Omonia in Greek means concord, harmony, company, trust.

 

The Omonia Square is the oldest and most crucial square of Athens where all the central arterial roads of the city meet. From 1834 it has undergone through multiple phases with the last transformation happening prior to the 2004 Olympic Games which caused the public’s outrage for its aesthetic outcome. Today, the gentrification of the Omonia Square is one of the new mayor’s and City Government’s bets. The beautification of the square will contribute to the development of the broader area, as it is well known that touristic investments are blossoming around the square. Storekeepers and passers-by bear with the inconvenience due to the constructions around the square as it is said “it is a square with long history which lost its aesthetics over the years”. With the reconstruction of the square, “a new Omonia”, safe, aglow and clean will become the meeting point for the Athenians again. Omonia as a space of public discussion is a dynamic environment which might differ significantly for each person. In a place called Omonia there are multiple power relationships composing its infrastructure. Power relationships full of inequalities which constantly lead to authority situations, always local and changing. Some of these situations are: demonstrations against the junta (1973), Michalis Kaltezas’ assassination (1985), Dimitris Kousouris’ battery (1998), Nikos Sakellionas’ assassination (2008), Alexandros Grigoropoulos’ assassination (2008), Sahzati Lukman’s assassination (2013), Pavlos Fissas’ assassination (2013), Zak Kostopoulos’ assassination (2018), Ebuka Mamansubek’s assassination (2019) etc. Omonia is a universal phenomenon.

 

Creation: Angelos Papadopoulos
Visuals: Irini Kalaitzidi
Sound design: Aliki Leftherioti
Greek Narration: Nikos Kouris
English Narration: Elsa Siskou
Areti Athanasopoulou also takes part in Omonia.

Connect for Creativity As part of the Connect for Creativity program, Art and Technology residencies are gathering artists and creators from Turkey, the United Kingdom, Greece and Serbia to explore the uses of creative technology, build bridges and empathy between communities beyond geographical boundaries.

The resident artists will develop their works in response to the curatorial statement created by the program’s curatorial team, through their own perspective and practice. The final works will be showcased at each residency location at the end of the program for two weeks. Also, as part of the Connect for Creativity project, an exhibition is to take place between 12 March and 19 April 2020 at Furtherfield. Selected works from the resident artists and designers will get the chance to be featured in a final exhibition in London.

Connect for Creativity is an 18-month project led by the British Council, in partnership with Abdullah Gül University in Turkey and three creative hubs – ATOLYE in Turkey, Bios in Greece, Nova Iskra in Serbia. The project is co-funded by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, through the Intercultural Dialogue programme.

Scientific collaborators: Gorcem Acaroglu/ interdisciplinary performance maker-theatre director, Ruth Catlow/ curator, Dr. Charlotte Frost/ digital artist, Chrisa Vlachopoulou/ project manager, Angela Mirasi/ architect, Thanos Ragousis/ architect, Spyros Charalampidis/ lawyer, Stefanos Levidis/ Field Researcher and Coordinator, Forensic Architecture Goldsmiths, University of London, Phevos Kororos – Simeonidis/ MA Research Architecture Goldsmiths, London

 

video: Christiana Chiranagnostaki