In Naxos and in the Metropolis Square in the City of Naxos and with the sound of the sea from Grotta giving the rhythm, on September 16 the 1st Festival of Mediterranean Culture begins,
The inauguration will take place from 8 pm on the 16th of September and a series of actions will continue that will last until the 22nd of September 2020 with free entrance and the first goal is to contribute to the urban revitalization of the Grotta area, where the Mycenaean city was located. Naxos, one of the most important in the Aegean.
Naxos, given its geographical position in the center of the sea routes of the Aegean, has a strong cultural position in the Mediterranean. The founding of the Hellenic French School of Ursulines in 1670, was the first educational center in the entire Eastern Mediterranean. So she rightly refers to the saying attributed to her today: "Everyone on an island".
The aim of the festival is to highlight the contemporary social, geopolitical and climatic challenges and the unique development perspectives of the Mediterranean and the Aegean as a single cultural region.
The multidimensional program of screenings, art exhibitions, musical and theatrical events, function as a compass of deeper intercultural understanding, within a political and social framework of harmonious coexistence, conflicts, wars and the movement of entire civilizations.
Through cultural synergies, the Festival seeks to promote common cultural and social values that promote peaceful coexistence, fruitful dialogue and social cohesion, with a view to providing a positive experience to the local community and visitors to Naxos.
The 1st o Festival of Mediterranean Culture in the Cyclades, is under the auspices and support of the Ministry of Culture and is co-organized by the urban non-profit company "Synergies of Culture" and the Municipality of Naxos & Small Cyclades.
The artistic direction belongs to Costas Theonas. Collaborators: the Iakovos Kampanellis Theater Museum, the independent non-profit organization Cycladia / In Search of Culture, the Naxos Film Club and "Keep it Simple Photography".
Parallel Events
SHORT FILM SCREENINGS
16 - 22/9, time 20.00 - 23.00
Amphitheater of the Field Museum
A cinematic tribute to the Mediterranean with films that highlight and outline contemporary trends, concerns and societies themselves, as a miniature of a multicultural reality. This cinematic look, mainly by Greek directors, is the only first step of the Festival's activities, in order to familiarize the public with the themes of modern Mediterranean cinema.
Directors: Dimitris Angelidis, George Angelopoulos, Artemis Anastasiadou, Costas Gerabinis, Spyros Gratsias, Ismini Daskaroli, Giannis Zafeiris, Kalli Zifou, Dimitris Koutsiabasassos, Maria Lafi, Michalis Lygis & Michalis Lygias Stergios Dinopoulos, Natassa Xydi, Vivian Papageorgiou, Antonis Rozakis, Haris Stathopoulos, Antonis Sotiropoulos, Stamos Tsamis, Michalis Felanis, Bastian Fischer - Jim Croft, Alexandros Hantzis .
Edited by: Costas Theonas & Naxos Cinema Club
***
EXHIBITION OF SCULPTURES WITH NAXIA MARBLE
16 - 22/9, time 20.00 - 23.00
Metropolis Square
In the Mediterranean tradition from ancient times, the use of marble in Art, Architecture and many other uses is extremely widespread. In Greece, as in almost all the countries of the Mediterranean basin, marble is the main material of sculpture. The organization of the Naxian Marble Sculpture Symposium for the last three years from the Cyclades, an independent non-profit organization based in Damalas of mountainous Naxos, attempts to connect the rich archaic tradition of the region with modern art and lay the foundations for an institution which will be a pole of attraction for creative forces in the field of marble sculpture. This open-air sculpture exhibition of the Festival presents a sample of the work done in 2019. Along with the exhibition, there will be a screening of photographs by Necmi Aydin Sahtariadis, who captures with his lens moments of creation of sculptural works by artists.
Artists: Dimitris Varsos, Petros Dritsonas, Tom Von Kaenel, Maria Dimitra Mourtzini, ‘Olga Plastira, Christos Riganas. Edited by: Dimitris Varsos
***
MUSIC EVENTS
Music from the Eastern Mediterranean
Wednesday 16/9, 21.00 - 22.30
Field Museum Amphitheater
The musical atmosphere invites us to travel to old and distant melodies. The band members focus on the study of musical idioms, musical expressions and traditional music of the eastern Mediterranean in general. With the magic music carpet as a vehicle, we travel to places beyond deserts, hills and fertile valleys, sometimes of Asia, sometimes of Africa and sometimes of our own Aegean.
***
Musical-narrative performance
Earthquake Stories
Sunday 20/9, 7.30pm - 8.30pm
Field Museum Amphitheater
The Mediterranean is a basin full of water, which sometimes swells and rises covering old places, sometimes dries up, revealing paths hidden between lands, which join at the depths of the seas. The Mediterranean Sea is a great open road, where stories travel with people, because man likes to convey through stories his experience in life. Let us travel with the trail of stories and music to feel the atmosphere of this place. Storytelling and music by Floating Plains.
Edited by: Cycladia
***
THEATER EVENTS
Thursday 17/9, time 20.00 - 21.00 Saturday 19/9, time 20.00 - 20.30
Amphitheater of the Field Museum
Indicative excerpts from texts known and unknown by contemporary theatrical writers of Mediterranean countries. Similarities and differences, with a View of the Mediterranean, will be revealed to the spectators through the theatrical analogies of the Theatrical Museum Group Iakovos Kampanellis.
Participants: Dimitris Vassalakis, Evangelia Gatsoti, Matthaios Eleftheriou Stefanos Korres, Angeliki Potsi, Anna Ragousi Curator: Katerina Polychronopoulou Curator: Kiki Imello
***
PHOTO EXHIBITION: »Mediterranean Flux»
16 - 22/9, time 20.00 - 23.00
Diocesan Cultural Center
The photographic tribute attempts through a multicultural approach the search for common places. An artistic tour with a penetrating look and disarming images that capture faces, emotions and poetic moments from the Mediterranean countries.
Artists: Nikolas Ventourakis, Thanassis Gatos, Alexandros Georgiou, David Galljard, Christoforos Doulgeris, Apostolos Zerdevas, Georges Salameh, Marinos Tsagarakis, Haris Masouras, Eleni Mouzakiti, Panavitos Panatos, Georgia Kotarotos Vassilis Poularikas, Filip Tsiaras, Pavlos Fysakis, Panos Charalambidis - Mary Hairetaki, Giannis Chatziaslanis .
Edited by: Christoforos Doulgeris
***
DISCUSSIONS
Saturday 19/9, time 20.30 - 23.00
Spiritual center of the Diocese
As part of the Festival and during the photography exhibition entitled "Mediterranean Flux", the participating artists will share their experiences and secrets around their photographic work and will talk about their new designs and works in an open discussion with the public at the exhibition. Admission is free and all health regulations will be followed.σ
Participants: Christoforos Doulgeris, Georgia Kotretsos, Panagiotis Lambrou, Myrto Papadopoulou, Georges Salameh.
