The Athens Photo Festival, true to its long-standing commitment, will celebrate for one more year photography and contemporary visual culture in Greece.

The Athens Photo Festival 2019 is inaugurated on Thursday, June 13 at the Benaki Museum/Pireos 138. This year’s Festival comprises photographic artwork, videos and installations by 132 emerging and established artists from 30 countries, encouraging artistic, social and political dialogue, as well as experimentation with related media. The Festival’s exhibition program is spread at the two floors of the Benaki Museum, as well as in 10 more venues in Athens.

Α wide range of activities –screenings, educational programs, talks, performances, social networking projects and parallel events– is at the core of this year’s programming, composing a dynamic platform that shows up contemporary photography practice and integration with the cultural community at large.

International experts and photographers are invited from all around the world, rendering the Festival an opportunity for gathering and cooperation of cultural bodies and institutions from different countries, aiming to artistic synergies and exchange.

Opening: Thursday, June 13 at 8:30 p.m. – Benaki Museum/Pireos 138
Visiting hours: Thursday & Sunday 10:00-18:00, Friday & Saturday 10:00-22:00
Entrance is free for the opening night.

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XpatAthens is proud to be a Media Sponsor Of The Athens Photo Festival

The Athens Photo Festival's main exhibition program will be on view until 28 July at the Benaki Museum.

The Festival brings together 75 emerging and established visual artists and photographers from 30 countries with the aim to reflect the diversity of photography and contemporary visual culture, and to create a dialogue between different perspectives, approaches and practices.

Exploring multiple cultural, artistic, social and political positions, the Festival features a wide variety of works, ranging from fine art to documentary, photo-based installations, and multimedia works.

At the core of the Festival, is an extensive and multi-layered program of events and initiatives, including learning and public programs, talent development initiatives, social practice, and community outreach.

For the Athens Photo Festival detailed program click HERE!

Visiting hours: Thursday & Sunday 10:00-18:00, Friday & Saturday 10:00-22:00 

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Athens Gardens Festival is bringing chamber music into the Athenian gardens.

The festival was born in the gardens of Athens and has been taking place since 2013 in the National Gardens of the city!

This year’s version is a contest between small music ensembles, performed inside the National Garden and on the gardens of the Center of Arts in Eleftherias Park. During the 14th, 15th and 16th of June, the participating music ensembles are going to be presented in the National Garden (morning) and the Center of Arts (evening) Melodies from the worldwide anthology of the classical, romantic, impressionistic, modern and neoclassical music are going to be played.

Athens Gardens Festival 2019 is co-hosted by the Athens Art Network and the Organization of Culture, Sports and Youth of the municipality of Athens.

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Opening: Saturday, 15 June, 20.00
Duration: 15 – 29 June, 2019. Opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday 18.00 - 21.00

FokiaNou Art Space is pleased to present “State of Water”, a two-person show featuring photography by Lynne Buchanan and video and installation by Alegia Papageorgiou, two artists who share a concern for the current dire state of the environment. Originally hailing from Florida, Lynne Buchanan’s beautiful photographs document the effects of climate change in Iceland, Patagonia, Bangladesh and Antarctica, as well as across the United States, juxtaposing details from opposite ends of the earth. Alegia Papageorgiou’s installation, “the repairing earth project”, presents small scale clay landscapes similar to the earth's surfaces, that change constantly as water is introduced, depicting man’s relationship to the natural environment. Her video/installation, “La Poubelle" is a creature constructed from garbage, a wandering female figure in a setting of raging waves on inhospitable rocks. The exhibition is curated by Mary Cox and Panagiotis Voulgaris.

Award winning photographer Lynne Buchanan has had several solo exhibitions in Florida and has participated in numerous group shows around the United States. George F. Thompson Publishing recently published her book Florida’s Changing Waters: A Beautiful World in Peril. Lynne holds a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree in Art History, as well as a Masters in English with a concentration in creative writing and a Masters of Business Administration. She understands the issues facing our waterways from multiple perspectives and communicates them through her photographs and writing. She has mentored and studied with many notable photographers including Sam Abell, Clyde Butcher, Dewitt Jones and Jill Enfield, among others. http://www.lynnebuchanan.com/

Alegia Papageorgiou is a visual artist and scenographer based in Athens but also working in the Netherlands, the U.K., and other European countries. She earned a BA in Interior Design from Vakalo College of Arts & Design, Athens, University of Derby UK and an MA in Scenography from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. She is currently enrolled in a second Master’s program at The Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Conservatory, The Hague. Alegia’s work in scenography includes video, photography, lighting, video projection mapping, audio editing, electronics hacking, scenic art, sculpture and other forms of technical support. Among other projects, she was involved in the world premiere of Edward Bond’s "Dea", The Secombre Theater, Sutton UK; the National Theater of Greece; Athens Biennale; Festival of Athens and Epidaurus, Comedie de Reims gallery, London, Sonic Acts festival, Amsterdam, and has participated in art exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

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 that 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 PanagiotisVoulgaris. www.fokianou247.gr
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As part of the series of art exhibitions "Divine Dialogues", the Museum of Cycladic Art organizes this year, from 20 June to 20 October, a major exhibition titled "Picasso and Antiquity. Line and clay". It is a rare exhibition about Picasso and his inspiration from antiquity in conversation with ancient works of art, curated by Professor N. C. Stampolidis and Olivier Berggruen.

The greatest of twentieth-century modern artists is famous for his spectacular paintings but less for his drawings, engravings, and pottery. The combination of these media closely recalls antiquity and has produced works inspired by the Creto-Mycenaean and Greek worlds and the Mediterranean civilizations in general.

In the exhibition “Picasso and Antiquity. Line and clay” rare works by Picasso, depicting marine creatures, animals, human figures, mythological scenes, and scenes inspired by ancient tragedy and comedy, converse with ancient artefacts in another unique “Divine Dialogue” at the Museum of Cycladic Art.

A whole world is revealed in the Museum of Cycladic Art, a world carried by the artist inside him, a world of antiquities discovered not necessarily in the ancient lands of the Mediterranean but in European museums, in books, and in conversations with Christian Zervos and Jean Cocteau.

Photo Credit: Succession Picasso 2019

The 9th International Forum on Mineral Resources is the most important annual event on Mining and Raw Materials in Greece.

The event will address all important issues of the Mining Sector and will focus on the significant contribution of the Mineral Resources to the development of the Greek economy.

- What it takes to have the Mining Sector of Greece one of the driving forces of the Greek Economy

- The strategic Economic Importance of a Strong Raw Materials Industry Innovation in Mining and the 4th Industrial Revolution

- A Social Contract for Mining

- Climate Change and Sustainability

It is absolutely necessary to complete your registration by Thursday, June 20, 2019 in order to have access to the event, due to limited available seats.

For further information, please click HERE!

Boiler Room and Plisskën Festival are joining forces this summer for the opening party of the 2019 edition of Plisskën festival!

Boiler Room has become a global phenomenon, and one of the most anticipated live broadcasts where music, ideas, and people meet. In 2019, Plissken Festival will host a one day broadcast on its Main Stage, where it will bring together a selection of vital artists in our world today whose recent contribution to the club culture has been totally unique. Due to the broadcast being a limited capacity we want to ensure those interested have access to the information required for entry prior to the event.

To purchase you Boiler Room ticket you need your Plissken Festival ticket number. Only one sign up for Boiler room will be generated per individual ticket number, so please ensure that they are valid and correct.

Due to the broadcast being a limited capacity we want to ensure those interested have access to the information required for entry prior to the event.

Doors Open at 17:00
Broadcast will start at 19:00
Final entry admission is at 19:00

For festival tickets click HERE! 
For Boiler Room tickets click HERE!

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Plisskën Festival is pleased to announce the full lineup for Summer Plisskën 2019 which takes place on 26 & 27 June at Technopolis, the well-known and loved cultural venue in the heart of Athens historic center.

Loyal to its tradition of showcasing a line-up celebrating a broad mix of styles and quality, with both established and up-and-coming artists, Plisskën’s lineup consists once more of a vast variety of live acts, producers and DJs. From indie and funk to electronic and synth-pop, Plisskën Festival’s 3 stages will host some of the freshest and biggest names in the music scene at the moment. Giorgio Moroder, the man, the myth, the legend disco and electronic music pioneer, Tinariwen, the masterful Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert, The Black Madonna, the underground star of house music, are some of this year’s headliners.

The lineup also includes the acclaimed indie Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John, the soul musical collective of Jungle and the atmospheric producer Nicola Cruz. Other Greek premiers include Donny Benet, Bombino and Giant Swan. Alongside the innovative live acts of Deena Abdelwahed, Plisskën Festival will host eclectic DJ sets by world-class electonic artists incuding Lena Willikens, Rone, Poldoore, Prison Religion and our beloved Optimo.

Aside from another hard-hitting, eclectic line-up, Plisskën also continues to push the boundaries of their environmental and social ethos. With an Environmental Policy Strategy at place since 2010, they’ve received 2 ‘Commended’ ratings for two consecutive years from the Greener Festival Awards global governing body. And The Lab, an annual free workshop organised by Plisskën, takes place in Athens prior to the festival. Through a number of theoretical and practical seminars hosted by professionals in their respective fields, The Lab participants get the chance to learn about all of the elements that comprise putting on a festival. Lets Do Summer! 2 days, 3 stages, 12 hours of music, a big Food Court with the very best of flavours, a luscious and refreshing Cocktail Bar, a Lounge to rest ones dancing feet, and numerous other activities!

“Plisskën is rammed, fizzing with energy and nobody goes home until dawn” – The Guardian
“A righteous celebration of noise” – Drowned in Sound
“Plisskën bodes a great location, an eco-friendly policy and an incredible lineup..” – Culture Collide
“Athens Awesome Plisskën Festival ” – Noisey

 

The Australian Embassy in Athens is hosting two prominent authors and researchers for a unique presentation on Greek presence in Australia over the last 200 years on 27 June.

Leonard Janiszewski & Effy Alexakis, authors of 'Greek Cafés & Milk Bars of Australia', will present a unique chronicle and photographic journey across the diversity of Australia’s Greek presence over the last 200 years, on Thursday 27 June, at 18:30, at the Australian Embassy.

The event is open to the public, however, RSVP is necessary as seating is limited. If you wish to attend, please send an email to ae.athens@dfat.gov.au with your name and phone number. We will confirm your attendance by 24 June on a 'first-come-first-served' basis!

The lecture chronicles the depth and diversity of Australia’s Greek presence over the last 200 years.

We may never know who the first Greek to set foot on Australian soil was – as in Homer’s Odyssey, memory and myth have become one. However, in the early 1800s, Antipodean shores beckoned, gently at first – tentative ripples carrying the convicted, the adventurous and those desirous of new beginnings.

By the 1850s the gentle ripples of Australia’s early Greek presence surrendered to the first real wave of Greek migration – gold swiftly sweeping away the ‘tyranny of distance’ and the uncertainty of economic opportunities upon arrival. The first collective Greek settlements arose and ‘chain migration’ stimulated. In the 1890s, formal Greek communities were established in Melbourne and Sydney. By 1939, some 15,000 people of Greek heritage resided in the country. Following World War II, a larger, rapid and fiercer human inundation occurred: mass migration.

Between 1953 and 1956, almost 30,000 Greeks arrived in Australia. ‘Bride ships’ brought over large numbers of single Greek women. Between 1947 and the early 1980s, some 250,000 Greeks arrived in Australia. More recently, since the onset of the Greek economic crisis in 2008, Australia has again become a major destination for Greek migration, particularly to Melbourne.

Australia’s contemporary Greek community, including those of Greek descent, ranges in estimates from 500,000 to 700,000. As Janiszewski’s and Alexakis’ presentation will confidently highlight, it is a community that is as diverse within itself, as the multicultural Australian society in which it exists.

Photo info: Bill Florence (Vasilios Florias) being welcomed to Australia

Melbourne, Vic., 1922

Born on the Greek island of Ithaca, Bill arrived in Melbourne in 1922 as a young teenager. He became part of the chain migration of his family to Australia – his father two brothers and sister having journeyed out earlier.

Photo courtesy S. Raftopoulos and J. Florence, from the ‘In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians’ National Project Archives, Macquarie University, Sydney