The cultural organisation Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI) presents an original two-day long programme of visual arts events and performances in Delphi that has been inspired by Dimitris Pikionis’ environmental concerns, as expressed through his architectural and artistic oeuvre, as well as his essays, such as Gaias Atimosis (1954) and Emotional Topography (1935). The events will take place at the former Pikionis’ Pavilion, now known as “π”, in Delphi, the recently restored monument of modern architecture designed by the leading Greek architect and his son, Petros Pikionis, in the late 1950s.
The visual and performance art events commissioned from PCAI as part of the programme are new interpretations of the prominent creator’s prolific work, in which modernity and respect for nature often cross paths with folk tradition and Japanese architecture. Acclaimed visual artists, poets, soloists and performers take part in the programme, inspired by the history of the architectural monument – a landmark in the area – and the natural landscape of Delphi, with the goal of bringing out crucial environmental issues and raising philosophical and social considerations about environmental protection issues, art and architecture.
*The programme’s title is the English rendition of a haiku poem by Matsuo Bashō (1689), translated by academician and Japanese scholar Helen Craig McCullough (Classical Japanese Prose. An Anthology, 1990, p. 539).
In the new original work The Oracles of Water, director and choreographer Apostolia Papadamaki creates a modular, interactive and participatory site-specific performance connecting climate change and the global water crisis with the mythical background and worship of Apollo in Delphi. Through a trajectory of meanings, she aspires to put together scientific discoveries and findings, historical facts, mythical entities and high concepts, by associating studies on the effects of climate change in the wider area of Delphi and the consequences of human intervention in its water table with the global water crisis. The performance transcends traditional boundaries, using the power of art to attract audiences both spiritually and emotionally. It serves as a reminder of humanity’s responsibility to protect the planet’s most valuable resource and encourage collective action to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Every performance consists of two parts. The first part takes place between 6.30-7.30, at sunrise, at the Temple of Athena Pronaia and the second part between 20.00-21.10 at the archaeological site of Delphi. Attending both parts is mandatory.
The musical group In excelsis presents a finely-tuned performance called Εις την Πόλιν – Istanbul, exploring the multiple and diverse aspects of the musical, artistic, and spiritual landscape of “Ottoman” Constantinople. Through this landscape, painted with the colours of sounds, speech, and movement, the goal is to capture the atmosphere and ambiance of that era – sometimes dreamlike and spiritual, other times filled with conflict or sacredness, yet always colourful and diverse.
Hymns from the Byzantine music repertoire intersect with the sacred music of the Dervishes (specifically the Mevlevi order), alongside typical orchestral compositions reflecting the intellectual secularism that dominated the Sultan’s Palace and Constantinople for centuries following its Fall. At the same time, “military marches” blend with excerpts from folk lamentations about the Fall of Constantinople, complementing the most important musical compositions related to Constantinople during that time.
The international performer Erini presents the music and dance performance “Malés,” in which the thematic axis of “conflict” is drawn from the Cretan “mantinada”. In the Cretan dialect, “Malés” means quarrel/fight, and in this particular performance, it challenges the audience to view conflict not only as a destructive force but also as a source of creation and inspiration that emerges from cultural osmosis. Erini collaborates with Manolis Manousakis (music director) and Aristoula Toli (dance director) and interprets traditional Cretan songs in interesting orchestrations of an ever-evolving tradition. At the same time, the performance highlights the interconnected relationship between music, song, and dance, the threefold event, a dynamic phenomenon with performative power that constitutes an integral part of the artistic and cultural expression of the local Cretan culture, while emphasis is given to the content and meanings of the words. The conflict and its various aspects are depicted, visualized, and questioned through the “female gaze” in Cretan music.
Season is a participatory music theatre performance with an original dramaturgy focusing on the conflict between employers and employees in the food services sector.
During a gala in the courtyard of an archaeological museum, an unexpected fight between the owner and the catering employees will break out behind the scenes. The conflict will soon be transferred to the event venue, and the stage will transform into a political forum about tourism and seasonal work.
A frenzied performance aiming to shatter the facade of tourism, the promotion of a polished image, and the harmony of the music, in order to shed light on the underlying internal conflicts. A tribute to the hardworking individuals, those who pay and are paid for under the Greek Sun. Based on interviews, the performance transitions to pure fiction before returning to an artistic interpretation of reality.
Conflict, whether destructive, life-bearing, or both, is a fundamental state where different energies, forces, materials, humans, views, and cultures meet – an encounter that radically transforms all the involved parts.
Ergon ensemble presents three fascinating, modern musical pieces treating the theme of conflict, in a single narrative for piano, clarinet, cello, violin, and narrator.
The programme will feature the pieces Shattila (2004-05) by Samir Odeh-Tamimi, composed after the Sabra and Shatila massacre on 16 September 1982, Stalag VIIIA (2018) by Tristan Murail, referring to the Nazi concentration camp Stalag VIII-A, and Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940) by Olivier Messiaen, a quartet written by the composer while he was held captive at the Stalag VIII-A concentration camp. These pieces will be combined with scientific and literary excerpts, poems, and original texts discussing conflict in the past and present, (and potentially for eternity), all curated, compiled, and presented by Paris Mexis.
A Software’s Biography is the new multimedia project of visual artist Giorgos Drivas. It includes the projection of his new video work, which was produced using Artificial Intelligence programmes and will be presented with a live music accompaniment, especially composed with the help of similar AI programmes. It features and visualizes an individual’s effort to regain his lost memory, and by extension, to remember the life he has suddenly forgotten. It revolves around an audiovisual conversation with an intelligent software, which is used to retrieve digital audiovisual data from the past and reactivate the memory of a person searching for his lost identity.
The production Why Did ‘Meliá’ Not Turn Into ‘Meléa’ based on a short story by Georgios Vizyinos, is a dance and theatre performance with a live music accompaniment. In the story, the author recounts an incident from his school years, addressing the Greek language dispute during a period when the whole of the Balkans was in turmoil. The Greek language question was a major point of conflict in the modern history of the Greek state, spanning from the start of the Greek War of Independence to the start of the post-dictatorship era, with significant political, social, and cultural implications.
The apple-tree (in Greek: meliá), which in Greek sounds like the word “speech” (miliá), takes on the role of Speech/Language in the narration. The language of theatre prose will clash with the non-verbal language of dancing, and together they will compose something new, using music as their common ground. They will become ‘Meliá’ and ‘Meléa’. They will portray the conflict of little Giorgis with his teacher, and will become the words that fight over which one will finally settle in the child’s mind and soul.