Public Moves: Collective Stimming for Diverse Bodyminds
with Monika Popiel & Paweł Świerczek

Sun 13.07., 18.45h l MQ Forecourt l Free entry

“Stimming” – short from self-stimulatory behavior – is repetitive movement or sounding performed mostly by neurodivergent people – like Paweł themselves – to regulate sensory input and balance emotions. But all bodyminds can stim and we were all stimming as kids. Join this session to (re)discover the joy of stimming and the power of doing it collectively. Following the practice of neuroqueering, we will unmask hidden expressions of our bodyminds, play with the environment and some stimming objects. We will explore communicating with each other through stimming and creative potential of it.

Public Moves dance classes take place outdoors every day – international and local instructors share their knowledge of everything from jazz and Bollywood dance to waacking in free outdoor classes. No previous experience is necessary, and all ages and levels are welcome!

Registration begins one day before the course starts at 11:00 a.m. via the calendar or by telephone on +43.1.523 55 58-19. If a class is ‘fully booked’, there is still the possibility of securing a remaining place on site. It's worth dropping by!

Biography Monika Popiel

Monika Popiel is a theatre director, somatic and multisensory artist, as well as an electronic designer and programmer. Her practice weaves together documentary fieldwork, community-based art, performative arts (with an emphasis on somatic approaches and choreography), textile art, mixed new media, and creative coding.

Central to her creative process is the sense of touch—understood not merely as physical contact, but as a broader concept: touch as a journey towards the other (to u(ch)), as a mode of engaging with the world, connecting with others, and navigating our surroundings. Her approach is informed by Erin Manning’s Politics of Touch.

The skin is examined as both boundary and interface, a dynamic and limitless site of negotiation. Space is conceived as a living, collective body—an ecosystem or holobiont—emerging through chance encounters. Identity, too, is understood as a fluid process shaped by serendipitous meetings, collisions, and exchanges.

Biography Paweł Świerczek

Paweł Świerczek (any pronouns) is a dramaturg, performer, producer, and (neuro)queer activist. They graduated in cultural studies from the University of Silesia in Katowice and completed the Laboratory of New Theatrical Practices at SWPS University in Warsaw. Their two principal artistic tools are the written word and somatic movement, which they use—alongside other methods—to narrate, perform, amplify, and platform queer stories and voices.

Paweł’s primary area of interest lies in the intersections of local and queer identities. Since 2018, they have led the interdisciplinary project and collective Śląsk Przegięty (Queer Silesia), which is dedicated to narrating and performing queer archives from Upper Silesia, while also fostering and supporting the queer community in Katowice.

In recent years, Paweł has been developing a personal artistic practice centred on vulnerability as a tool for peace—through performances, workshops, and the facilitation of open labs. This work has evolved into ongoing research into the concept of social immune systems.

Since 2023, Paweł has been practising and teaching the method of Authentic Relating, further shifting their artistic focus towards community-building and the creation of relational spaces through the performing arts.

Photo: © Galya Feierman