Athens cultural agenda for October
The cultural venues of Athens offer plenty in October, highlights including concerts, art exhibitions and plays featuring gifted artists. The pandemic may continue to require restrictive measures and social distancing but art is bridging the gap for unity.
7th Athens Biennale
AB7: ECLIPSE, the 7th Athens Biennale, scheduled for September 24 to November 28, under the co-curation of the Omsk Social Club and Larry Ossei-Mensah, and the artistic direction of Poka-Yio, includes projects by artists based in North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.
The AB7: ECLIPSE events will be hosted by three neighbouring buildings standing as landmarks in the capital’s historic centre, the FOKAS former shopping centre, the former Santarosa court building, and the Schliemann-Melas Estate, as well as Dikaiosinis (Justice) Square on Panepistimiou St, and the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi. The 7th Athens Biennale examines matters concerning identity, history and multicultural complexity, while also exploring ideas, questions and concepts often overlooked at biennales.
Admission: €5 to €25. See details here: https://eclipse.athensbiennale.org/en
Dates: 24/9-28/11
Venues: FOKAS former shopping centre, 41 Stadiou former Santarosa court building, 48 Stadiou; Dikaiosinis (Justice) Square, Arsaki & Panepistimiou Sts; Schliemann-Melas Estate, 46 Panepistimiou; Onassis Foundation’s Stegi, 107 Syggrou (24/9-24/10).
Tel: +30 2105232222
Website: eclipse.athensbiennale.org
“Return to Poetry”, concert dedicated to the memory of Mikis Theodorakis at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron)
Vocalist Maria Farantouri, one of master composer Mikis Theodorakis’ key collaborators and actor Dimitris Kataleifos present a performance featuring poetry set to music by Theodorakis. The performance, dedicated to the memory of Theodorakis, who passed recently, also features more recent act Vassilis Gisdakis.
Admission: €10 (students, young adults up to 25 years old, disabled persons, elderly aged 65 and over/€15/€20
Dates: 1-2/10
Time: 20:30
Venue: Vas. Sofias & Kokkali, 115 21, Athens
Tel: +30 210 7282333
Website: www.megaron.gr
Chronotopia at Pireos 260
Chronotopia, a two-day electronic and experimental music festival, scheduled for October 1 and 2, will feature five original electronic music compositions and an audiovisual installation created by artists who took part in an electronic music composition workshop, Chronotopia Echoes, with Akis Sinos and Anke Eckardt. The material was created following research into the archives of the Contemporary Music Research Centre (KSYME) in Athens. The event will also include electronic music performances by acts from Greece and abroad.
Admission: Premium - €25 Zone A - €20 Zone B - €15
Dates: 1-2/10
Time: 20:00
Venue: Pireos 260, Tavros
Tel: +30 2103272000
Website: http://aefestival.gr/festival_events/chronotopia/
‘The Bacchae’ at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus
“The Bacchae”, directed by Nikaiti Kontouri, completes its tour of Greek theatres, including a well-received performance at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, with two performances in Athens at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on October 2 and 3. Passion, conflict and ritualism are the work’s dominant elements. The performance is a co-production of Ars Aeterna and the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Ioannina.
Admission: €60, €50, €40, €30, €20, €15
Dates: 2-3/10
Time: 20:30
Venue: Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens, 105 55
Tel: +30 2103241807
Website: –
Torture: First solo exhibition in Athens by Andres Serano
The infliction of intense physical or psychological pain is as old as human existence. “Torture”, Andres Serano’s first solo exhibition in Athens, deals with the history of torture, depicting its wider impact on society. The exhibition is organised by a/political (Galerie Nathalie Obadia Paris/Brussels).
Admission: Free entrance
Dates: Until 3/10
Time: 12:00-19:00
Venue: Petrini Apothiki, Piraeus Port – Gate E2
Tel: +30 2104550100
Website: www.olp.gr
Black Swan Gala Ballet Bolshoi Mariinsky
The foremost production in the history of classical ballet, “Swan Lake” serves as the basis for “Black Swan”, one of the world’s most impressive ballet galas, to be performed in Athens by leading dancers from Russia’s most prominent ballet companies, the Bolshoi and Mariinsky, over two nights, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (sold out) and the Christmas Theatre.
Admission: €38-€68
Dates: 6-7/10
Time: 21:00
Venues: Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens, 105 55. +30 2103241807
Christmas Theatre, 137 Veikou, Galatsi, 111 46, +30 211 770 1700
27th Athens International Film Festival
Back for a 27th edition, Athens’ celebration of film will offer a platform for emerging artists, Greek short films, highly anticipated premieres as well as the year’s best films. The festival’s screenings and related events will take place at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), the Inteal, Danaos and Trianon cinemas, the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, for the first time, as well as the open-air cinemas Lais – Greek Film Archive, Riviera, Flery and Stella.
Admission: Screenings at cinemas and venues €6, online screenings €3. Also, festival passes covering 5, 10 or 20 screenings, priced at €25, €45 and €70, respectively, have been made available but are limited.
Dates: Until 3/10
Time: -
Venues: At selected cinemas and cultural venues (see above).
Website: aiff.gr
War of Independence critique, self-critique
Through a music theatre production entitled “Kolokotronis Contemplates the Future. Women are Preparing for the Revolution. And I’ll be thinking of something”, directors/performers Michail Marmarinos and Akillas Karazisis sets out to approach the Greek War of Independence as a subject of constant critique and self-critique. The production was made possible through a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) for the creation of a Greek National Opera programme marking the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Admission: €15, €20/Students €10
Dates: 9, 10, 14, 15, 16/10
Time: 20:30 (Sunday 19:00)
Venue: Greek National Opera Alternative Stage, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, 364 Syggrou Ave, 176 74, Kallithea
Tel: +30 216 8091000
Website: www.snfcc.org
George Seferis poetry set to music
Poems by Nobel Prize winner George Seferis set to music by Mikis Theodorakis, Yiannis Markopoulos, Ilias Andriopoulos, Demos Moutsis, Miltos Paschalidis, Haris and Panos Katsimihas, as well as younger composers, will be interpreted by a cast of leading Greek singers - Yiannis Kotsiras, Yiota Nega, Pavlina Voulgaraki, Dimitra Selemidou and Pantelis Kyramargios - on October 8 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Yannis Stankoglou will offer narration to songs that include excerpts of Seferis’ poetry as spoken passages, the purpose being to interconnect the repertoire and shed light on the poet’s personality. Esteemed maestro Anastassios Symeonidis will be at the podium.
Admission: Lower zone: Premium seats - €60 A Zone – €50 B Zone – €40 C Zone – €35. Upper Zone: Zone D – €28, Zone E – €25, Zone F – €20, Zone G – €15 (restricted viewing). Disabled persons - €15. Telephone bookings: +30 210 3221897)
Date: 8/10
Time: 21:00
Venue: Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens, 105 55
Tel: +30 2103241807
Website: -
Chernobyl Live with Chris Watson and Sam Slater at Pireos 260
Icelandic musician and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, an Academy Award winner for her “Joker” film soundtrack, performs at Pireos 260. She will present her Grammy award-winning music written for the successful HBO TV mini-series “Chernobyl”. The recording for this project was carried out at an abandoned nuclear station in Lithuania.
Admission: Premium - €40, Zone A – €30, Zone B – €20
Dates: 9, 10/10
Time: 23:00
Venue: Pireos 260, Tavros
Tel: +30 2103272000
Website:http://aefestival.gr/festival_events/chernobyl-live/?lang=en
Steve McQueen at the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi with ‘End Credits’, 2012 - ongoing
Distinguished British filmmaker and video artist Steve McQueen presents a video installation entitled “End Credits”, 2012 – ongoing, at the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi exhibition space, between September 24 and October 24 as part of the 7th Athens Biennale, ECLIPSE. The installation is dedicated to singer, actor, social activist and American college football star Paul Robeson, who was blacklisted by the FBI in the 1950s for his fight against racism.
Admission: Free entrance
Dates: Until 24/10
Time: 16:00-22:00
Venue: Onassis Foundation’s Stegi, 107 Syggrou Ave, Athens, 117 45
Tel: +30 30210 9005800
Website: www.onassis.org
‘Takis - Energy Spaces’ at MOMus-Museum Alex Mylona
A marvellous world of inspiration and creativity, the exhibition “Takis – Energy Spaces” presents landmark work from key periods in the artistic course of internationally renowned Greek visual artist Takis (Panayiotis Vassilakis, 1925-2019), presented at the MOMus Museum Alex Mylona in collaboration with the MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art- Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections.
Admission: €4, reduced entrance fee €2, free entrance for visual artists, architects, elderly persons over 65, free entrance for all every first Sunday of the month.
Dates: To 31/10
Time: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun, 11:00-19:00, Thu, 11:00-22:00 (closed Mondays)
Address: 5 Agion Asomaton, Thissio, 105 54, Athens
Tel: +30 210 3215717
Website: www.momus.gr
Anti-Structure at the DESTE foundation
The exhibition “Anti-Structure” explores the fine line between order and chaos, stillness and movement, structure and anarchy. It includes work by Urs Fischer, Diohanti, Andreas Embirikos, Takis Zenetos, George Lappas, Tony Moussoulides, Pantelis Xagoraris, Marina Xenofontos, Sotirios Kotoulas, Dora Economou, Aliki Panagiotopoulou, Rallou Panagiotou, Chistodoulos Panayiotou, Nafsika Pastra, Georgia Sagri, Lucas Samaras, Christiana Soulou, Takis, Thanassis Totsikas, Iris Touliatou, Giorgos Tourkovasilis and Yannoulis Halepas.
Admission: Free entrance
Dates: To 27/10
Time: Wed-Thu, 12:00-20:00
Address: DESTE Foundation, 11 Filellinon & Emm. Pappa, 142 34, Neo Ionia, Athens
Tel: +30 210-2758490
Website: https://deste.gr/exhibition/anti-structure/
‘Glorious Victories. Between Myth and History‘at the National Archaeological Museum
The exhibition, part of the agenda celebrating the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Naval Battle of Salamis, includes 105 ancient works and a model of the Athenian trireme of the 5th century BC. The works are related to and bring to the fore aspects of the victorious struggle of the Greeks against the Persians. They were assembled both from the National Archaeological Museum and other museums of Greece, such as the Archaeological Museums of Astros, Thebes, Olympia, as well as the Konstantinos Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology. The exhibition is enhanced by digital projections that contribute to the creation of a scenic ambience, helping immerse visitors into the dramatic atmosphere of the events. The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly 512-page catalogue, published by the Archaeological Resources Fund.
Admission: €12
Dates: To 31/10
Time: Mon, Wed-Sun, 8:00-20:00, Tue, 13:00-20:00
Address: 44 28th Oktovriou (Patision), 106 82, Athens
Tel: +30 213 214 4889
Website: www.namuseum.gr
‘Stand Free’, interactive installation by Maria Fragoudaki at Athens International Airport
The interactive installation “Stand Free”, created by artist Maria Fragoudaki to mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, invites visitors to reflect upon the concept of freedom and connect with Greek history. “The fustanella (traditional pleated skirt-like garment), through the mirror, becomes attire so that the visitors, ‘wearing’ the garment of our ancestors, can stand Free. The fustanella is the bridge to the past, a breath of pride,” Fragoudaki noted.
Dates: To 31/10
Address: Athens International Airport
Tel: +30 2103530000
Website: www.aia.gr
Burger Fest 2021: The biggest Greek food festival - dedicated to burgers
In October, The Agora in OAKA Stadium, Athens, turns into a meeting point for all burger lovers. Burger Fest is coming back in-person from 1-3 and 8-10 October. In a new and safe space, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy amazing flavours by the best burger houses in Athens. The festival features two long weekends full of concerts, dj sets, comedy shows and of course scrumptious burgers that will leave no one unmoved.
Tickets:
General admission with beer from 6€-8€ depending on the time slot you choose
Unemployed, students & large families: 5€ with beer (this price applies until 30/9 & requires the presentation of a relevant certificate)
Children from 6 to 12 years old: 5€ with refreshment
Children from 6 years old and under: Free entrance
Dates: 1-3/10 & 8-10/10
Venue: 37, Kifissias Avenue, Athens
Website: https://burgerfest.gr/
