Athens - cancelled!

In July 2023, the Acropolis was closed due to extreme heat, and ambulances and cooling tents were provided for the international tourists. In December 2023, there were ongoing diplomatic tensions between Greece and the UK over the so-called Elgin Marbles, which continue to remain in the British Museum. Plans to build a new museum in Plato’s Academy Garden have driven up land and property prices, with consequences for the local social and ecological system. Already back in 2017, documenta 14, with its dual locations in Athens and Kassel, led to controversies surrounding the large-scale exhibition’s perceived colonial attitude, which at the same time entailed an internationalisation of curatorial working methods. As part of our three-day tour, we will discuss with local creative artists how these developments have affected their work. What curatorial practices and forms are conducive to critical and transformative work? How do they develop local and transnational working methods based on an understanding of Europe’s shared responsibility for the cultural heritage, coloniality, and climate crisis? The itinerary includes the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum, the EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Office of Hydrocommons, the planned new museum in Plato’s Academy Garden, and a meeting with local cultural workers in resistance for dinner at a neighbouring anarchist café.