All-day celebration at ARKOPOLIS | Opening of Skate Park

On Saturday 16 December, in the context of the Closing Ceremony of 2023 Eleusis Mystery 1 CLOSING: OPENING, A Ceremony, the ARKOPOLIS, the space created for Elefsina by the Belgian TimeCircus collective, becomes the focus of an all-day celebration curated by the Cultterra youth group. Also inaugurated there is the first Skatepark of West Attica, created by the Onassis Foundation as an exclusive donation to the Municipality of Elefsina – the newest addition to the architectural complex of ARKOPOLIS and a long-expressed request of the young people of the city and the broader region.

The programme includes original activities, live music shows and DJ sets, screenings, workshops for all ages, in collaboration with local artists, groups and communities of Elefsina, highlighting the creativity and multiculturalism of the area in a venue that has now been established as a place of meeting, cooperation, inclusion and free creation for people of all ages.

More specifically, at 11:00 a symbolic procession of skaters, riders and rollers starting from Laou Square crosses the city to ARKOPOLIS. Immediately afterwards, Stella Fotiadi and the Still Pilgrim Paradox group invite children, teenagers and all the residents of Elefsina to Mystery 172 Dancing Journey, a site-specific modular performance in which contemporary dance meets street dance and skateboarding. At 13:00 the official opening of the Skatepark will take place, followed by a silkscreen workshop for everyone and a best trick contest for skate, BMX and rollers to the sounds of music selected by Nikos Bardis. At the same time, young skate fans will have the opportunity to participate in an exciting workshop by the freemovement team. The celebration will end with a rousing hip-hop live show by Shadow Knight x Johnny Boy feat. DJ D.O.C. 

Throughout the day, those who come to ARKOPOLIS will have the opportunity to indulge in the art of finger skating under the guidance of the first skater of Elefsina, Konstantinos Sakov, to practice their skills in chess and table tennis or learn cricket with the Pakistani community of the city. Furthermore, in the Kino container, the small cinema created by TimeCircus, short documentaries from the Landship’s journey and films-diaries from the collective’s stay in Elefsina will be screened in the context of Mystery 99 The Ark. Finally, there will be stands in collaboration with local shops and groups from Elefsina and the surrounding area.

A celebration by the young people of the city for the young people, the future of the city and for the whole of Elefsina!

etailed schedule

SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER
11:00 – 18:00 | ARKOPOLIS
ARKOPOLIS festival 

11:00 | Symbolic procession of skaters / riders / rollers from Laou Square to ARKOPOLIS

12.15 | Mystery 172 Dancing Journey | Still Pilgrim Paradox

13:00 | Speeches ARKOPOLIS – Skatepark | Venue opening – Special event 

13:30 | Nikos Bardis DJ set
Silkscreen workshop

Best trick contest for skate / BMX / rollers

13:30 – 15:30 | Skateboarding workshop for children | freemovement group

16:00 | Local hip-hop live show | Johnny Boy x Shadow Knight feat. D.O.C.

Parallel activities (11:00 – 18.00): Finger skate installation by Konstantinos Sakov / Table tennis tournament in cooperation with G.C. Triptolemos / Chess tournament in cooperation with the Chess Cultural Club of Elefsina – SMS Elefsina / Cricket training by the Pakistani community

Stands (11:00 – 18:00): Bazaar by local volunteer groups for stray animals Stray Mysteries (Elefsina) & Stray Souls (Mandra) / BeBike (Pumptruck) & more TBA

A few words about the ARKOPOLIS

As part of Mystery 99 The Ark, the art collective TimeCircus from Antwerp crossed Europe on the Landship and arrived in Elefsina to create a wooden Ark of Eternal Youth, a space of culture, cooperation, inclusion and free creativity, a legacy for the city of Elefsina. The mark left by this adventure took the form of a cluster of unique structures which is the Ark, an arched architectural structure which is the Sphere, but also the Skatepark, a project that was much desired by the city’s youth, realised with the sponsorship of the Onassis Foundation to the Municipality of Elefsina and now adorns the area of Palaia Kaminia in Elefsina.

A few words about the Cultterra youth group

Cultterra is a group of young people with love and vision for Elefsina, which was created in 2019 with the initiative, support, training and networking of the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, as part of Mystery 66 Voices in the City. By creating a new common space for reflection and assertion, exchange of views and ideas, through an initiative of actions and events but also through their continuous development on European networks, training programmes and their dynamic participation in the European Capital of Culture projects, its members have managed to bring out the voices of young people; primarily from their own city; the idea is to promote the work of young artists from the local community, develop skills and partnerships, create a safer, more human and more interesting field of action for the community and provide a dynamic and constantly evolving cultural scene in the area. The group’s vision is to establish a Community Centre that will act as a hub for creativity, expression and employment for the city’s young people. The members of Cultterra are the future active citizens who shape the content and the structures of culture as a means for the sustainable development in Elefsina after the end of the European Capital of Culture. They are the face of the city’s future.