Who are you?
I am Melina Koutsofta (actor, performer and theatre-maker), and I am the curator of Patirdi (from the Turkish patırtı: noise, commotion, uproar).
Patirdi began in Cyprus as a DIY, self-organised initiative involving people from diverse artistic backgrounds. It started as an attempt to come together, experiment and create a cabaret, born out of curiosity, risk-taking and playfulness.
Those early collaborations became an important part of Patirdi's development and evolution.
What do you do?
As the project has progressed, Patirdi has gradually taken shape within a more defined framework and a more structured process, while retaining the collaborative spirit from which it emerged.
It functions as a platform for the creation and development of new works and activities, bringing together artists and collaborators from different disciplines.
Patirdi is not confined to a single artistic form. Instead, it explores the intersections and interactions between ideas and practices. Meetings, workshops and other activities serve as starting points for the creation of different kinds of work, ranging from theatre, dance and opera to installations, concerts, interactive and immersive performances, and other hybrid forms.
While each artist's work may be different, it is connected through a shared dramaturgical approach focused on storytelling through the combination of image, sound and movement.
This approach prioritises the relationship between performers, space and audience, while gravitating toward the poetic and engaging with the absurd. It is an approach that re-examines conventions, embraces dissonance and humour, and leaves room for a form of magical realism.
What do you want?
We want sustainable conditions in which artists can test and develop ideas and eventually transform them into fully realised works.
Unfortunately, larger institutions do not always provide enough space for ideas to remain in transition. Failure is often treated as something to be avoided rather than embraced as part of the creative methodology.
For such spaces to exist, financial support is needed, along with a different understanding of the creative process. There must be greater encouragement and more initiatives that allow young people to create, experiment and develop their own practice without the pressure of knowing from the outset where their work will lead.
Through Patirdi, I hope to contribute to the creation of such an environment: one that does not treat new artistic work as something that must first "mature" before being given space, but instead recognises the value of process, exploration and experimentation.
It is an environment that can help keep artists here, rather than forcing them to search elsewhere for the conditions needed to continue creating.
Instagram: @patirdi.stage
Email: patirdi.stage@gmail.com
