Paradise drift

The artistic programme Paradise Drift unfolds across the Archaeological Site of Phaistos and the Archaeological Museum of Messara through an exhibition, a dance programme, and a film screening series. Bringing together new commissions, sculptural installations, video works, sound compositions, and performative actions, the project explores paradise as a historical, cultural, and political construct. Starting from the island’s repeated construction and consumption as paradise, the participating artists consider how this imaginary continues to shape landscapes, communities, and forms of life. Paradise emerges as a constantly shifting horizon, shaped by ecological processes, economic forces, and territorial transformations, and held in continuous tension with the fantasy of the idyllic destination. In doing so, the exhibition frames the island as an active field in which value, attention, and belonging are continually recalibrated, while communities continue to inhabit, resist, and renegotiate both the present and their possible futures.

PUBLIC PROGRAM

Friday, 21 August 2026
Archaeological Museum of Messara

19:00–20:00 Screening Program
Raffaela Naldi Rossano, WARP (2022)
Running time: 30′

Nour Ouayda, The Secret Garden (2023)
Running time: 27′15″

20:00–21:00 Premiere of the performance Where you long to be

Performance duration: 50′
Performed by: Christina Karagianni
Sound design & co-creation: Viki Steiri

Saturday, 22 August 2026
Archaeological Museum of Messara

18:30 Lecture-performance
Nikos Sakkadakis
Reconstructing Eden: Modernity and Utopia in the Minoan Ruins

19:00–20:00 Screening Program
Dimitra Kondylatou, LUXENIA (2021)
Running time: 10′4″

Karrabing Film Collective, The Mermaids, or Aiden in Wonderland (2018)
Running time: 26′29″

20:00–21:00 performance Where you long to be

Performance duration: 50′
Performed by: Christina Karagianni
Sound design & co-creation: Viki Steiri