The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is staging a major retrospective exhibition dedicated to Jannis Psychopedis, featuring large groups of works that reference, were inspired by, and engage with poets and their poetics.

Jannis Psychopedis’ relationship with poetry is profound, long-lasting, systematic, continuous and tested down the years; it is a core element of his oeuvre.

The exhibition includes works of mixed techniques and media, as well as a large series of drawings, watercolours and oil paintings portraying poets.

A visual conversation with Homer and his Odyssey, Parmenides, Herodas, Calvos, Byron, Palamas, Cavafy, Karyotakis, Lorca, Seferis, Elytis, Ritsos, Embirikos, Sachtouris, Dimoula, Fostieris, Vlavianos, Kyparissis, Metaxas and Siotis.

Biographical note

Jannis Psychopedis was born in Athens in 1945. He studied printmaking at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1963-1968) and then painting on a German state scholarship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1970-1976).

He was a member of the “A” group of artists in the 1960s and on the visual arts team of the Epitheorisi Technis [Art Review]; a founder member of the “New Greek Realists” (1971-73); a founder member of the Visual Arts Centre (Athens, 1974-1976) and a member of the “10/9” art group in Munich (1975). Furthermore, he was invited to the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in West Berlin (1977).

He has lived and worked in Berlin (1977-1986) and in Brussels (1986- 1992). In 1994, he was appointed to a professorship at the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he taught until 2012. In 2013, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

Since 1966, he has staged a number of solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad. He has also taken part in important group shows in galleries and museums in Greece and other countries including France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Albania, Japan, Belgium, Algeria, Cyprus, Sweden, Israel, Iran, Turkey, the UK, Canada, Romania, Egypt, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, the US and China.

09/10/19 - 12/01/20 | Daily 09.00-22.00

Free admission

In October, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center presents, for the first time, the Greek version of The Quiet Volume, an “Autoteatro” performance by the British artists Ant Hampton and Tim Etchells.

The term “Autoteatro” describes a series of small-scale performances – specially designed for specific spaces – that come to life with the participation of members of the audience.

A combination of silence and concentration, The Quiet Volume exposes the strange magic at the heart of the reading experience, allowing aspects of it we think of as deeply internal to lean out into the surrounding space, and to leak from one reader's sphere into another's.

Having been performed in 12 countries to date, The Quiet Volume creates a unique experience for library visitors/readers and explores the particular tension common to any library worldwide.

In the Open Reading Area, at the second floor of the National Greek Library, two participants, seated at a table, have headphones on, with a red and a green notebook and a few volumes of books before them. As they hear whispered cues on their headphones, they silently read excerpts from the small stack of books.

The Greek version of The Quiet Volume was especially produced by Ant Hampton to be performed at the SNFCC.

Ant Hampton is a British artist and performance maker based in Germany. His performance works are diverse in content and tone, yet consistently explore the tension between fixed, formal or structural elements and the improvised ones that come about in the moment. For 20 years now, he has been developing new modes of performance, guiding people through unrehearsed performance situations. Other works such as Hello for Dummies, GuruGuru, Cue China, OK OK, This is Not My Voice Speaking and The Extra People, continue to tour widely, in over 60 different language versions.

Tim Etchells is an artist and writer based in the UK, whose work shifts between performances, visual art creations and works of fiction. He is the leader of the world-renowned Sheffield-based performance group Forced Entertainment. Exhibiting and presenting work in significant institutions all over the world, he is currently Professor of Performance & Writing at Lancaster University. Etchells’ work has been shown recently at Tate Modern, Cubitt, Hayward Gallery and Bloomberg SPACE in London, at Turner Contemporary, The Grundy and Compton Verney in the UK, as well as at Witte de With, Rotterdam, and MUHKA (Antwerp).

Blindness by José Saramago, translated into Greek by Athina Psylia (2013), courtesy of Kastaniotis Editions

Ágota Kristóf, The Notebook and The Third Lie, translated into Greek by Chryssa Tsamadou (Exandas Editions, 1986 & 1995), and The Proof, translated by Agni Metaftsi (Exandas Editions, 1990), courtesy of the translators

Kazuo Ishiguro, When We Were Orphans, translated into Greek by Argyro Mantoglou (2019), courtesy of Kastaniotis Editions

English version:

First voice - Ant Hampton
Child’s voice - Seth Etchells
Third voice - Jenny Naden

Binaural recordings: TiTo Toblerone
Produced by Katja Timmerberg
Commissioned and produced by Ciudades Paralelas: Hebbel am Ufer, Schauspielhaus Zurich, Nowy Teatr, Vooruit with support from Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Goethe Institut, ProHelvetia

Greek version:

Translation - Yiannis Voyiatzis
First voice - Giorgos Kritharas
Child’s voice - Panagiotis Lekkas
Third voice - Aliki Alexandraki

Starting on Friday 11/10, and daily from 18.00-21.40 (the sessions start every 20 minutes and last one hour)
The sessions at 18.40 and 20.40 will be conducted in English

Free admission by online preregistration 

For the month of November preregistration starts as follows:

For the sessions held between 01 and 10/11, preregistration starts on Wednesday 30/10 at 12.00
For the sessions held between 11 and 17/11, preregistration starts on Monday 04/11 at 12.00
For the sessions held between 18 and 24/11, preregistration starts on Monday 11/11 at 12.00
For the sessions held between 25 and 30/11, preregistration starts on Monday 18/11 at 12.00

*The presence of two participants is required for the event to take place. 

*Please bring some form of identification on the day of the event, in order to participate.

*The event lasts 60 minutes with no interruption.

*If you wish to cancel your participation kindly do it at least one day before the event, as the experience of the other participant depends on your arrival.

On the occasion of this year’s celebration of Ohi Day, Hellenic American University | Ηellenic American College and the Greek America Foundation, in collaboration with the General State Archives οf Greece, are pleased to present the exhibition “The Hour of Greece”. The exhibition is held under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

A symbol of national resistance, Ohi Day commemorates Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas’ rejection on October 28, 1940 of Mussolini’s ultimatum for surrender. In the face of the Italian invasion that followed and despite being vastly outnumbered, Greece not only defended itself but counterattacked and defeated the enemy forces. The event united the Greek people and evoked respect among the Allies for Greeks everywhere. The story of the small neutral country’s victory over the much larger invading forces made a deep impression on American public opinion.

Drawing largely on rare archival material from the private collection of Gregory Pappas, a member of the Greek Diaspora, including newspapers, cartoons and photographs, all of which on display for the first time in Greece, "The Hour of Greece" seeks to show the impact of the Greek victory in the United States in the early years of World War II. At the same time, the exhibition highlights the important contribution that Americans made to healing post-war hardships in Greece. Material from the Pappas Collection has been enriched with documentary material from the General State Archives of Greece to better illustrate the relations of the peoples of Greece and United States at that time.

Curator: Louisa Karapidaki
Scientific advisor: Yannis N. Glavinas

Few people in our country know that the Hellenic Parliament is one of the oldest parliaments in Europe; and when they find out, this fact does not seem strange to them. That is because, for most of us, the existence of this parliament is intrinsically linked to the political history of this country; its workings reflecting both the country’s glory as well as its darkest moments.
The statistics are impressive and should make us proud: since the First National Assembly was elected in the fall of 1843 – more widely known as the National Assembly of September 3rd –, our Parliament has been in operation almost non-stop for 176 years. Any deviations in the course of the “short” 20th century were of short duration and did not, after all, affect neither the validity nor the legitimacy of the Parliament. Thus, the Hellenic Parliament has become by far the most stable and long-standing representative body in Southeast Europe. What is more, considering the fact that, out of the 67 elections that took place from 1843 to the present day, more than 50 were in no way called in question, modern Greece is ranked as one of the most mature countries in terms of parliamentary procedures.
The Greek parliamentary system immediately incorporated the British “Westminster system”, which, in contrast to the “consensual” parliamentary systems of countries experimenting since the beginning with proportional representation (Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc.), favors the alternation of one-party governments and, obviously, not the formation of coalition governments. In other words, as demonstrated by the conflict between Venizelists and anti-Venizelists in the context of the National Schism and, after the war, by the conflict between pro-Venizelos parties and the conservative party, the Hellenic parliamentary system always has been and remains a majority system.
As a result, elections were a “regularity”, that is, the safest way to resolve political disputes, since, with few exceptions, for the great majority of the Greek people, the prospect of victory was the one and only way to the fulfilment of individual and collective goals.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that, unlike in most Balkan countries – even countries of Southern and Central Europe – in Greece, extreme parties at both ends of the political spectrum never gained such massive support that would ensure their long duration and rise to power.

Devoted to Lynda Benglis’s highly original and prolific output in diverse media, this is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in a country that has played a major role in her life and vision: Greece. Spanning half a century from 1969 onwards, the select survey of thirty-six sculptures – amounting to a concise retrospective – will occupy the intimate spaces of the Stathatos Mansion, displaying a wide spectrum of Benglis’s materials, imagery and ideas. The show also presents three key ancient artefacts generously lent by the Museum of Cycladic Art itself.

In the Realm of the Senses celebrates a maverick artist who began as a female pioneer of Post-Minimalism in the late 1960s and still creates with exuberance in the twenty-first century. Describing Benglis’s first wax reliefs as early as 1968, the New York gallerist and critic Klaus Kertess noted that “skin, pull, sensuousness” ranked among her primary concerns. Such intense corporeal sensations extend to the present – as Benglis’s sculpture constantly shifts between fixity and movement, nature and flesh, with both grace and provocative boldness.

Once again this Christmas, four new light installations by leading artists, are presented for the first time in Greece, turning the SNFCC’s Stavros Niarchos Park into a futuristic Christmas setting.

Take a winter stroll in an electrified, dream-like atmosphere in the Mediterranean Garden, the Great Lawn, the Labyrinth; explore the interplay of light and sound, nature and beauty, science and art, engaging with the interactive installations. Walk through, hide inside, activate them, take a photo, take a selfie! Play and discover new dimensions of sound and light, which will dazzle young and old. The light installations will be in operation daily from 30/11/19 to 06/01/20, from 17.00 until the Stavros Niarchos Park’s closing time. (Until 20/12, Monday to Thursday, the Park will be closing at 10 pm, whereas Friday to Sunday, it will be closing at midnight. From 21/12 to 06/01, the Park will be open daily until midnight).

Large Pendulum Wave
Ivo Schoofs, Netherlands

As part of the imposing Large Pendulum Wave, a series of 15 illuminated pendulums are suspended at a height of 12m. All of them are lifted up and then simultaneously released to fly freely, as visitors enjoy a fascinating dance show that oscillates between harmony and chaos, gravity being its only driving force! A spectacular combination of the poetry of math and the beauty of physics, this is the visual interpretation of a physical phenomenon demonstrating how nature translates a mathematical sequence into choreographic delight.

Through his large-scale audiovisual installations, Ivo Schoofs (b. 1972) offers spectators an experience of the forces of natural movement through science and technology. He describes his work as “a celebration of movement in its most natural occurrence”.

The installation was made possible with support from: Gemeente Eindhoven, Mondriaan Fonds, IBS Precision Engineering, Philips Valmont Structures, OMT Solutions, Moesasji, Leffe Goldstein.

30/11-06/01 | GREAT LAWN

Wave-Field
Lateral Office / CS Design
Mitchell Akiyama, Canada

Having travelled to many countries around the world, Wave-Field is coming to the Stavros Niarchos Park, inviting SNFCC’s visitors to play and get creative, while exploring different sonic dimensions of space.

Acoustic, illuminated see-saws, each with its own music idiom and “idiosyncrasy”, await for you to play with them, in a sensory playground from the future. When set into motion, the see-saws erupt into an impromptu composition, each time evoking a unique soundscape.

This project is the result of a collaboration between Lateral Office Architects, CS Design lighting and the Canadian composer and visual artist Mitchell Akiyama.

Also contributed: Generique Design, Robocut, EGP Group, Wireframe and L4 Studio.

30/11-06/01 | PINE GROVE

Infinite Support
Light Art Collection, LightForm, Netherlands

A collective comprising four artists and close friends, LightForm have translated their ideas about friendship into a beautiful light oject in Infinite Support.

The installation consists of two large luminous drop-shaped ‘nests’ that help each other stay upright. The audience can hide within or interact with the multiple mirrors, exploring an unusual sensation of depth.

These mirrors symbolize real friendship: a bond that, according to LightForm, knows no limits. 

LightForm are Daniel Thomassen, Raoul van der Ploeg, Dorus van Lieshout and Ivar Posthumus.

30/11-06/01 | MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN

The Pool
Jen Lewin, U.S.A

Jen Lewin is a New-York-based light sculptor whose installations share with audiences sensational images of rare natural beauty that have touched the artist. In The Pool she has been inspired by the thousands of luminous ponds of light left behind by the ebb on a moonlit Australian beach.

Lewin conjures this magical memory in an environment of giant, concentric circles created from dozens of interactive circular pads where play and collaborative movement create mesmerizing patterns of shifting and fading colors.

Since premiering at the legendary Burning Man Festival in Nevada in 2008, The Pool has traveled to over 40 major cities and light festivals in the U.S.A., Europe and Asia.

30/11-06/01 | LABYRINTH

Free admission

SNFCC’s light installations come to life through the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

When: 30 November 2019 - 05 January 2020
Where:Technopolis City of Athens

Giuseppe Verdi

Don Carlo

PREMIER 9 December 2019
08, 13, 15, 19, 21, 28 Dec 2019
02, 05 Jan 2020

Greek National Opera - Stavros Niarchos Hall
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

Italian Opera Cycle

Starts at: 19.00 (Sundays: 18.30)

A co-production of the Royal Opera House, London, the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Norwegian National Opera (Oslo)
*The Italian 5-act version is presented (Modena version, 1886)

Conductor: Philippe Auguin
Director: Sir Nicholas Hytner
Revival director: Daniel Dooner
Sets, costumes: Bob Crowley
Movement: Scarlett Mackmin
Lighting: Mark Henderson
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Swordsmen Movement: Terry King
Photo credits: Catherine Ashmore

Filippo II
Alexander Vinogradov

Don Carlo
Marcelo Puente

Rodrigo
Tassis Christoyannis (8, 15, 21, 28/12)
Dimitri Platanias (13, 19/12 & 2, 5/1)

The Grand Inquisitor
Rafal Siwek

A monk
Dimitris Kassioumis

Elisabeth of Valois
Barbara Frittoli (8, 13, 15, 19, 21/12)
Cellia Costea (28/12 & 2, 5/1)

Princess Eboli
Ekaterina Gubanova (8, 13, 15, 19, 21/12)
Elena Zhidkova (28/12 & 2, 5/1)

Tebaldo
Miranda Makrynioti

The Count of Lerma / Herald
Yannis Kavouras

Voice from the Sky
Niki Haziraki

6 representatives of Flanders
Nikos Karagiaouris, Maxim Klonovsky, Tasos Lazarou, Nikos Masourakis, Andreas Metaxas, Marinos Tarnanas

6 monks
Vasilis Asimakopoulos, Giorgos Matthaiakakis, Kostas Panagopoulos, Giorgos Papadimitriou, Spyros Sokos, Dionisos Tsantinis

With the GNO Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists

Ticket prices: 15, 20, 35, 40, 50, 55, 60, 90 euros
Students, children: 15 euros
Limited visibility seats: 10 euros
*Limited number of tickets of 2 euros, as part of the "One for One" programme.

One of the most important operas of Verdi’s mature period returns to the GNO: Don Carlo, based on Friedrich Schiller’s play of the same title, shall be presented in its Italian five-act version (Modena, 1886), directed by the great British director and former artistic director of London’s Royal National Theatre Sir Nicholas Hytner, with sets and costumes by Bob Crowley. A co-production of the Royal Opera House, London, the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Norwegian National Opera (Oslo).

It is a grandiose opera full of impressive arias, duets and compelling ensembles, but at the same time also a work with deeply human characters, who struggle to achieve a balance between their feelings and duty. Its multi-level political dimension, with the conflict between secular power and church, and, at the same time, between liberalism and absolutism, was of particular interest to Verdi, especially at a time when the modern Italian state was being formed.

The performance will be conducted by the celebrated conductor and artist in residence at the GNO for the 2019/20 season Philippe Auguin, starring an internationally acclaimed cast of renowned soloists.

James Davidson with his book "The Greeks and the Greek Eros" gives us a radical reassessment of the homoerotic friendship in ancient Greece.
Delving in many sources – from poetry, theatre, history and philosophy to mythology and iconography – James Davidson brings to life with inspiration, in all its complexity and diversity, a phenomenon that has not ceased to be a cause celebre from antiquity to our days.