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Site-specific performances constitute a form of artistic creation that is born from the space in which they are presented. The space is not approached as a set or a neutral background, but as a dramaturgical partner, with its own history, memory, and symbolic value. The performance, therefore, is not a work that is simply placed in an environment; but it draws inspiration from it, re-composes its elements, and transforms them into experience. As Pearson (2001) notes, site-specific practice is based on the interaction between the past and the present, rendering the place an active bearer of meaning. In the same spirit, Pearson (2010) describes site-specific performances as works that “are conceived for, housed within and determined by” the particularities of found spaces; they are inseparable from their place, connecting what pre-exists with what the performance brings.
The theory of “embodied presence” (Etchells et al., 2012) highlights that memory is not limited to cognitive or archival processes, but is incarnated through the body and the collective experience. The spectator ceases to be a mere observer; they are integrated into an inner process where the experience acquires a ritual character. Through co-movement, contact, and common participation, the performance is transformed into an “archaeology of experience” which often retrieves stories excluded from the official narration. A critical methodological framework is co-creation with local communities and the treatment of museums/archaeological sites as “multi-layered cultural ecosystems,” where material testimonies and intangible values intersect in living biographies of places.
In the same spirit, Lefebvre (1991) underlines that every radical endeavor owes to place at its center the re-examination of the relation of body and space. Site-specific performances implement this position: space does not simply reflect an image of the reality of the past, but encourages the spectator to experience it in the now, projecting questions about which memory is preserved and which is silenced. From her side, Gadolou (2024) emphasizes that monuments and objects of cultural heritage reflect the social needs and the values of the communities that created them. The site-specific performance highlights this dimension, transforming the place into a socially constructed field, open to reflection and participation. At the institutional level, the UNESCO framework (2019) and the Agenda 2030 (SDGs 4, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17) encourage precisely such synergies of culture, creativity, and community participation, in which spectators become co-authors of the living narration.
The notion of space as “dramaturgical partner” reveals the radical difference of site-specific practice from conventional theatrical forms. Here, the monument, the archaeological site, or the museum do not simply “host” the performance, they do not merely serve as set; they become active interlocutors of it. The tangible and intangible memories of the place are translated into movement, sounds, and images that re-compose the experience. The spectator, entering this field, finds themselves confronted with an ambiguity: they observe and at the same time participate, they stand inside the space but also inside the history that it carries. Their stable position is disrupted; the distinction between the real and the scenic becomes fluid, inviting them to reflect on their own role. Thus, the museum/archaeological site functions as a “biographized” space: the multi-sensory dramaturgy activates memory, perception, and imagination, transforming the institutional environment into a stage of collective interpretation. Site-specific practices can also function as tools of “branding” for heritage spaces and regional museums, connecting local narrations with their identity, transforming the place into a biographized ecosystem of culture (Theme: Telling Local Stories – C-22/ICR).
A characteristic example of site-specific performance is As Above So Below by Apostolia Papadamaki, which was presented in the summer of 2022 at the Kabeirion of Lemnos. The work was integrated in the program “All of Greece One Culture” of the Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lesbos and the Greek National Tourism Organization. The dramaturgical curation of Panos Giokas connected the myth of the Kabeiroi with the memory of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, with the element of fire dominating as a force of destruction and regeneration.
The performance did not simply utilize the Kabeirion as set, but highlighted it as a living place of memory. Fire, an ambiguous and multi-layered symbol, functioned as a bridge between an ancient myth and a collective trauma of modern Hellenism. MENTOR undertook the organization and execution of production and communication, highlighting the importance of strategic collaboration for the realization of complex works that demand the harmonious conjunction of art, space, and community. At the same time, the action reinforced the regional identity (place branding) of Lemnos, showing how narration can upgrade the cultural profile of a place.
Site-specific practice is not limited to the field of artistic research. It constitutes a tool that connects cultural heritage with the needs of society and the prospects of sustainable development. The presentation of theatre, dance, or music in archaeological sites offers new interpretations of the past, enriches the experience of the visitor, and gives incentives for the development of cultural tourism. In regions with low or seasonal visitation, site-specific performances can function as a lever of cultural and social revitalization, strengthening social cohesion and highlighting local identity. The international discussion recognizes the limits of mass touristic development and proposes a turn toward special/alternative forms (special-interest) that are integrated in local socio-economic realities, reducing the pressures on cultural and natural resources.
At the same time, the international bibliography of tourism underlines the limits of the mass model (social/ecological impacts) and the need for special/alternative forms that utilize endogenous resources (Tsartas; Moropoulou et al., 2021; Vythoulka et al., 2021). The UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme and the Charters of ICOMOS (1976, 1999; Florence Declaration 2017) propose principles of management of impacts and co-responsibility; in this framework, site-specific performances function as “mild interventions” of high added value that direct demand, reduce touristification, and empower local communities.
The shift toward creative cultural products (creative tourism) – with active participation of the visitor in creation – responds to the “serial reproduction” of standardized experiences (Richards & Wilson). Site-specific performances, as compact mechanisms of co-creation, combine tangible and intangible elements of heritage (Ross et al.), and offer interpretative frameworks that activate memory, imagination, and identification. Digital narrative tools can also function complementarily before/after the performance, broadening the access and the education of the audience.
As Above So Below proved this perspective with clarity. It did not only offer an aesthetic experience. It initiated a process of collective memory, where history through the performance became experiential living and the place acquired new meaning. The performance revealed how art can contribute to the cultural management of an archaeological site, not as an external decorative element but as substantial means of participatory dialogue. And the ethical/managerial dimension (e.g. principles of the Venice Charter) reminds that artistic activation must coexist with documentation, conservation, and respect of authenticity.
Site-specific performances open a new way for the understanding and the activation of cultural heritage. Through them, space ceases to be simply a testimony but is transformed into a living archive of experience. The body becomes a bearer of memory, the community is invited to participate, and history is reinterpreted in present time. The future of cultural creation lies precisely in this encounter of theory, art, and social participation. Site-specific performances do not reproduce the past; on the contrary they encourage the living, they question it and transform it into an experience that belongs to all.
As a strategy of activation of cultural heritage, site-specific practices align also with the vision of ICOM for the museums of the future: institutions-nodes of dialogue, identity, and social innovation, fully compatible with the SDG priorities.
In this way, they function not only as artistic events but also as catalysts of cultural and social transformation. They incorporate heritage into contemporary experience, highlight narrations that often remain at the margin, and cultivate bonds between communities and their places. MENTOR, with its experience and its methodology, seeks to continue to develop works that bridge the past with the present, strengthening collective memory and proposing new ways of sustainable and participatory cultural management.