Today on the 19th of June, 2015 we are occupying Green Park cafe in the Pedion tou Areos, one the the two central parks of Athens. Almost 4 years after the occupation of the Empros theatre in 2011 we are activating with our own means a space deserted and left empty for years by the Greek state and propose a 10 day program of cultural and political intervention in the here and now of Athens. This activation refuses a particular temporal horizon and understands itself outside of the logics of ownership. The occupation is not defined by a particular ideology or interest but rather comes about as a result of the encounters born out the experiments and struggles of the last few years. Thus, we look to, rebuild modes of collectivity and solidarity and reclaim friendship for its political importance. We propose friendship as a model for organizational formations and autonomous instituting that exceeds neo-liberal calls to order.
Made up of fluid and flexible methods that refuse the enclosures of formal political representation this action attempts to collectively explore forms of critical artistic, political and theoretical production and their relationship to the public and dominant social narratives. It seeks to rethink the need for and nature of participation. It seeks to remain imperfect and incomplete. It seeks to recuperate lightness, humor, self-depreciation and joyous critique as the foundations of an open process.
The activation of the abandoned public building in Green Park, Athens desires politics and joy to emerge in a shared fight for, and from within, marginalised, forgotten and unexpected places. Deploying friendship as a political relationship in a struggle against cultural and artistic monopolies, “creative cities” and their production lines of co-optation, through this ephemeral collective experiment we aim to co-imagine with fellow city dwellers, the here and now of Green Park and our city.
More information for the 10-day programme here
Green Park 