Special collaborative needs : the process of creating Room of absentees (Pokój nieobecnych) within Cricoteka otwarta

The article analyses the process of workshops and the staging of the performance Room of absentees (Pokój nieobecnych) directed by Joanna Pawlik within the framework of Cricoteka otwarta in collaboration with people (artists and non-artists) with and without disabilities. The article is based on the author’s participant observation. She analyses it in relation to many theories, such as participatory art, devised theatre, disability studies, art by artists with disabilities, art therapy, and crip time. The author shows how the same working conditions affect differently people with different bodies or senses, and how the rules have to be changed in the process to accommodate different needs. The relationship between the institutional framework and the status of the artist is also one of the topics. The article ends with a call for establishing an institution where Joanna Pawlik could work with her team on a regular basis rather than from project to project.