Esa Kirkkopelto (born 1965) is philosopher, artist-researcher, and performing artist. Currently, he is a professor of artistic research at the Malmö Theatre Academy, University of Lund. Previously, he worked at the Uniarts Helsinki, first as a professor of artistic research (2007–2017), then as the head of the postdoctoral Centre for Artistic Research (2017–2018). He also holds the title of docent in aesthetics at the University of Helsinki. He was the leader of a collective research project on psychophysical actor training, Actor’s Art in Modern Times (2008–2011), and the initiator of the International Platform for Performer Training (since 2014), core convener of the Performance Philosophy Association, and a founding member of the live art group Other Spaces (2004–). He is the author of Le théâtre de l´expérience. Contributions à la théorie de la scène (PUF 2008) and Logomimesis. Tutkielma esiintyvästä ruumiista (Tutkijaliitto 2020). His research focuses on the deconstruction of the performing body in both theory and practice.