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.

 

Feydeau’s farces, characterized by ingenious staging devices, inspired satire and a frenzy of anxiety combined with outrageous coincidence, lead with mathematical precision to an explosion that is constantly forestalled. Georges Feydeau, an heir to Moliere who rejuvenated French vaudeville theatre, was an acute observer of the manners and mores of his time and a sardonic commentator on society’s ills. The lady from Maxim’s, written in 1899, was such a success that it allowed Feydeau to take some time off from the theatre and devote himself to his other passion, painting.

A strait-laced doctor, Petypon, wakes up at home after being dragged out to paint the town red by his young friend Montgicourt. He remembers nothing of the night before but discovers a young dancer from Maxim’s in his bed. In an instant, his life is turned upside down. However, his new acquaintance refuses to leave his house, even when his extremely religious wife shows up. What ensues is absolute panic…

FokiaNou Art Space is pleased to present a two-person show of new work from Catherine Suen and Giorgos Spyropoulos. The two artists are good friends who discovered that they both operate on the same level of fantasy, are engaged with similar themes, and use similar palettes.

Not at ease with the real world, Catherine Suen finds refuge in a fantasy world where she can let her imagination run free. Using whatever recycled materials (paper, cardboard, fabrics, plastic, cans, etc.) she can collect, she cuts, assembles, and paints flamboyantly costumed Creatures, in order to create a whole universe more to her liking. These costumes are both inspired by the various cultures she has encountered while traveling and a reflection of her inner world which aspires to a better real world. Born in France, Suen studied Chinese at the Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilization in Paris, then traveled to many countries before settling in Aegina 20 years ago, where she lives and works as an independent visual artist. She has shown her work regularly in Athens and Aegina, and also works as a costume and set designer for various theater companies.

Giorgos Spyropoulos is primarily a musician who has turned to making visual images as another means of artistic self-expression. As co-founder of the psychedelic 60s band Nirvana UK, he lived in England for 30 years, working in the recording industry. He returned to Greece on a permanent basis in the late 1990s and began working with digital images. He continues to make music while also creating collaged “pictures within pictures”, finding another way to say something that he cannot express with words or music.

The use of masks and social distancing are required in all areas of the space, including the roof terrace, halls, and elevator.

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.

Dates & Hours

The show opens Thursday, 22 October, 16.00-21.00
Tuesday to Saturday 17.00 - 20.00.

Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou return to the Rex Theatre with a new musical commissioned by the NTG. With a score by Nikos Kypourgos and lyrics by Aphrodite Manou, Paper Moon is about all that is beyond words and comprehension; about a secret land where opposites embrace and pain and pleasure complement and complete one another; where suffering and happiness become one in the utopia of love: that inaccessible cloud cuckoo land that only poets can visit without paying a price.

It is the 1960s on Astydamantos Street in the Athenian neighborhood of Pangrati. In a neoclassical house - one of the thousands that will soon be torn down and replaced by apartment blocks - our young protagonist narrates a year of his life. He talks about himself, his family, his friends, and Greece itself, in a coming-of-age story set against the dramatic events of the time.

Note: With supertitles in English on Wednesdays & Fridays (from 28/10 - 27/11)
Note 2: Wearing a mask is obligatory

 

YES to Shipping Forum 2020 will be part of Posidonia Web Forums Week through YES FORUM Facebook page on Thursday 29th October 2020, from 18.00 to 21.00 hrs, in the Greek language. Young people studying, willing to pursue a career or already working in shipping / traveling onboard, distinguished executives from the whole spectrum of the maritime cluster, prestigious academics, representatives of Μinistries, Μerchant Μarine Academies and Shipping Organisations will be there to exchange their views and opinions about the future the challenges of the Greek Shipping Industry.

Since the 1st YES to Shipping Forum 2016 more than 1,000 questions have been answered by shipping stakeholders participating in YES FORUM physical and virtual events. This year, they will not be the only ones answering the concerns of the young generation. The next generation of the Greek Shipping Industry will receive questions from the distinguished speakers that will be invited! Stay tuned and watch the dialogue…. the other way around!

- Can history be an active participant in entrepreneurship?
- Which digital applications can highlight the cultural heritage of a place?
- How does history affect international politics and relations between states and communities?
- Does the digital world contribute to the shaping of public history?
- What is environmental history and how it can propel sustainable growth?

Applied public history comes together with the fields of business, culture, international relations, technology and environment in a new online workshop open to all, regardless of academic studies or career. History+ Lab highlights the modern face of History, its primary sources and its potential uses through hourly webinars by renowned professionals, online discourse platforms with distinguished speakers and 2-hour workshops. It consists of five-course units that are divided in two cycles. History+ Lab is organized by the Hellenic American Union and held under the scientific supervision of the Hellenic American College/Hellenic American University and the University of Peloponnese Center for Greek and International History (KEDIS). It is coordinated by Maria Sampatakaki and scientifically supervised by Konstantina Botsiou.

The program is addressed to anyone with a general interest in history, and particularly to students and graduates in the humanities, social sciences, and economics. It would also be of interest to professionals in tourism, cultural programming, and marketing and to teachers who wish to expand their knowledge and use of historical science in their fields.

Balthasar Neumann Choir & Ensemble, Bach Mass in B Minor
When: December 20th at 12:00

Johann Sebastian Bach’s B minor Mass revolves around subjects that penetrate to the innermost depths of the soul: solitude and despair, joy and rapture. Music that gets under one’s skin. With Bach’s last great vocal work, which goes well beyond the scope of church liturgy, Thomas Hengelbrock and his Balthasar Neumann ensembles embark on a journey to the existential questions of life.

Traveling around the World at Christmas
When: December 26th at 18.00

Escort the entire family on a jolly musical jaunt, listening to Christmas melodies from all over the world and introducing the musical traditions and rhythms of these different lands.

New Year’s Opera Gala
When: December 30th at 20.30

Music-lovers’ enthusiastic response to the opera galas we have staged in recent years to celebrate the upcoming New Year has made them an integral part of Athens’ festive season. Under the baton of the talented Kornilios Michailidis, distinguished opera singers Christina Poulitsi, Tasis Hristogiannopoulos and Hristoforos Staboglis demonstrate their exceptional vocal talents in popular arias and duets from the magic world of Italian opera


Photo credit: Alexandra Trianti.

Faithful, despite the unprecedented circumstances, to its annual, long-standing date with the public, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center welcomes the Christmas season with a variety of shows that will be transmitted online through live streaming! 

Christmas Tales at the Lighthouse: Sherlock Holmes and the thief of Christmas
When: December 23rd - January 5th

Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous hero invites us to follow him into the magical world of Christmas-time London. Amidst the joyful buzz of the city, where children sing carols and everyone exchanges gifts, Sherlock Holmes has only one thing on his mind: the case of the thief of Christmas. He looks for the blue sapphire, chases after the mysterious turkey and, under every snow-capped roof, finds clues that will bring him even closer… not just to the answer to the mystery, but to the meaning of Christmas.

New Year's Eve at SNFCC
When: December 30th at 22:30 

The evening's festivities will begin at 22:30 with a special artistic program in association with the Greek National Opera. Let's all welcome 2021 together, even if we're apart, with wonderful images and sounds that will reach into every home, in every corner of Greece. 

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is presenting a series of events, titled Faces of the Hero, which was created and is implemented through an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

The heroic example set by the fighters of the Greek Revolution provides the impetus for an examination of the concepts of “hero” and “heroism” throughout time, through the prism of the performing and visual arts, dance, readings, lectures, exhibitions, and educational programs for adults and children. The connecting link permeating all the programs is the question, “How has the heroic ideal been reflected through art?”

The selection of the multifaceted thematic programming is a reflection of the mission that drives the SNFCC overall: to be an open public space that offers cultural experiences, entertainment, and education for all. The anniversary programming is centered around activating the SNFCC’s premises and developing synergies with its affiliate organizations, the National Library of Greece (NLG) and the Greek National Opera (GNO), while also focusing on investing in the organization’s artistic outreach.

 

The dawn of 2021, after a particularly challenging 2020, finds the world of sports hit hard by the pandemic and all the implications covid-19 brought in the industry of sports. The beginning of a new year, filled with hope and promise, is the ideal time for the organization of a unique Sports Industry Conference, the first of its kind in Greece, featuring some of the most prominent industry professionals from around the globe, which aims to educate and address significant topics of sports.

“Front Runners in Sports Management 3.0”, the online sports conference organized by the award-winning Active Media Group along with the Sports Management Society of Deree – The American College of Greece, on Thursday, January 21 and Saturday, January 23, 2021, comes to shed light on the uncertain future of sports management in Greece. Sports continue to have a growing impact on the global economy through investments, public infrastructure, resource mobilization and creation of new professions and job positions, despite the devastating implications Covid-19 brought to world economies.

Throughout both days of the conference, participants will have the opportunity to follow the speeches of remarkable representatives of sports and develop their professional network in the field of sports management.

Among the keynote speakers are representatives from the NBA, the top basketball league in the world. Specifically, Nic Barlage, President of Business Operations of the Cleveland Cavaliers the youngest team president in the NBA and a representative from the Milwaukee Bucks’ marketing department. Additionally, “Front Runners in Sports Management 3.0” will feature the following keynote speakers: Bobby Goldwater, one of the most respected and innovative executives in the sports, entertainment and venue management industry from Georgetown University, Zack Klima Founder & CEO of Wait Time, an innovative technology company having Jeffrey Jordan, the son of Michael Jordan as a co-founder, Nigel Geach, Senior Vice President of Global Motorsport of Nielsen Sports, having worked in sports sponsorships for more than three decades, mainly with clients in the motorsport behemoth Formula 1, the Greek CEO of the Basketball Champions League, Patrick Comninos who managed to develop Basketball Champions League into one of the fastest growing sport properties in Europe and Rick Pitino, Basketball Hall of Fame as coach & basketball coach of the Greek National Team.

The “Front Runners in Sports Management 3.0” webinar will attract the interest of the following sectors: AI, Education, Events, Basketball, Football, Motorsports, Social Media, Sport for Development, Sports Tourism, Sports Marketing & Management. More information on the schedule and the webinar’s speakers will be announced in the upcoming weeks. The conference is produced by the experienced team of Active Media Group, the best Sports Marketing company in Greece within the last years and the leading private educational institution in the country, Deree – The American College of Greece.