Athens Biennale 2015–2017: Omonoia

Participants: Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler, Avtonomi Akadimia, Campus Novel, Depression Era, The Contemporary Greek Art Institute (ISET), Valentina Karga, Fanis Kafantaris, Zissis Kotionis along with students (School of Architecture, University of Thessaly), Playroom, State of Concept, UrbanDig Project, 3 137, Citizens of Mets Initiative

Omonoia, the Athens Biennale 2015–2017, begins its official program on November 18, 2015 with "Synapse 1: Introducing a laboratory for production post–2011." Synapse 1 is an ongoing collective experiment, which will transform the Omonoia area into a social laboratory of ideas with the contribution of anthropologists, researchers, activists, academics, artists, civic organizations and self-managed groups.

From November 18 to 29, 2015, the Athens Biennale 2015–2017 "inhabits" the greater area of Omonoia, joining forces and sharing its spaces and facilities with cultural institutions such as the National Theatre of Greece, non-profit art spaces, individual artists and groups. From the deserted landmark hotel of Bageion, which serves as the central venue, the Athens Biennale expands across independent art spaces, shops and small businesses that operate in the core district of the city of Athens.

The aim of this "cohabitation" is to consider the common ground among groups of scholars, activists, self-managed organizations, cultural producers and other civic collectives involved in urban practices of communing, solidarity, urban welfare and alternative economies. Furthermore, the Athens Biennale attempts to create the conditions that will support artistic production and encourage collaboration with local and international bodies.

Massimiliano Mollona, the Programme Director of the Athens Biennale 2015–2017 (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, Goldsmiths College, London), is interested in “how art can contribute to broader political and economic debates and create a bridge between social research and civic engagement."

Synapse 1: International Summit at the National Theatre of Greece—New Rex
November 18 & 19

Divided into three theoretical strands (Alternative Economies, Rethinking Institutions, The Performative in the Political), the summit will explore themes like "Commons and Urban Welfare," "Cooperativism," and "Precarious Labour." Participants will bring forward questions on the way that art and cultural institutions contribute in these times of radical change. Furthermore, they will examine and rethink the established institutional structures in order to build forms of artistic production based on dialogue, cooperation and participation.

The Athens Biennale 2015–2017 acts both as a host organisation and a mediator between artists, cultural producers and local initiatives, as well as as a space where notions of self-organization, cooperation, sustainability and grassroots democracy will be experimented.

Speakers: Max Andrews (Spain), Athena Athanasiou (Greece), Maurizio Atzeni (UK), Dario Azzellini (Germany), Florent Berlioux (France), Emanuele Braga (Italy), Luigi Coppola (Belgium), Sylvia De Fanti (Italy), Angela Dimitrakaki (UK), Costas Douzinas (UK), Andrea Fumagalli (Italy), Federica Giardini (Italy), Maria Hlavajova (Netherlands), Thodoris Karyotis (Greece), Sharryn Kasmir (USA), Mariana Canepa Luna (Spain), Ugo Mattei (Italy), Robert Meister (USA), Angela Melitopoulos (Germany), Leo Panitch (Canada), Emily Pethick (UK), Oliver Ressler (Austria), Marco Sachy (UK), Kostis Stafilakis (Greece), Tiziana Terranova (Italy), Margarita Tsomou (Germany), Hilary Wainwright (UK), Katherine Watson (Belgium), Amalia Zepou (Greece)