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Is my art (also) my homeland? the AfroGreeks activate an abandoned public space in the town of Elefsina (Greece) through public dialogue, screenings, dance and songs of migration, for 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture
11/06/2023 Elefsina, Greece
Film screenings, music and dance performances and public dialogues on migration and refugee issues with participants from local associations and contemporary refugees played out as public mysteries in Elefsina and redefined the meaning of “homeland” through artistic processes: sometimes as a place of origin, sometimes as a destination and a place of residence and sometimes as a concept that can protectively enclose those who feel like they are strayed and abandoned.
Unpredictable artistic interventions took place across the city: teenagers from refugee camps who volunteer in natural disasters in the town of Mandra, the protagonist of the AfroGreeks project Keita Alasan, himself a refugee, who now advises newly arrived refugees, the Afro-Greek Aggelos Aggelou who with his group Adalou enrich Greek traditional music, Eleusinians who redefine the concept of “foreigner” by intervening in the city through dance in remarkable partnerships with contemporary visual artists.
The action concluded with a public dialogue with the audience where important interventions were made by Eleusinians of different origins. During the public dialogue, relevant scenes were shown behind the panelists and short films on the topic were interspersed.
At the end of this action, it was declared through dancing that “my art is also my homeland”.
The event was part of Greekies, a work by Døcumatism and Menelaos Karamaghiolis for 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture. Greekies is a multimedia event that includes on-site screenings, film festival content, an alternative “museum” and an innovative educational program. Unapproachable heroes become “guides” in a nomadic action that can be performed on the spot, is easily transportable and combines on-site experience with traditional & new technologies that cancel out constraints.
