SNF Nostos is back after a two-year hiatus with its largest edition to date. From June 21 to 28, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) will host a program of discussions, arts events and performances marking 30 years of philanthropic work by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
“SNF Nostos is not an event for a select few, but an open invitation to everyone,” SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos said at the presentation of the program on Wednesday, adding that, as in previous installments, all the events are free of charge.
The event, he told the gathering at the SNFCC on Athens’ southern coast, aspires to create a space for dialogue around issues that affect society as a whole.
This year’s edition brings together more than 200 guests from over 30 countries. Among them are acclaimed comedian and Monty Python co-founder John Cleese and actor Willem Dafoe, historian Mark Mazower, who will join creators and academics in a discussion on identity and society, scholar and Afro-feminist Maboula Soumahoro and electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre.
Local guests include composer and Greek National Opera Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis, who will present a new work as part of the opera’s program, and athletes Giannis Antetokounmpo and Emmanouil Karalis, who will participate in a discussion on the support networks that make successful careers in sports possible.
The SNF Dialogues section once again plays a central role in the program, returning for six days of discussions on topics including healthcare and mental health, artificial intelligence, democracy and the role of institutions.
Participants include author and journalist Karen Hao, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts President and CEO Mariko Silver, K-pop artist Eric Nam and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nisha Pahuja.
On the entertainment side, the program features concerts presented in collaboration with Release Athens, including by David Byrne, Jarre and Gorillaz. The Greek National Opera and its Ballet will also present new and specially commissioned productions, including “A Streetcar Named Desire” and the dance performance “Future Cargo.”
The theater program will feature a staged reading of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” with Dafoe and Jason Isaacs, the interactive play “The Trials of Atlas,” written for Nostos by the Tallberg Foundation’s chairman, Alan Stoga, and exploring artificial intelligence, a reading by Nia Vardalos and the performance “Ithaca – Long Journey Home.”
The week concludes with a variety of other events reflecting the festival’s multidisciplinary character.
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GR