The Stavros Niarchos Park opens its doors to the general public to offer, without charge, an array of cultural activities providing an alternative perspective on Greece.The series of events will provide a glimpse into the multifaceted program of activities that will take place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) once the project is completed.
From June 21 to 24 the Stavros Niarchos Park welcomes the first visitors with an exceptional program of activities, which will start late in the afternoon and last all-night long until dawn of the morning after.
The program includes:
* Guided tours to the Stavros Niarchos Park
* Documentary screening on the SNFCC
* Music concerts
* Sports activities for children and adults
* An evening race from the Panathenaic Stadium to the Stavros Niarchos Park
* A chess game with Garry Kasparov
* Creative workshops for children and families
* A three-night video art program (Monday June 22 to Wednesday June 24) entitled Fireflies in the Night. The event is devised by Artistic Director Robert Storr and curated by Barbara London, Kalliopi Minioudaki and Francesca Pietropaolo.
ABOUT THE STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org) is one of the world's leading private international philanthropic organizations, making grants in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. The Foundation funds organizations and projects that are expected to achieve a broad, lasting and positive impact for society at large, and exhibit strong leadership and sound management. The Foundation also seeks actively to support projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare.
The Foundation's largest single gift ($796 million / €566 million) is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), in Athens, which is expected to be completed in 2016.
The Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre will be constructed in the Athenian coastal suburb of Kallithea, 4 km south of central Athens. An important cultural and educational project, the site will comprise the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera in a 170,000 sq m landscaped park.
The project which is also an engine of short- to mid-term economic stimulus is designed by Renzo Piano, one of the world’s most acclaimed architects, who first achieved fame in the 1970s with the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Currently a parking lot left over from the 2004 Olympic Games, once the site of a racetrack, when complete, the project will restore the site’s lost connections with the city and the sea.