Oh, tranquility!
Penetrating the very rock,
A cicada’s voice.
former Pikionis pavilion, now “Pi”, Delphi, Greece
July 23 & 24
Artists: Angelo Plessas, Anna Pangalou, HOPE, Digitaria, Phoebe Giannisi, Zissis Kotionis, Natalia Papadopoulou, Serapis Maritime, Kostadis, VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis)
Concept - Curator: Kika Kyriakakou
Free admission
Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI) presents on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 July the cultural programme Oh, tranquility! Penetrating the very rock, A cicada's voice, in the framework of the institution All of Greece One Culture 2023 of the Ministry of Culture. The art interventions, the exhibition and the performances that will take place in Delphi are inspired by the environmental concerns of Dimitris Pikionis, as expressed through his architectural and artistic work, and his texts; Gaia's Atimosis (Earth Dishonoured, 1954) and Sentimental Topography (1935). The venue is the former Pikionis Pavilion, now 'P' in Delphi, the recently restored monument of modern architecture designed by the leading Greek architect and his son, Petros Pikionis, in the late 1950s.
Visual artists, architects, poets, mezzo-sopranos, designers and performers were invited to create new performances and artworks, inspired by the history of the architectural monument, a landmark of the region, and the natural landscape of Delphi, highlighting critical environmental issues, while setting philosophical and social dimensions on issues of environmental protection, art and architecture. In the framework of the programme, PCAI's commissioned performances anthologise new interpretations of Dimitris Pikionis' multifaceted work and take place in the sites and environments designed by the important creator several decades ago.
The programme features participations by Angelo Plessas, Anna Pangalou, HOPE, Digitaria, Phoebe Giannisi, Zissis Kotionis, Natalia Papadopoulou, Serapis Maritime, Kostadis, VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis), while it is curated and conceived by Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI Artistic Director.
The title Oh, tranquility! Penetrating the very rock, A cicada's voice, refers to the 1689 haiku of Matsuo Bash?, the most important haiku poet in Japanese history. Bash? composes a summer image of nature, awash with sounds and silences, insects, living creatures and erupting rocks. His poem is a song about earth and stone, a tribute to harmony and balance, a hymn to the recurring song of the cicada that transcends decay and death. A haiku with environmental implications that encompasses Pikionis' relevant concerns and the dialectical relationship he sought with nature and the environment. The distinguished architect, moreover, regularly referred to Japanese philosophy and art, incorporating these influences into his own idiosyncratic artistic idiom, where modernity and respect for nature often intersect with folk tradition."
*The title of the programme is an English interpretation of Matsuo Bash?'s haiku (1689). It was translated by the scholar and Japanologist, Helen Craig McCullough (Classical Japanese Prose, An Anthology, 1990, p. 539).
PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME
Sunday 23 July
HOPE & Anna Pangalou, Digitaria, Natalia Papadopoulou,
Serapis Maritime,Kostadis
Monday 24 July
Phoebe Giannisi & Zissis Kotionis, Angelo Plessas,
VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis)
The entrance is free. On both days, there will be a free shuttle bus service from Athens (Syntagma Square) to Delphi and back. The bus will depart from Delphi to Athens on both days after the end of the last performance. A reservation for each itinerary is mandatory.
Reserve your seat on the shuttle bus, by filling in the form:
https://forms.gle/jhEZURDJoQFdwWE38
Dates: Sunday 23 & Monday 24 July 2023
Arrival Time: 6 pm
Venue: Pi, Global Center for Circular Economy and Culture (former Pikionis’ pavilion), Delphi, Greece
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/4xhmefaS55xg3tyVA
Information: pcai.gr, info@pcai.gr and via phone: +30 2104060088
(Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm)
More about Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI)
PCAI is a nonprofit organization, founded by Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Polygreen CEO, as a means to increase environmental awareness through an annual programme of commissions, contemporary art exhibitions, art residencies, workshops, conferences and events. The organisation implements its objectives through three areas of activity: its mainly commissioned-based art collection, its annual program of cultural projects and the support it offers to artistic initiatives and artists sharing its environmental concerns. In 2019 Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI’s artistic director, initiated the organisation’s artist-in-residence programme with a residency jury of esteemed members like Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine artistic director, and Krist Gruijthuijsen, KW Institute Director. In 2021 PCAI became an official nominator for the Earthshot Prize, the significant environmental award established by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
More about the former Pikionis’ pavilion, now “pi”
Harmoniously integrated into the surrounding area, the Pikionis building or Pavillion, as it is known, was constructed in the late 1950s. Recently renovated by PCAI, the historic and architectural monument is located in the archaeological area of Delphi and was designed by leading Greek architects Dimitris and Petros Pikionis. Stone-built, with relief techniques on the walls and impressive flooring, it is a unique example of post-war architecture. The former Pikionis’ Tourist Pavilion in Delphi is the new dynamic space of PCAI and Polygreen under the name "pi" (Global Centre for Circular Economy and Culture). This new cultural space aims to cultivate environmental awareness with contemporary art as its main vehicle. The former Pavillion is considered one of the most beautiful balconies of Delphi and has already hosted important exhibitions and cultural activities of PCAI. These include the exhibition of works by renowned sculptor Takis, in collaboration with the Takis Foundation, as well as the group exhibition Keeping Time with environmental works from the PCAI and Fidelity contemporary art collections, curated by Kika Kyriakakakou, Patricia Dellorfano and Lexi Lee Sullivan. This exhibition, through works by visual artists Carly Glovinski, Lynne Harlow and Charly Nijensohn, functioned as a reflection on time and materiality, underlining the environmental concerns of both collections. In the context of the exhibition, a performance by VIGIL (Despina Sanida Krezia & Fotini Stamatelopoulou) was commissioned, and a series of guided tours and educational workshops in Delphi schools were implemented.
The production is part of the programme “All of Greece One Culture” 2023 of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Amalia Hotel Delphi is the hospitality partner of the programme, while Muses Estate is the official wine sponsor of the event.
Agios Loukas 330 54 Delphi Greece DD/MM/YYYY trueOh, tranquility!
Penetrating the very rock,
A cicada’s voice.
former Pikionis pavilion, now “Pi”, Delphi, Greece
July 23 & 24
Artists: Angelo Plessas, Anna Pangalou, HOPE, Digitaria, Phoebe Giannisi, Zissis Kotionis, Natalia Papadopoulou, Serapis Maritime, Kostadis, VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis)
Concept - Curator: Kika Kyriakakou
Free admission
Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI) presents on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 July the cultural programme Oh, tranquility! Penetrating the very rock, A cicada's voice, in the framework of the institution All of Greece One Culture 2023 of the Ministry of Culture. The art interventions, the exhibition and the performances that will take place in Delphi are inspired by the environmental concerns of Dimitris Pikionis, as expressed through his architectural and artistic work, and his texts; Gaia's Atimosis (Earth Dishonoured, 1954) and Sentimental Topography (1935). The venue is the former Pikionis Pavilion, now 'P' in Delphi, the recently restored monument of modern architecture designed by the leading Greek architect and his son, Petros Pikionis, in the late 1950s.
Visual artists, architects, poets, mezzo-sopranos, designers and performers were invited to create new performances and artworks, inspired by the history of the architectural monument, a landmark of the region, and the natural landscape of Delphi, highlighting critical environmental issues, while setting philosophical and social dimensions on issues of environmental protection, art and architecture. In the framework of the programme, PCAI's commissioned performances anthologise new interpretations of Dimitris Pikionis' multifaceted work and take place in the sites and environments designed by the important creator several decades ago.
The programme features participations by Angelo Plessas, Anna Pangalou, HOPE, Digitaria, Phoebe Giannisi, Zissis Kotionis, Natalia Papadopoulou, Serapis Maritime, Kostadis, VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis), while it is curated and conceived by Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI Artistic Director.
The title Oh, tranquility! Penetrating the very rock, A cicada's voice, refers to the 1689 haiku of Matsuo Bash?, the most important haiku poet in Japanese history. Bash? composes a summer image of nature, awash with sounds and silences, insects, living creatures and erupting rocks. His poem is a song about earth and stone, a tribute to harmony and balance, a hymn to the recurring song of the cicada that transcends decay and death. A haiku with environmental implications that encompasses Pikionis' relevant concerns and the dialectical relationship he sought with nature and the environment. The distinguished architect, moreover, regularly referred to Japanese philosophy and art, incorporating these influences into his own idiosyncratic artistic idiom, where modernity and respect for nature often intersect with folk tradition."
*The title of the programme is an English interpretation of Matsuo Bash?'s haiku (1689). It was translated by the scholar and Japanologist, Helen Craig McCullough (Classical Japanese Prose, An Anthology, 1990, p. 539).
PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME
Sunday 23 July
HOPE & Anna Pangalou, Digitaria, Natalia Papadopoulou,
Serapis Maritime,Kostadis
Monday 24 July
Phoebe Giannisi & Zissis Kotionis, Angelo Plessas,
VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas & Kostas Tzimoulis)
The entrance is free. On both days, there will be a free shuttle bus service from Athens (Syntagma Square) to Delphi and back. The bus will depart from Delphi to Athens on both days after the end of the last performance. A reservation for each itinerary is mandatory.
Reserve your seat on the shuttle bus, by filling in the form:
https://forms.gle/jhEZURDJoQFdwWE38
Dates: Sunday 23 & Monday 24 July 2023
Arrival Time: 6 pm
Venue: Pi, Global Center for Circular Economy and Culture (former Pikionis’ pavilion), Delphi, Greece
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/4xhmefaS55xg3tyVA
Information: pcai.gr, info@pcai.gr and via phone: +30 2104060088
(Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm)
More about Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI)
PCAI is a nonprofit organization, founded by Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Polygreen CEO, as a means to increase environmental awareness through an annual programme of commissions, contemporary art exhibitions, art residencies, workshops, conferences and events. The organisation implements its objectives through three areas of activity: its mainly commissioned-based art collection, its annual program of cultural projects and the support it offers to artistic initiatives and artists sharing its environmental concerns. In 2019 Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI’s artistic director, initiated the organisation’s artist-in-residence programme with a residency jury of esteemed members like Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine artistic director, and Krist Gruijthuijsen, KW Institute Director. In 2021 PCAI became an official nominator for the Earthshot Prize, the significant environmental award established by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
More about the former Pikionis’ pavilion, now “pi”
Harmoniously integrated into the surrounding area, the Pikionis building or Pavillion, as it is known, was constructed in the late 1950s. Recently renovated by PCAI, the historic and architectural monument is located in the archaeological area of Delphi and was designed by leading Greek architects Dimitris and Petros Pikionis. Stone-built, with relief techniques on the walls and impressive flooring, it is a unique example of post-war architecture. The former Pikionis’ Tourist Pavilion in Delphi is the new dynamic space of PCAI and Polygreen under the name "pi" (Global Centre for Circular Economy and Culture). This new cultural space aims to cultivate environmental awareness with contemporary art as its main vehicle. The former Pavillion is considered one of the most beautiful balconies of Delphi and has already hosted important exhibitions and cultural activities of PCAI. These include the exhibition of works by renowned sculptor Takis, in collaboration with the Takis Foundation, as well as the group exhibition Keeping Time with environmental works from the PCAI and Fidelity contemporary art collections, curated by Kika Kyriakakakou, Patricia Dellorfano and Lexi Lee Sullivan. This exhibition, through works by visual artists Carly Glovinski, Lynne Harlow and Charly Nijensohn, functioned as a reflection on time and materiality, underlining the environmental concerns of both collections. In the context of the exhibition, a performance by VIGIL (Despina Sanida Krezia & Fotini Stamatelopoulou) was commissioned, and a series of guided tours and educational workshops in Delphi schools were implemented.
The production is part of the programme “All of Greece One Culture” 2023 of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Amalia Hotel Delphi is the hospitality partner of the programme, while Muses Estate is the official wine sponsor of the event.
330 54 Delphi, Greece