"Agricultural Traces of Aspropyrgos II"

Participatory work | Performance | Film projection

Emilia Bouriti, visual and performance artist, inspirer of the idea of the international programme "Amoli", presents a Collective Project in the Agricultural, Post-Industrial, Multicultural Community of Aspropyrgos, AMOLI II, which will take place from July to December 2020. It is a continuation of AMOLI I, which took place last year with a great participation. The word “Amoli” is used by the Aspropyrgos’ farmers and means the rural channel that carries water for the irrigation of the crop.

The first action of the "Amoli II" programme is the "Agricultural Traces II" supported by the NEON Organization for Culture and Development

Through a series of site specific performances, participatory actions with the local population and outdoor film projections, the project brings to the surface the rural and multicultural element in a participatory context where artists, farmers, immigrants and the general public create an experiential, collective, artistic work carried out in the fields of Aspropyrgos.

Taking into account the pandemic caused by the COVID-19, the Amoli programme will present its actions, fully observing the security measures set by law, while part of the actions will be presented online.

The programme will start on July 17 with the work "Agricultural Traces of Aspropyrgos II - The Arvanitic Culture", which consists of participatory work, performance and film projection.

The project deals with the relationship of the Arvanites farmers with the land, the cultivation, their personal history and the memories of the place. While the participatory action of the inhabitants concerns the testimonies and the songs of the farmers and the special relationship they have developed with the agricultural land in the area of Agia Marina.

The date of July 17 was chosen as the day of the presentation of the work, as Aspropyrgos is particularly connected with the celebration of Agia Marina, which takes place in its humble chapel bearing the name of the saint.

The artist Emilia Bouriti, influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, shapes the theme of her work and its presentation, taking as a reference point the history of the place of Agia Marina, as this area was known in the dark period of the leprosy pandemic as a place of deposition - abandonment of lepers.

The artist performs a ritual, purifying performance, where participants are invited through the "safety" measures against the coronavirus to perform their own purification ritual.

The project creates a bridge between today's potentials through the situation that the corona pandemic has created, in relation to the testimonies of the residents about the epidemics that took place in the rural Aspropyrgos in the past. The testimonies of the residents come from the families’ and historical memories of the area.
The catalyst of the work is the positivity and the strength of life that proceeds from it!

The Film Projection - trailer is here

August 2

On August 2, the work "Agricultural Traces of Aspropyrgos II - Pontic Culture" is presented in the neighborhood of the airport, EMAK 1, in the area of Gorytsa, Aspropyrgos. The work also consists of participatory action, ritual performance and film projection. The film projection presents the participatory actions of the community in the "Amoli" project, emphasizing the dynamics of Pontic culture through the food, the testimonies of uprooting and relocation of the community in Greece, the music and the songs of Pontics.

The participatory action of the community includes Pontic's testimonies and memorial songs related to serious infectious diseases such as Chichotka, Vrasa, Chuma when the participants or their ancestors lived in the former republics of the Soviet Union.

The power of community art, as well as faith in life, conveys the message of solidarity, historical memory and optimism in the face of times of pandemic.

The project "Agricultural Traces of Aspropyrgos II" on the occasion of COVID-19 invites us to reconsider our relationship with the land and human relations, while with the vehicle of modern art creates dynamics that resist any form of stagnation and fear. The message of the work is that "Art, creativity as well as truth and knowledge, liberate."

The Film Projection - trailer is here

"AMOLI II" project is carried out in collaboration with the Municipality of Aspropyrgos and its Cultural Center, the Laboratory of Soft Energy Applications & Environmental Protection, Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of West Attica, The research group “Pantheon” of Sorbonne, Universite Paris 1, the 3rd Painting Laboratory of the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), the Agricultural Association of Aspropyrgos, Comunitatea Elena Prahova-Ploiesti, the Brotherhood Cities Association of Aspropyrgos and Ploiesti (Romania), the higher educational institutions as well as the primary and the secondary schools of the Thriasio area.
The "AMOLI II" work has its roots in Emilia’s Bouriti research titled "Post-Industrial Rural Paths", which she has been conducting since 2016 in the area of Aspropyrgos.
Emilia Bouriti is a visual and performance artist with an important academic career. Her artistic work has been successfully presented in art events and institutions in Greece and abroad. She is the founder of the artistic platform “Syn+ergasia” that aims to promote the visual arts, interartistic works and participatory actions, as well as interdisciplinary and educational programs at international level.

Booking is demanded for the participation in the project and the number of places is limited.
Participants will be seated and if they wish, they can bring their own seat or pillow.

FREE ENTRY
Participants are advised to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Starting time 8:30 p.m.
Walking route to the chapel of Agia Marina.
Starting point is the 1st General High School of Aspropyrgos.
Time 19:30
Necessary registration for the participation: 210 5577191 & 6970383229

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Moving to and from the venues:
METRO: Detraining at Agia Marina Station, then boarding the bus line 866, St. Agia Marina - Aspropyrgos (City Hall station).
Bus of the Municipality is available at 20:00 from the City Hall of Aspropyrgos to the venues and return.

Emilia Bouriti + Syn+Ergasia art platform