Public Talks
Engaged Scenography: What is Scenography Today?
As part of the Engaged Scenography project, the French Institute of Greece and Goethe-Institut Athen present a one-day public talks program with the participation of acclaimed artists who are based in France, Germany, and Greece, on June 27. What is Scenography Today? aspires to explore recent approaches to scenography. The program includes presentations by Samuel Valensi, Adonis Volanakis, and Ralph Zeger (Szenografie-Bund), followed by a roundtable discussion with a panel consisting of Mario Banushi, Nadia Beugré, Sotiris Melanos, and Yorgos Sapountzis, and chaired by Despina Zefkili.
Engaged Scenography focuses on scenography in the performing arts sector. It aims to establish a platform of exchange, experimentation, creation, and networking between professionals active in the expanded field of scenography. Local and international artists from different disciplines enter an exchange about contemporary practice and theory of scenography. With ecology and identity issues in focus, the project includes workshops, meetings, and field research for professionals, as well as a program of talks and performances that engage the broader public and provoke conversations and reflections on the path to a new world.
PROGRAM
PRESENTATIONS
Samuel Valensi: “How Fictions Change the World”
At a time of ecological, technical, and political crisis, artists, like all citizens, are wondering what they can do. Can they help politicians? Is that their role? What better interlocutor than an artist to imagine how things might turn out? By drawing on our popular culture and exploring the role of stories and artists in social change, these are the questions we will try to answer.
Language: French, translated into Greek and English
Duration: 30 Min.
Q&A: 15 Min.
Adonis Volanakis: “Space Composing and Social Weaving”
Adonis Volanakis’s presentation focuses on community-based expanded scenography showcasing one of his socially engaged projects. Graces Kneading, No One is a Stranger created a platform for an intergenerational group of women to knead bread, exchange knowledge and share wishful imaginations for their city.
Language: Greek, translated into English
Duration: 30 Min.
Q&A: 15 Min.
Ralph Zeger (Szenographie Bund): “Sustainability in Set Design”
Ralph Zeger’s input introduces the audience to designing and producing sustainable sets. The focus is on the two key issues: knowledge of material and circular thinking. Explaining theory but also showing best practice examples will illustrate the topic.
Language: English, translated into Greek
Duration: 30 Min.
Q&A: 15 Min.
ROUNDTABLE
Participants:
Mario Banushi
Nadia Beugré
Sotiris Melanos
Yorgos Sapountzis
Moderator:
Despina Zefkili
Language: English, French, Greek with simultaneous translation
Duration: 60 Min.
Q&A: 15 Min.
INFORMATION ON THE PARTICIPANTS
Mario Banushi is a director and performer. As an artist, he is interested in photography and visual arts.
Nadia Beugré is a choreographer and dancer. Her choreographic works relate to freedom struggles, conversations around gender identity, and the fight for equality. Her practice merges traditional folk dances, contemporary experimental dance, and urban/hip-hop influences.
Sotiris Melanos is a set and costume designer.
Yorgos Sapountzis is known for his interdisciplinary approach to art. He creates works in which video, sound, sculpture, installation, and performance come together to form complex spaces that explore how we interact with our environment. His artistic vocabulary includes coloured textiles, aluminum tubes, newspaper, and plaster sculpture casts combined to produce temporary structures.
Samuel Valensi is an author and theater director. He plays an active role in the think tank “The Shift Project” reports, where he researches and documents the ecological transition in culture.
Adonis Volanakis is a visual artist. His practice is a collaborative amalgam of human relationships and aesthetics, poetry and politics, visual and performing arts. Establishing safe spaces for exchange and creativity is part of his artistic focus.
Ralph Zeger is a set and costume designer. He is member of the board of Szenografie-Bund and author of the guideline for sustainable designing and producing, Grüne Bühne. He further holds a certificate as Transformation Manager in Sustainable Culture. Ralph teaches and gives lectures and workshops.
Details
Institut Francais d’ Athènes
Sina Street 31
Athens
Price: Free entrance
210 3661004 kultur.athen@goethe.de