Day 1: Wednesday June 10
Evening Session @ Mellow Yellow
The Academy takes off with a half-day dedicated to performances and music by trans artists.
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Performance “Ekdysis” by Niya B.
Embodying the figure of the seer Tiresia, Niya B performs an eco-transfeminist ritual tracing the intersections of female and ecological subjugation throughout patriarchal his-tory. Niya activates water and air in a continuous act of washing off internalised misogyny, whose marks are then exposed under the light.
8:00 – 8:30 pm
Performance “Caring Ritual” by Anthromorph
The audience is invited to wash and oil anthromorph using sea water and olive oil, 10 days after their sexual reassignment surgery revision surgery, in a ritual of community care affirmation. Complete submission of the performer will lead to a showcase of community care and expose the carrying networks we build with our queer siblings.
8:30 – 9:00pm
Live by Qutie
Qutie (with Q and T) is the solo electro-punk project of the trans femme synth player and vocalist of Witches on Beaches, who will also provide soundscapes during the performances.
9:00 pm – midnight
DJ set by Maayunique
Day 2: Thursday June 11
Morning Session @ Municipal event space (behind adonis restaurant)
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Susan Stryker, “Changing Gender”
A talk and discussion with the pioneer of trans* studies Susan Stryker, renowned for her thoughtful research and punk attitude, on her forthcoming book Changing Gender which, through lived history, invites us to think what gender is and does in the age of anti-gender panics and culture wars.
Evening Session @ Sappho’s Palace
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Arnamos, “On Transitions and Well-Being”
A lecture-workshop with the traditional herbalist Sevastiani (aka Arnamos) which provides recipes for people with vulva going through transitions, from transmasc persons to femininities in menopause. Arnamos will talk about bodily changes and how we change alongside our body, about physical challenges and distress, and about herbs and food commonly used to provide physical support, strength, and recovery.
9:00 pm – midnight
Film screening: OUTlasting – Living archives of older queers (2026) followed by Q+A with Pako Chalkidis
Outlasting is a documentary film that celebrates the life stories of older LGBTQI+ people in Southern Europe, an archive of lived experiences of diversity over time in Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta and Slovenia
Day 3: Friday June 12
Morning Session @ Municipal event space
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Lesvos LGBTQI+ Refugee Solidarity, “Stories Against Borders”
Lesvos is not only the birthplace of Sappho and a lesbian haven, but also a border island and a key crossing from Turkey to the EU for thousands of refugees. They often find themselves restricted in camps and unable to leave the island until the EU authorities decide whether they are deemed “worthy” of asylum, with LGBTQI+ refugees being doubly vulnerable and their agency denied. The local LGBTQI+ solidarity group will coordinate an empowering discussion, where refugees will claim back their stories.
Evening Session @ Sappho’s Palace
7:00 – 9:30 pm
Jenny Marketou, Workshop “Multispecies Habitats as Feminist Architectures of Care”
New York based interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator Jenny Marketou presents a lecture-workshop drawing from feminist, queer, and trans practices of care and refusal. Moving across urban gardens, queer ecologies, animal infrastructures, and microbial intimacies, this workshop invites participants to collectively reflect on and sketch forms of shelter, coexistence, and care beyond normative ideas of architecture and belonging.
9:30 pm – midnight
Film screening: Lesvia (2024) followed by by Q+A with director Tzeli Hadjidimitriou
The documentary captures four decades of historical evolution of Eressos, Lesvos, where lesbian women from around the world have been gathering since the late ’70s. When they find paradise in this small village and carve out their own lesbian community, tensions simmer with the local residents, both groups claiming ownership of lesbian identity.
Day 4: Saturday June 13
Morning Session @ Municipal event space
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Mimi Klausner, “Jews Against Genocide” in collaboration with Magnolia Space and Eressos Against the Genocide
How do we react to an unfolding genocide? Why is this a lesbian* issue? What can we do when parts of the island of Lesbos are currently bought by Israeli corporations? What are the limits of protesting against the genocide and Israeli big investments and becoming an antisemitic? An important discussion with Mimi Klausner, Jewish lesbian* historian and activist, and local lesbians*.
Evening Session @ Sappho’s Palace
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Zine Making Workshop by Andromache Kokkinou
8:00 – 9:00 pm
Demonstration – Free Palestine!
9:00 pm – midnight
Film screenings: “Queer Screening for Palestine” by the JAHA Film festival, followed by a drag show by Mama Ganuush
The queer Palestine screening is curated by Mama Ganuush, a queer Palestinian film maker, performance artist, writer, activist, and producer, and founder of the JAHA Film Festival, an international showcase for trans and gender variant filmmakers from Indigenous communities and the Global South.
Day 5: Sunday June 14
Morning Session @ Municipal event space
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Closing Assembly by the Theros team and photo booth
For our last day, we want to hold space for each one of us to think “What now?”. How can we continue to hold and empower each other? What can Theros do? Then we are going to break the pomegranate together – an ancient ritual which indicates the beginning of change. Facilitated by Theros, this session has 4 parts: One part assembly, one part writing exercise, one part photo booth, and one part unapologetic trans* joy!
Evening Session @ Skala beach
9:00 pm – midnight
Fire Ceremony by Inka
The last thing we do as a group is to gather around a beach fire and share stories. This is what queers and lesbians* did in Eressos for many decades now. Inka will tell us how to keep the fire in our heart burning and how to carry a small piece of Eressos and what we shared together with us for the next year.
Everyday from 2:00 – 7:00 pm, autonomous time and:
– Flash tattoo @ QiTA
– Food and hanging out at AJ Lettuce Cafe
– Coffee & drinks at Ohana bar
