Search Party (UK): Search Party vs. Kuopio

Search Party are throwing down the gauntlet. They challenge you, the people of Kuopio, to a marathon game of Ping-Pong.

Spectators and passers-by are invited to form a team and compete against Search Party. Come and represent Kuopio! Come and support your home team! Sing! Chant! Wear your heart on your sleeve! Take your top off and swing it around your head! Beat Search Party at their own game!

Everyday of the festival Search Party will be ready and waiting to take you on at table tennis. No experience necessary, no equipment needed. Turn up, warm up and play!

Search Party vs Kuopio borrows the notion of ‘team’ from sporting practices to examine connections between the personal and the geographic, exploring ideas of community, place, belonging, team identification and competition. As the tournament develops and fatigue sets in, new unexpected narratives emerge, rousing team talks and comfort breaks are needed and the allegiance of each supporter is tested.

Search Party (UK)

Search Party, a collaboration between artists Pete Phillips and Jodie Hawkes, create site specific, studio-based and durational performances that re-negotiate the relationship between artist and audience. Their current work questions the relationship between sport and performance, borrowing the notion of team to examine connections between individuals, group and place.

www.searchpartyperformance.co.uk