It was 1983 when the world got to know Wim Mertens thanks to his contemporary classic, Struggle for Pleasure. The Belgian composer has since explored the minimal genre with over 65 album releases, having boldly ventured into experimental and avant-garde territory. His ideas on various forms of composing have been executed on ensembles, voice compositions, piano, and keyboard arrangements, often accompanied by his remarkable high-pitched tenor voice. Mertens is coming to Athens as part of his Inescapable Tour in celebration of a 40-year-long career. In this single show, Mertens will also perform his latest LP, The Gaze of the West.

Note: The audience will be limited to a specific number of seated spots. The use of a face mask is obligatory while entering and remaining in Technopolis and is strongly advised during the concert.

He’s won the British Comedy Award for “Best Live Stand-Up Tour”, been nominated for the Perrier Award and in 2016 became the first UK comedian to record a special for US streaming on Netflix.

His television credits include 20 series as host of panel show “8 Out Of 10 Cats”, 16 series of spin-off “8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown” and 10 years presenting Channel 4’s “Big Fat Quiz Of The Year”. He has also hosted three series of “Roast Battle” on Comedy Central UK.

A household name in the UK, Jimmy is also a rising star in the US, where his profile continues to grow. Jimmy has performed two Comedy Central Specials, has performed stand-up on “The Tonight Show” five times (with both Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno), and has also appeared on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” five times. He recently recorded his own Netflix panel show, entitled “The Fix”.

Rising art star Joy Labinjo has made a name for herself by painting it black. This young London-based artist produces many of her large-scale figurative works from photographs of her Nigerian family and the everyday people around her.

In an art form historically overrun by white males, Labinjo is among a new wave of women of color figurative artists helping to redress the imbalance. It figures that this in-demand artist would be snapped up by The Breeder for her first solo exhibition in Athens.

Labinjo created this new body of work while under lockdown in the UK in the crucible of mass protests around Black Lives Matter. Fresh and arresting, her creations echo her dual identity: growing up Black, British, Nigerian in the 90s and early Noughties. You’ll see these intimate paintings, alongside works Labinjo made on paper in Athens while participating in The Breeder’s Open Studio program - where visitors were able to meet the artist and observe her in action.

Dates & Hours

Tuesday – Friday 12.00-20.00; Saturday 12.00-18.00 

On Thursday 24th of September 2020, at 19:00 YES FORUM celebrates this year’s World Maritime Day and invites H.E. the Ambassador and General Consul of Panama in Greece Mrs. Julie Lymberopulos, and the General Director of Merchant Marine of Panama Maritime Authority Eng. Rafael N. Cigarruista G. in an open e-dialogue with the young generation in shipping.

Participation is free of charge. Registrations will be open until September 22 at 22:00. The dialogue will be held online via Zoom. The number of participants is limited, so early registration is important. After the registration's closing date you will receive a confirmation email with further instructions for your smooth participation.

Discussion Moderator: Mrs. Danae Bezantakou, Concept Founder YES FORUM & CEO of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS LTD.

 

“indeX 2”, an installation and performance with Panajotis Daramaras and Sania Stribakou  

FokiaNou Art Space is pleased to present “indeX 2”, Panajotis Daramaras’ second part of an ongoing trilogy investigating the symbolic and scientific dimensions of matter. In indeX 2, Daramaras creates an independent universe of sculptural compositions and installations featuring wood and books, as well as a performance by Sania Stribakou. To paraphrase independent curator Ira Papadopoulou, “In indeX 2, not only does Daramaras narrate his own relationship to the unspeakable language of objects, but he also attempts to convey the inner sound of the body of matter itself, and to peel apart its surfaces and portray its primal history –a history existing prior to the palimpsest of records that have transformed matter forever.” The performances will take place on the roof of Fokianou art space. Motion design: Sania Stribakou, Conception: Panajotis Daramaras. Masks and social distancing are required in all areas of the space, including the roof, halls, and elevator.

Panagiotis Daramaras is a visual artist who lives and works in Athens. He studied at the Stavrakos Film School, attended Modern Dance and acting lessons, and later graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Athens. He has designed sets for films and theater and has participated in many group art exhibitions. In 2013 he choreographed and interpreted the work "Traces" in collaboration with Aggeliki Papadatou. In 2018 he presented the first indeX at FokiaNou Art Space. In 2019 he curated the exhibition RememberingRemembered with Lia Petrou and participated in Supermarket, Stockholm Independent Art Fair. Most recently he participated in Ammophila Vol.1 Birth, in Elafonisos, 2020.

FokiaNou Art Space is an artist-run project space in the intimacy of a small apartment in an old building in the center of Athens. The space encourages collaborative creative efforts between Greek and foreign artists, thereby promoting and supporting the local art community. The space hosts exhibitions, workshops, and projects under the direction of two artists, Mary Cox and Panagiotis Voulgaris.

Opening: 26 & 27 September, 18.00
Duration: 26 Sept - 17 October 2020. Opening hours: Thursday to Saturday 17.00 - 20.00. 
Performances:  26/9, 27/9, 3/10, 10/10 at 19.00

 

Renowned Italian actress and beauty icon Monica Bellucci is coming to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on September 28 - 30, 2020.  Having one of the most talented actresses in the world perform under the Acropolis is big news enough, even without mentioning the role she will be performing. Belucci will be incarnating opera singer Maria Callas and she will be doing so while struggling with her own fear of the stage.

"Going on stage is almost a kind of violence that I put myself through", says Belucci adding that as opposed to films, where scenes are shot one by one, in theatre one's concentration must last for the duration of the show.

Bellucci recently brought Maria Callas to life at the Studio Marigny in Paris, reading excerpts of Tom Volf’s “Lettres et Mémoire”, a monologue based on unpublished letters of the great soprano. These three unique performances in Athens will bring to light hidden and unknown aspects of the iconic singer, taking audiences on a journey into the life and career of the great diva. From her childhood in New York to the years of the war in Athens and from the first steps of her career to her marriage and her stormy love affair with Aristotle Onassis. 

Theorimata, the exhibition/institution by AICA Hellas, the Greek Section of the International Association of Art Critics, AICA International, is presented for the second time at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST), from October 1 until November 1, 2020, in the EMST Temporary Exhibitions Space.

The first exhibition was presented in 2018 with the aim to become a biennial event, providing the chance for curators, critics, art history scholars, and also artists to converse, collaborate and intervene in the artistic field; the theme of “Theorimata” will be differentiated each time, focusing on the characteristics and major issues of each period.

For the exhibition Theorimata 2: On History, 25 curators, scholars and art critics, members of the Greek Section of AICA, propose 56 artists who, with History as their axis, promote the function of art as an alternative educational tool and a means of dynamically intervening in the social fabric.

The idea that the knowledge of the past is an aid to the interpretation of the present and a guide to the future, asserted by Thucydides in his first book on the History of the Peloponnesian War, runs through the exhibition in which installations, constructions, sculptures, photographs, paintings, artists’ books, drawings, videos, and happenings are presented.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual catalog (in Greek and English) with introductory texts by Bia Papadopoulou and Emmanuel Mavrommatis, texts by the curators, photographs of the works, and biographies of both the curators and artists.

The collective volume Kritiki+Techni (Criticism+Art) Vol. 6: Contemporary Art and the Archive: Archival Collections, Artistic Practices, Reflections (edited by Charis Kanellopoulou) will also be published.

Flux Laboratory Athens supports Persa Stamatopoulou’s Contemporary Dance Company and the new dance production titled "Traces". 

The project is negotiating the mapping of the human imprint in space and time through a sound installation, drawing material from events of world history.

A collage of sound stimuli triggers the creation of bridges between the past and the present assembling a narrative of a world that seems to be progressing through its repetition.

Audio documents refer to moments that have defined our adulthood or have been recorded in us as narratives, redefining our relationship with memory.

Traces that are lost in the oblivion of History come back as short, standalone stories and give feedback to the acoustic installation along with kinetic action, thus complementing each other.

Through minimalistic and abstract aesthetics, two bodies scattered in space are in a continuous flow, searching and developing a dialogue with each other that allows them to interact and move along together, accompany their listening. The people present and absent, the audience and the protagonists, are setting the stage of their own story within History focusing on the echo that is left behind.

In the particular condition being build, the audience is called upon to activate first the sense of hearing, in an era when image as a medium occupies our perception of the world, the audience can bring back memories and compose their own personal images and thoughts.

Performances: 09 & 10.10.2020 at 19.00 and 20.30

Duration: 40 minutes

The Greek National Opera presents Madama Butterfly throughout October and November in Athens at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center’s main stage.

An opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, Madama Butterfly is set in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. A young geisha girl falls in love with an American Lieutenant which ultimately leads to her demise.

Puccini’s Japanese tragedy sheds light on the stark differences between the two cultures of Japan and America through the tale of fatal love.

Directed by Hugo de Ana with Puccini’s melodic composition led by conductor Lukas Karytinos and world-class soprano’s Ermonelo Jaho, Tselia Kostea, and Kristine Opolais sharing the title role.

Madama Butterly will be performed in Italian with Greek and English subtitles.

Dates & Hours

10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 30 October 2020

01, 08, 15 November 2020

Performances start at 20:00 (Sunday’s at 18:30pm)

Art Athina launches its digital programming through the platform Αrt Athina Virtual on 15th October 2020 and promises a uniquely different experience to the art-loving audience. Art Athina Virtual is under the patronage of H.E. The President of the Hellenic Republic Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

During the digital premiere of the International Art Fair of Athens which is one of Europe’s oldest art fairs, the visitors will be able to navigate the art fair through their computers, tablets, or smartphones and meet the artists and their artworks without time limitations, since Art Athina Virtual will be accessible 24 hours every day -with different day and night mode- 7 days per week, until the end of October.

Art Athina Virtual features the parallel programming that has always been surrounding Art Athina and has established its own audience, with sections such as Talks, Performances, Video, and independent art spaces under the title Projects.

The transfer of the largest annual art institution in Greece to a digital environment due to the unprecedented conditions that emerged with the advent of the coronavirus epidemic and forced the cancellation of Art Athina 2020 at Zappeion Megaron as originally planned, will not limit the public’s contact with visual creation exclusively in the digital world.

Art Athina Virtual organizes Art Athina Week that will last from 13 to 20 October, during which the Athenian galleries will be able to exhibit in their natural spaces the works that will be presented in the viewing rooms.

As every year, the organization of the event belongs to the Hellenic Art Galleries Association and to the Art Athina team, with Artistic Director Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos. The implementation of the platform is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Artistic Programming Art Athina

Virtual Viewing Rooms

The art galleries will present their digital booths through an easy-to-use platform, which will allow them to communicate the works of their artists with the public, locally and internationally. The platform will also support video art, audio installations, and digital artworks.

Projects

Independent art spaces from Greece and the United States are being invited to present their online projects exclusively for Art Athina Virtual. The participating spaces are Aetopoulos, Andreas Melas, Arch, Intermission, Radio Athènes, Serapis, and Vernon Gardens.

Talks

The Talks program of Art Athina Virtual has its own platform connected to the main website, offering the possibility of reproduction in all the communication channels of the exhibition. The program, curated by art critic and curator Marina Fokidis, will be based on subjects focusing on artists, collectors, galleries, and institutions. The discussions will include reflections on contemporary art in the context of the new reality. The Talks section will also present the Educational Program implemented for the third year by the Hellenic Association of Art Galleries and the Ioannou F. Costopoulos Foundation in the context of Art Athina. The program, designed by the artistic director of Art Athina, Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos, is addressed to students of the School of Fine Arts and aims to inform, inspire and prepare them for their introduction to the art world.

Performance

The Performance program of Art Athina is curated by Marina Fokidis under the title “Signs of proximity” is "Signs of proximity”. The program aspires to present new productions along with historical performances. A total of 24 artists from Greece and abroad - including Lida Papakonstantinou, Thalia Chioti, Panos Charalambous, Nikos Tranos, Nikos Navridis, Mary Zygouri, Angelos Skourtis, George Sapountzis, Georgia Sagri, Liliane Lijn, Jannis Varelas, Vassilis Karoul covers a time range of 21 years.

Video

In the digital realm, the Video program returns to its roots. It includes videos of artists such as Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Menelaos Karamaghiolis, Loukia Alavanou, Leto Kattou, and George Drivas - selected in collaboration with organizations and collections such as Daata Editions, DESTE Foundation, Daskalopoulos Collection, POLYECO Contemporary Art Initiative, along with independent artists and project spaces, such as Enterprise projects. The Video program is curated by Art Athina Artistic Director, Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos.

Visual identity of Art Athina Virtual

The visual identity of Art Athina Virtual refers to the pandemic and its consequences in our daily lives. Each letter of the new typeface is made out of shapes that do not stick together, referring to the social distance that is required for the safety of all of us due to the pandemic. Just as we are called to be together without physical contact, the elements that form each letter try to form a cohesive image so that the text is legible. Among the words, the visitors can see red doodles that humorously capture situations we all experienced every day during the lockdown and try to add a note of optimism to the new reality.

Art Athina’s visual identity is signed for another year by G Design Studio.