Evrovizion

ATHENS
Greece
29.04. - 16.06.2023

EVROVIZION.CROSSING ATHENS

EVROVIZION.CROSSING STORIES AND SPACES is an exhibition by ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, and it is being presented in Athens in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Athen, and EMΣT | National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens.

Goethe-Institut Athen
14–16 Omirou Str.
10672 Athens
Greece
https://www.goethe.de/athen

OPENING AND PERFORMANCE

Fri, 28.04.2023, 19:00

MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS
Performance by Ivana Ivković
Text by Jordan Cvetanović

The new site-specific performance by the artist Ivana Ivković entitled MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS is part of MONUMENT: NO ONE IS LOST, a series of delegated performances created for the long-term exhibition project EVROVIZION. CROSSING STORIES AND SPACES by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). The series explores the relationship between the human (male) body, identity, and the specific context of place. It reflects on contemporary time, its (post-)apocalyptic nature, and the sense of the end of the world as we know it, questioning whether there is room for certain new options and choices that depend on the individual. The inversion of a gaze between exposed male bodies in formation on one side, and the audience on the other, makes it function like a mirror that reflects various issues, layers of history, prejudices, and taboos present in different societies.

After the presentations at the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina in Serbia, the exhibition is coming to Goethe-Institut Athen in Greece. A smaller selection of the artworks will be shown in Athens; yet, at the same time, the project has been expanded to include a new work by Greek artist Maria Tsagkari – curated by Ioli Tzanetaki. Further local expansion of the exhibition is also planned: the artists Johanna Diehl and Adnan Softić will develop new works in close cooperation with local actors.

The exhibition in Athens starts with a special opening event on April 28, during which the artist Ivana Ivković will perform her work MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS. Artists Johanna Diehl, Adnan Softić and Maria Tsagkari will be present during the opening ceremony as well, where they will be available to discuss their work with the public. Exhibition curator Sanja Kojić Mladenov and local curator Ioli Tzanetaki will guide visitors through the show. Dora Vasilakou, fellow of the Slavs and Tatars’ international residency program, will be welcoming the audience to the Pickle Bar installation.

Both the residency-mentorship program and the Pickle Bar installation by the artists’ collective Slavs and Tatars are part of the EVROVIZION project. The integration of the Pickle Bar installation into the exhibition creates an open space for local dialogues. Before each exhibition opens, a young local professional (an artist, curator and/or researcher) is chosen to participate in the Pickle Bar mentorship program in Berlin. For two months, they are integrated into the artists’ studio and mentored in their personal projects – some of which may eventually be presented as part of EVROVIZION. Slavs and Tatars and ifa selected the young Greek curator and researcher Dora Vasilakou as a fellow of the 2022 Pickle Bar residency-mentorship program. Vasilakou will co-curate the Pickle Bar performance, to be presented in Athens in June 2023. Further public events and guided tours will be announced soon.

Following the exhibition in Athens, a new issue of the EVROVIZION magazine will be published, thus enriching the “archive of the journey.” Edited by Danai Giannoglou, EVROVIZION.CROSSING ATHENS will be dedicated to the presentation of the ever-growing project in Athens and its impact on the city’s cultural identity.

THE CRADLE OF DEMOCRACY

ATHENS (Athen, Αθήνα, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai), the fourth venue for the EVROVIZION project, is the capital city of Greece. From the time of its democratic government in antiquity, this city in Attica has been known as the cradle of democracy. Athens was the cultural, economic and historical centre of Greece, and it has never lost this status. In 2015 the city was the centre of media attention due to the national government-debt crisis and the threat of ‘Grexit’.

EXHIBITION
ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)
Responsable:
Ellen Strittmatter
Organisation and Realisation:
Sabina Klemm

PRESENTATION IN ATHENS
Goethe-Institut Athen
In charge of the project:
Dr. Stefanie Peter,
General coordination:
Eleanna Papathanasiadi

Curators:
Sabina Klemm, Sanja Kojić Mladenov
Local curator:
Ioli Tzanetaki
Local co-editor of the EVROVIZION.CROSSING ATHENS magazine:
Danai Giannoglou
Fellow of the Pickle Bar residency, Local co-curator of the Pickle Bar performance
Dora Vasilakou
Local artists of the Pickle Bar performance
VASKOS (multidisciplinary artistic duo by Vassilis Noulas and Kostas Tzimoulis)
Artists participating in the exhibition in Athens:
Lana Čmajčanin, Johanna Diehl, Ivana Ivković, Henrike Naumann, Selma Selman, Slavs and Tatars, Adnan Softić, Maria Tsagkari
Technical team ifa:
Martin Edelmann, Manuel Reinartz, Carsten Tabel

Texts:
Sabina Klemm, Sanja Kojić Mladenov, Clea Laade, Eleanna Papathanasiadi, Ellen Strittmatter, Ioli Tzanetaki
Translation:
Nathan Bailey, Greg Bond, Jeanette Mohr
Proofreading:
Nathan Bailey, Greg Bond, Jeanette Mohr
Video subtitles:
Adnan Arnautlija, Simone Kinateder, André Werner
Graphic Design:
Heimann + Schwantes, Berlin
heimannundschwantes.de

Venue
Goethe-Institut Athen
14–16 Omirou St., 10672 Athens
Duration
Saturday, April 29 – Friday, June 16, 2023
Visiting days and hours
Monday–Thursday: 08:00–22:00
Friday: 08:00–17:00
Saturday: 08:00–14:00
Closed: May,1, 26 and 27, and June 5, 10, 2023

Artists

Participants

Events

  • MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS

    • Goethe-Institut Athen
    • 28.04.2023

    Unique performance by Ivana Ivković Text: Jordan Cvetanović
    Friday, 28.04.2023 at 19:00

    The new site-specific performance by the artist Ivana Ivković entitled MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS is part of MONUMENT: NO ONE IS LOST, a series of delegated performances created for the long-term exhibition project EVROVIZION. CROSSING STORIES AND SPACES by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). The series explores the relationship between the human (male) body, identity, and the specific context of place. It reflects on contemporary time, its (post-)apocalyptic nature, and the sense of the end of the world as we know it, questioning whether there is room for certain new options and choices that depend on the individual. The inversion of a gaze between exposed male bodies in formation on one side, and the audience on the other, makes it function like a mirror that reflects various issues, layers of history, prejudices, and taboos present in different societies.

    The initial metaphor – the visual and ideological point of reference for the performance in Athens – is Raphael's eponymous masterpiece The School of Athens, a fresco located in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. In this complex allegory of secular knowledge and philosophy, Raphael presents a scene with some of the most important ancient and classical philosophers, scientists and artists, contemplating and debating in a splendid architectural setting inspired by ancient Greece. The performance MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS starts from the ambiguity of the fresco itself, representing the values of Western civilization rooted in ancient Greek thought and renewed through the Renaissance and humanism, pointing out the connection with the present time, in which the world is in a state of extreme exhaustion and experiencing numerous ecological, ethical and political crises. Inspired by the humanistic vision of the painting, the performance is also a call for communication on these themes, as well as an invitation to engage in exchange and dialogue about the issues and dilemmas that we, as humanity, face today. The performance addresses questions of Greek identity and the image of classical Greece, pointing to the tension between different narratives – one coming from outside, created and nurtured by the West, and one existing within Greek society, both historically and in the present.

    The performance MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS will last approximately two hours and will take place in the amphitheatre of the Goethe-Institut in Athens. Most of the performers are based in Athens, except for three actors from Belgrade/RS.

    The performance has been commissioned by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen).

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Evrovizion