Nonconforming Criticisms Toolkit is now available

Since October 2025, performingborders has been collaborating with writer and researcher Diana Damian Martin on methods of critical writing around performance through practices that responds to political crises, open up speculative and abolitionist approaches to criticism and shape nonconforming editorial process.

Responding to the research in Diana’s newly published book Nonconforming Criticisms: Political Practices and Poetics at the Borderlands of Performance, we developed a series of residencies, workshops, commissions and Digital Labs both in the UK and internationally, which have culminated in our latest publication: Nonconforming Criticisms.

Working as a toolkit that gathers methodology, writing and thinking developed during this project, the publication can now be experienced for free on our website:

Curated and edited by Anahí Saravia Herrera, Xavier de Sousa & Diana Damian Martin. It was published on 31st March 2026 at slow + dirty press, House of Annetta, London, UK. Co-funded by Royal Central School of Speech & Drama – University of London, through UKRI Impact Accelerator funding, and Necessity Fund.