by guest contributor Dimitrios Machairidis
Photo credit: Yiorgis Yerolymbos
“My first time in Greece was in December 2015 in order to visit the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). I was overwhelmed. It was much more than I expected. Everything was extraordinary: The use of the land, the orientation of the park, its canal, the buildings of the National Opera and the National Library and of course the relation of the SNFCC with the sea,” said Limor Tomer, General Manager of Concerts and Lectures of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Here in Athens she will be the Events’ Performance Curator of “Metamorphosis” – the four-day event taking place from the 23rd to the 26th of June that will transform the SNFCC into an open space of encounter, exploration and experimentation.
View of the two Buildings from the Canal. The National Library is Built under the Artificial Hill
SNFCC, one of the biggest cultural projects in Europe at this moment, is going to be completed this summer. Designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano it includes the new premises of the National Library and the National Opera and the Stavros Niarchos Park, a huge recreation area, in front of the Faliron Bay, between the city of Athens and the port of Piraeus.
The buildings of National Opera and National Library designed by Renzo Piano
Limor Tomer has prepared a huge program with more than 400 performers from all over the world and tens of performances of music, dance, installations, painting exhibitions, video art and film projections, street dance, circus, sports, chess and educational programs for kids. Lori Anderson, the internationally acclaimed experimental artist, is the guest Artistic Director for the program. Robert Storr, the Dean of the Yale School of Art, and the curatorial team of Barbara London, Kalliopi Minioudaki and Francesca Pietropaolo, have created an original program of international video art titled “Fireflies in the Night Take Wing.” The magician Mark Mitton and his troupe will carry away the visitors into an interactive spectacle of illusion and imagination. The international chess champion Gary Kasparov will compete against young chess players between 10 and 12 years old. The Oscar and Grammy awarded Chinese composer Tan Dun, inspired from the Faliron bay that surrounds the SNFCC, will present the musical play “Water Passion after St. Matthew.” The activist David Dorfman and his dancing group DDD will present a performance for disabled dancers and people.
Limor Tomer
“The openness of the SNFCC suggests the public participation in cultural events. Making connections is the most important thing to honor this extraordinary site. So, I tried to get into the DNA of the SNFCC, put together the performers for the June events and allow everybody to participate making his own connections. I invited the artist Lori Anderson to be the guiding and cohesive spirit of the ‘Metamorphosis.’ The most important connection I want to make is between Greek and international artists. Greece has world-class orchestras, choirs, soloists, dancers and a performance scene that can become international. I have realized this potentiality during my visit to Athens last December. Almost every project, every performance is a collaboration between local and international artists. For example Tan Dun’s “Water Passion after St. Matthew” is an immense and very complicated piece with lyrics and music that requires over 60 singers. The soloists are coming from all over Europe and the US. The conductor is half Greek because her father is originally from Crete,” remarked Tomer.
Limor Timer
“Metamorphosis” which is fully sponsored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the foundation of the famous Greek ship-owner, jet-setter and bon viveur, who captured the international media in the 60s and 70s, is organized at a time when Greece is struggling to move out of the financial crisis. “Crises come and go. We have been through 9/11 in New York as well. In times of crisis there is nothing more important than the explosion of artistic expression. What is amazing in Greece is peoples’ sense of responsibility and awareness. There is so much creativity that I feel that the country will move out of the crisis through the artistic expression. This is why ‘Metamorphosis’ is so significant,” added Temor.
The Labyrinth in the recreation area of the Stavros Niarchos Park
“Metamorphosis” is a project that represents the modern globalization in the arts. Does contemporary art follow or precede globalization? This question could be the theme of an entire festival. But generally artists are ahead of the globalization of their time. Even if you look at historical or ancient sites you always find elements of a fusion of energies and cultures coming from elsewhere. And right now we are living in a ‘hypermediation.’ Everything we do is media and includes a digital meaning. There is so much energy being spent on bringing people together digitally, having digital experiences. It seems to me that today artists are pushing back a little bit and prioritizing being in the same room, sharing the same air molecules, having a collective experience which is unmediated, whether there are 2000 or 20 people together. It is like detox from the digital world. Lori Anderson is thinking about being in the same room in the SNFCC with a group of people and performing for them. I am not against technology, I am just saying that the pendulum has swayed too far,” explained Tremor.
The Solar Canopy upon the Roof of the National Opera
Born in Israel, Limor Tomer moved to United States at the age of 13. She worked in the Brooklyn Academy of Music for 13 years and then for the Lincoln Center Festival and Whitney Museum. Today, her curatorial highlights in the Metropolitan Museum of New York include some of the biggest names in the opera, music, theater, dance and video. “What I like to achieve is to not be afraid to invite an artist who is not already in everybody’s lists. I want to move the institutions that have the money, the power and the infrastructure away from what I call sealed based programming and back artists who have not been tested yet, who have not had a review that says that they are officially considered good. So right now I am going to explore Greece and see what is going on,” she emphasized. Definitely, there are plenty of untested artists in Greece.
