Other
2017-18. Postgraduate in Performance Research Studies. SOZO vim. Kassel (DE).
2016-17. MA in Theatre and Performing Arts. Complutense University of Madrid. Madrid (ES).
2010-14. BA in Visual Arts and Contemporary Dance. Rey Juan Carlos University. Madrid (ES).
2023. An Introduction to Trans Studies - Open Course. Åbo Akademi University. Turku (FI).
2021-22. Developing an Artistic Research Project - Open Course. Stockholm University of the Arts (SE).
2023-ongoing. Lighting Technician Assistant. Zodiak - Centre of New dance. Helsinki (FI).
2023-25. Teacher. Hip Hop and House Dance. Saiffa - Flow Mo Dance School. Helsinki (FI).
2020-23. Teacher. Introduction to Stage Lighting and Web Development. SOZO vim. Kassel (DE).
2020-23. Website Designer and Social Media Coordinator. Tanzwerk Kassel e.V. Kassel (DE).
2020-21. Office Assistant/Coordinator. Tanzwerk Kassel e.V. Kassel (DE).
2024. Goethe Institut. Culture Moves Europe. Individual Mobility Grant.
2023. Kulturförderung Kulturamt Kassel.
2023. Fonds Darstellende Künste. NEUSTART KULTUR. #TakeHeart Rechercheförderung.
2022. NATIONALES PERFORMANCE NETZ - STEPPING OUT.
2022. Kulturförderung Kulturamt Kassel.
2021. Goethe Institut - Nachwuchsförderung.
2021. Brückenstipendien - Hessische Kulturstiftung .
2021. Kulturförderung Kulturamt Kassel.
2021. Hessische Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst.
2020. Kulturförderung Kulturamt Kassel.
2018. AC/E Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture (PICE).
2024. Sonnenstein Loft. Linz (AT).
2022. ON DISPLAY. Lake Studios Berlin (DE).
2021. Studio Practice and Artistic Process. Stockholm University of the Arts (SE).
2018. Atelier Real (REAT). Lisbon (PT).
2017. Oulu Dance Hack. Oulu (FI).
2016. DOCH Summer Residency. Stockholm (SE).
2023. Zipora and Friends. Sibelius Academy. Kalliosali. Helsinki (FI).
2023. STREAMS #4. Aura Antikainen & Niv Melamed. Halle 2. Kassel (DE).
2023. Sie starb und sie lebte. Rosalie Kubny. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2022. DIE FLACHE ERDE. Lauren Rae Mace. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2022. Silken Veil. C/O Mareike Steffens. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2021. Visitors. arenas&antikainen. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel, Germany (DE).
2021. EPILOGUE. Deborah Smith-Wicke. Halle 2. Kassel (DE).
2021. Could you stay for tea?. Aura Antikainen. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2021. Body of land. TANZWERKE '21. Aura Antikainen. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2021. Protrahere. Deborah Smith-Wicke. Halle 2. Kassel (DE).
2020. Rock, water, spell. C/O Mareike Steffens. Kulturhaus Dock 4. Kassel (DE).
2019. Choreografische Werkstatt, Staatstheater. Kassel (DE).
Guest Dancer / Performer
2024. Tanssivirtaa Tampereella. check your body at the door. Hällä-näyttämö. Tampere (FI).
2023. Kulturhaus Dock4. check your body at the door. Kassel (DE).
2021. Stockholm Fringe Festival. anverso. Stockholm (SE).
2021. Gothenburg Fringe Festival. anverso. Gothenburg (SE).
2021. Galeria Kollektiva. late for laundry, again. Kassel, (DE).
2019. Oops Festival. anverso. Brighton (UK).
2018. RandFilm Festival. anverso. Kassel (DE).
2017. Stockholm Fringe Festival. Wortenlust. Stockholm (SE).
2017. OT301 Highs and Lows #22. Wortenlust. Amsterdam (NT).
2019. Theater Spektakel. Terrain. Boris Charmatz. Zurich (CH).
2019. Staatstheater Kassel. Ares (statisten). Johannes Wieland. Kassel (DE).
2016-17. Reflections: Triple Bill. Body Politic Dance Company. Oxford (UK).
2017. Dancers. Coproducción Sonia Gómez + CORPO A TERRA. Ourense (ES).
2022. tonwerkstatt kassel. anverso. Kassel (DE).
2022. Pilotenkueche. anverso. Moving surreal curiosity. Leipzig (DE).
2022. 4bid Gallery. anverso. Amsterdam (NL).
2022. CreativQuartier Fürst Leopold. anverso. Dorsten (DE).
Video Art
2022. Tanzhaus Temporär Nº1. Bergpark. Kassel (DE).
2022. LAKE Studios Berlin. ON DISPLAY Screening. Berlin (DE).
2022. Staatstheater Kassel. Queeres Kurzfilmkino im TiF. Kassel (DE).
2020. United Cowboys. Seasoning Summer. Eindhoven (NT).
2019. NB Film Festival. Puebla, Mexico and Texas (US).
2019. VideoSkin Festival. Ontario (CA).
2019. SzoloDuo Festival. Ork_Kota_Platform. Budapest (HU).
©Iria Arenas 2024
An Education and Outreach Program by the Nauru National Pavilion 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2026
The curatorial team of the Nauru National Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2026 is pleased to invite artist Iria Arenas and their initiative Artivism for Critical Thinking to participate as official partners in independently organizing one of the Pavilion’s international satellite events in the city of Helsinki.
More info coming soon.
For three weeks, Redukt_Studio in Kallio functioned as a small-scale hub for collective exchange, activation, and practices of commoning. Artists, collectives, cultural workers, and activists are invited to come together to exchange on the conditions of artistic labor in 2026 Finland and other relevant topics amid funding cuts, the rise of right-wing policies, institutional repression, restrictive immigration laws, growing unemployment, ongoing genocides, and systemic colonial violence.
Dates: 5–25 January 2026
Location: Redukt_Studio (Kaarlenkatu 12, Kallio, Helsinki)
Programme:
https://artivism4ct.cargo.site/redukt_studio_programme
In an era that is marked by censorship and carefully curated narratives, this zine offers an uncensored space for what too often remains unheard. We believe that stories — raw, imperfect, messy, and real — are among the most powerful weapons against erasure. Whether told through visuals, words, or hybrid forms, these micro-narratives carry the force of lived experience and the courage of those who choose to speak up. We thank all the 21 contributors who have shared their stories to help grow this alternative space and continue the tradition of self-publishing as resistance. We refuse to let institutions dictate which voices matter, which truths are valid, and which stories deserve to be heard.
More info:
https://artivism4ct.cargo.site/zine-2-digital-version
Post Theatre Collective is proud to announce its first Nordic co-production, SILENCE, a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant multilingual performance that explores the politics of language, identity, and representation on stage. The project is supported by Arts Promotion Center Finland, City of Helsinki, Nordic Culture Point, and Svenska Kulturfonden, premiering at Post Theatre Collective’s studio in Helsinki on 10.09.2025.
10.09.2025 at 18:30
Other Performances:
12., 13*., 16., 17., 18., 19., 24., 25., and 26.09.2025
All shows start at 18:30, except the performance on 13.09, which begins at 15:00.
More info:
https://www.theatrecollective.com/projects/breaking-multilingual-silence
What role can activist art play in shaping social and political change today? This workshop explores how the affective potential of art can lead to more effective forms of activism and how its impact might be measured. Together, we’ll reflect on the challenges activists and artists face in today’s political climate and explore strategies for resistance and expression through both theory and practice.
More info:
www.dodo.org
Super Supper explores how a prolonged family dinner can form an artificial framework for a public programme. An admixture of dramaturgically annexed elements, such as talks, screenings and various disruptions interrupt the pseudo-coherence of an extended family; unity needs an intermission as its counterpart, TV gives you the needed break. Humans form a dysfunctional family, which might not build on a mutual agreement but still holds a latent caring for each other. The lack of energy to meet is often replaced by a maximalized moment where everything and everyone are brought and forced into a shared table.
9.5.25 - Museum of Impossible Forms, Helsinki, FI
More info:
@aaltovicca