minnesota Book Award for Poetry; Lamda Literary Award for Gay Poetry; Kate Tufts Discovery Award, nomination for the Pulitzer Prize). Other great guests from abroad include the poet-performer Stephen James Smith from Ireland (who has shared the stage with Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith, Bono, among others) and the multilingual, interdisciplinary and multivoiced performer Maja Jantar from Finland.

Continuing the festival’s collaboration with The Institute of Experimental Arts, the festival will also showcase the dynamic poet, performer and director Tasos Sagris, as well as the well-known poet, soprano and spoken word performer Hlín Leifsdóttir (Iceland), in separate duo performances with the awarded composer and musician Whodoes (aka Morton). Additionally, the festival will be hosting the talented writers Evi Lampropoulou and Konstantinos Papacharalampos from Greece, the interdisciplinary designer and creative coder Anastasia Melandinou (Cyprus/Greece) and the poet, performer and academic Alev Adil (Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Cyprus/UK). Moreover, the awarded director Maria Kyriakou will be mentoring this year’s residency program (Sardam Residency 2025). Last but not least, the programme showcases several great writers and artists from Cyprus: Maria Philippou, Fisherwomxn, Tuğçe Tekhanli, Kalia Maliali, and Alexandros Adamidis in collaboration with Stelios Andronikou.

THURSDAY, September 25, 2025

 

Poetry workshop with Danez Smith (USA) - Guest of Honour 2025
“Personal Machines: Invented Form” 

17:30 - 21:30 @ Palio Xydadiko (Genethliou Mitella, 3036, Limassol)

 

This workshop invites us to explore traditional and very contemporary forms of poetry (e.g., bop, duplex, burning haibun, Molotov sonnet) before attempting to create our own poetic forms and poems. Although free verse offers freedom, strictly personal constraints can provoke unexpected sonic and semantic reactions. Open to all, this workshop challenges us to break out of established poetic frameworks and imagine new poetic possibilities in times of great turmoil but also hope.

 

*Language of communication: English 

Information about Danez Smith: https://blueflowerarts.com/artist/danez-smith/

FRIDAY, September 26, 2025

Sound Poetry and Voice Workshop with Maja Jantar (Finland)

15:00 - 19:00 @ Palio Xydadiko (Genethliou Mitella, 3036, Limassol)

 

During this workshop, we will warm up our bodies and voices with vocal exercises and improvisation techniques, exchange vowels and make sounds together, even if they are cacophonous. Together we will explore ways to lift the text from the page and bring it into the performance space, listening to what it asks and desires from us. We will discuss examples and transform our text, exploring what it means to bend it, twist it, chew it, shout it out, whisper it, exhale it, return it to the mouth, roll it on the tongue and knock it between the teeth.

*Language of communication: English 

Information about Maja Jantar: https://majajantar.wordpress.com/bio/

GROUP EVENT I  

20:00 @ Polychoros Synergeio (91A Eleftherias Street, Limassol)

 

Participants:

Hlín Leifsdóttir and Whodoes (aka Morton) (Iceland / Greece)

Konstantinos Papacharalampos (Greece / UK)

Fisherwomxn (Cyprus)

Tuğçe Tekhanli (Cyprus)

Alexandros Adamidis and Stelios Andronikou (Cyprus)

Guest of Honour: Danez Smith (USA)

+ visual installation by Anastasia Melandinou

SATURDAY, September 27, 2025

Interdisciplinary workshop with Alev Adil (Cyprus/UK) 

“Catharsis: a creative workshop” 

10:30 - 14:30 @ Polychoros Synergeio (91A Eleftherias Street, Limassol)

 

This interdisciplinary workshop explores catharsis (emotional release through creative action) as a path to healing and resistance. Inspired by The Body Keeps the Score (Bessel van der Kolk), it recognizes that trauma resides in both the mind and the body. Through writing, movement and visual expression, participants will process personal and collective crises. Emphasizing process over outcome, the workshop encourages the destruction and reconstruction of the work as a metaphor for transformation. It offers space for reflection, liberation, and creative resilience through acts of creation and deconstruction.

*Language of communication: English
Information about Alev Adil:

https://pencyprus.com.cy/alev-adil/

GROUP EVENT II 

20:00 @ Polychoros Synergeio (91A Eleftherias Street, Limassol)

Participants:
Maja Jantar (Finland)

Tasos Sagris and Whodoes (aka Morton) (Greece)

Evi Lampropoulou  (Greece)

Kalia Maliali (Cyprus)

Maria Philippou (Cyprus)

Stephen James Smith (Ireland)

+ visual installation by Anastasia Melandinou (continued)

SUNDAY, 28 September, 2025

Spoken Word - Slam Poetry Workshop with P.I.E.V. (The Bad Poetry Social Club, Greece)

11:30 - 15:30 @ Polychoros Synergeio (91A Eleftherias Street, Limassol)

Spoken word, contemporary writing, books and zines, persona and performance are the themes that will be developed in this workshop. From creating a text, staging, writing, performing and selecting the music, we will conclude this workshop with a focus on live presentation on stage and its requirements.

*Language of communication: Greek
Information about The Bad Poetry Social Club: 

https://thebadpoetrysocialclub.bigcartel.com/about-us

Open Mic & Closing Event

(in collaboration with The Bad Poetry Social Club and KENO Publications)

18:00 - 21:00 @ Polychoros Synergeio (91A Eleftherias Street, Limassol)
Registrations for the Open Mic until 15 September at +357 99558358 (first come, first served)

Guest performances:
The Bad Poetry Social Club 

Lefteris Moumtzis (Freedom Candlemaker) 

 

Information and bookings: 99558358 

Tickets also available online, via SoldOut Tickets, and at the entrance upon availability

https://www.soldoutticketbox.com/el/event/sardam-festival-2025

 

Sardam workshop fee: 25 € per workshop 

Sardam 1-day pass (performances): 8 / 5 €

 

Sardam Full Pass (4 workshops + 3 nights of performances): 90 €

 

Sardam 3-day pass (performances): 20 / 15 € 

(available only by phone 99558358 and at the entrance)


The selection committee of the Open Call 2024-25: Dara Milovanovic, Loizos Olympios and Marilena Zackheos.

Interdisciplinary designer and creative coder of this year’s festival image: Anastasia Melandinou

Organized by aRttitude

Institutional Sponsor - Department of Contemporary Culture, Deputy Ministry of Culture

*the festival is funded by the programme Culture II and by Kypria 2025, the funding programme for Arts Festivals

Media Sponsor: Limassol Today

Supporters and Collaborators: Lemesos 2030 / Limassol Book Fair / Vivliotropio / K. P. Kyriakou Bookshops / The Institute of Experimental Arts / Nefeli Publications / Keno Publications / Sound and Beyond Audiovisual Services 

More information: www.sardamfestival.com

The whole team behind SARDAM 2025: https://sardamfestival.com/about-us/