European Capital of Culture. Developing \/ showcasing the tangible and intangible economy of a city through the intervention of art, culture, and research<\/p>\n
\u201cAs lovely as here,
\nit could never be in Paradise\u201d<\/p>\n
2023 \u0395\u039b\u0395V\u03a3\u0399\u03a3: arrival of a notable someone \/ person, thing, or event Synonyms: advent, arrival, appearance, emergence, materialisation, Epiphany, occurrence, dawn, birth, rise, coming, looming, nearing, advance, embodiment<\/p>\n
The project<\/p>\n
SOCIAL SCULPTURE<\/strong> \nThe three Axes <\/p>\n THE RAW MUSEUM<\/strong><\/p>\n * Mythology, archaeology, history Much like every city chosen to be a new Capital of Culture, Elefsina seems to constitute a field of research, a Model for studying contemporary European issues concerning society, people and relationships, Labour, the Environment, and sustainable Development, as these all appear to connect, collide, or cross within a modern-day city. The city fabric comprises exceptional traces of antiquity, contemporary tales of population movement, industrial development, and trade unionist \/ labour movements, but also of de-industrialisation and unemployment. Through this same fabric, such sensitive issues as severe impacts on the environment are interwoven, while the city\u2019s ambivalent relationship with the sea is also worthy of attention, investigation, and actuation. The importance of Elefsina as the birthplace of Aeschylus, the special status of women through time across the city\u2019s long lifespan, its distinct place within la\u00efk\u00f3 (Greek folk) songs that speak of emigrant displacement, unrequited love, and working class toil \u2013 thanks to the accomplishments of the legendary popular singer Stelios Kazantzidis, that incomparable exponent of the form \u2013 all imbue this city with hues and facets that are unique.<\/p>\n Much like every city chosen to be a new Capital of Culture, Elefsina seems to constitute a field of research, a Model for studying contemporary European issues concerning society, people and relationships, Labour, the Environment, and sustainable Development, as these all appear to connect, collide, or cross within a modern-day city.<\/p>\n \u0391. THE CITY AS AN EXHIBIT<\/strong><\/p>\n The city as an exhibit of its present and history, its conflicts and images.<\/p>\n The concept of cordoning<\/strong><\/p>\n An artistic \/ dramaturgical showcase of that historical event known as a city, specifically the city of Elefsina. Spotlighting major human interventions, the \u201cwounds\u201d inflicted on the body of the city, the architectural constructs \/ perpetrators of this act \u2013 Factories, Quarries and so on. The actions, of all kinds, constitute a large-scale, selective \u201ccordoning\u201d of the hidden locale.<\/p>\n \u0392. SOCIAL SCULPTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n One might construe the persistent efforts made by Pericles to convince the Athenians to spend their money building the Parthenon as Social Sculpture. Actions to disclose and develop the dynamism of this place, its people, and their abilities. Capacity building for local young people through a series of experiential, informative, soft skill, and other activities that strive against the diminishment of their environment. Actions in support of a tangible and intangible Legacy, that ensure the cultural continuity and singularity of Elefsina as an historic landmark in ancient and modern Greek history. One might also consider the polite pressure perhaps applied, directly or indirectly, by cultural action for the development of sustainable Legacy institutions, and for immediate improvements in the quality of life and everyday lives of local citizens, as Social Sculpture.<\/p>\n Some examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Adapted reuse of select abandoned industrial buildings 2. Showcasing, remodelling, and transforming 3. Regeneration programmes 4. Art residencies 5. Improving connections between Elefsina and the Athens metropolitan area<\/strong> 6. The creation of a model scuba diving centre active in the seas of Elefsina <\/strong> 7. The creation of a skatepark<\/strong> C. ACTIONS \u2013 MODELS<\/strong><\/p>\n Original experimental actions as models to be applied to a city<\/strong><\/p>\n The actions in question \u2013 the result of collaborations between the arts and sciences \u2013 are in a position to advance a model that can also be applied to any other city with similar characteristics or objectives.<\/p>\n Some examples:<\/p>\n 1. Narrative Archaeology<\/strong> 2. Memory as a City \/ Invisible Map <\/strong> A city is a map charting the experiences of its people<\/strong><\/p>\n On their walks, both local residents and visitors will get the chance to stumble across the city\u2019s collective unconscious, the MEMORY of its experiences. Something that subtly heightens the historical curiosity and awareness of its people \u2013 be they part of the populace or just passing through \u2013 in a playful way.<\/p>\n All the actions \/ projects are thus a process of emergence \/ revelation . <\/strong><\/p>\n They\u00a0 are called Mysteries and are numbered<\/strong><\/p>\n The Greeks had specific places from where they descended into Hades. A state of inner readiness is, however, a Place in and of itself, where one can \u2013 from its various points \u2013 head down into the underworld. These are typically the points from where dreams emanate. (Walter Benjamin, Das Passagen-Werk [The Arcades Project])<\/em><\/p>\n In ELEFSINA, one may safely contend that Time is split into two zones \/ phases. Dark Phase (the seasons where Kore is not here). Light Phase (the seasons where Kore is among us). By Kore we mean Persephone, the mythical daughter of Demeter. The Light Phase in Elefsina lasts seven to eight months.<\/p>\n P.S. The European Capital of Culture is at once a flower bed , a garden of acts and ideas . Ideas that ought to be, that want to be made Action. Many will not come to pass, remaining ideas, possibilities, plans. Yet these too comprise part of the city\u2019s intangible Capital of Culture Legacy. Perhaps their time has yet to come, perhaps they did not fall on sufficiently mature political or historical ground \u2013 the right moment \u2013 to bloom and be realised. Yet there they live on, lighting the way \u2013 as did so many other vital ideas, their kindred that made it \u2013 towards the Works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2023 Eleusis attempts to reveal the unseen side of Elefsina, signaling a new era for the city and its people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31321,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"page_type":[233],"class_list":["post-31007","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","page_type-2023-eleusis-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nA cultural intervention in the concept
\nof an expanded notion of Art
\nor
\nPerformance of the dramaturgy of a city with in
\nbroader public space that constitutes
\nthe theatre of its own self<\/p>\n
\nPeople \u2013 Society \/ Labour \/ Environment<\/p>\n
\n* Population movement (internal emigration)
\n* The environment and industrial development
\n* Environmental damage * De-industrialisation, unemployment
\n* Movements (trade unionist \/ labour)
\n* Seas
\n* Aeschylus \u2013 Kazantzidis
\n* The status of women within the history, mythology, and society of this city<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Their conversion into spaces for the production of culture today \u2013 which is to say, ongoing artistic and performative interventions into the life of the city and, by extension, into that of the nearby Greek capital.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Showcasing, remodelling, and transforming an environmentally degraded industrial site in the area \u2013 a site now known as \u201cDogteeth\u201d \u2013 to create a landscape theatre (one of a kind in Attica) through the presentation of largescale music and performing arts spectacles.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Programmes regenerating the urban fabric through aesthetic, soft interventions made by artworks and implemented in partnership with all relevant Hellenic Ministries and the Municipality of Elefsina.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Giving artists the chance to get to know the city, working in situ to produce public artworks that showcase \/ reveal its special and distinct identity.<\/p>\n
\na) Pushing for a maritime transport link connecting Elefsina with Greece\u2019s most major port (Piraeus) for reasons both practical and tourism-related, thus activating \u2013 and recalling attention to \u2013 the coastal nature of Elefsina, and handing this connection with the sea back to both locals and visitors.
\nb) Pushing for the re-activation of existing rail transport links \u2013 the historic train that once led to Elefsina.<\/p>\n
\na) A site for diving tourism that is also an ongoing point of reference regarding \u00a0the state of the maritime environment, and an experiential form of leverage pressing for the continued clean-up of the seas. A place for the creation of a specialised underwater habitat \/ index that demonstrates the condition of the waters, all in partnership with a university department of marine biology.
\nb) The final resting place of the vessel Persephone, a unique specimen of the ship-building craft that is also an industrial archaeology monument \u2013 a special underwater tourist attraction to be found in the mythical waters of Elefsina.<\/p>\n
\nA long-standing need repeatedly called for by young people in the city. And the creation of a youth Hub through an arts project led by Timecircus \u2013 legacy projects that will live on in the city. None of these many things can happen without the participation and co-operation of the Municipality and local residents.<\/p>\n
\nWays of showcasing interactive aspects of archaeological sites through the contribution of the performing Arts, with a view to optimising visitor traffic and deepening experiential engagement. Offering archaeological site visitors an entirely different approach and experience. (Visitors\u2019 ever crucial archaeological curiosity can be transformed into Experience by means of these specially formulated visits \/ journeys through a particular Site.)<\/p>\n
\nA project at once artistic, dramatic, and historical. An on-going showcase of another \/ invisible map of a city, a Map documenting the critical experiences \u2013 be they personal or historical \u2013 of its inhabitants. The where exactly something happened, at some point. There, a small Public Sign is to be erected or placed, which \u2013 in combination with a digital app \u2013 will allow the public to be initiated into the secret or hidden history of each such place \/ point.<\/p>\n