The Syn+Ergasia Art Platform is participating in the three-day activities of the CleanBioAthens program.
The CleanBioAthens project is supported by the City of Athens as part of the Youth Climate Action Fund, in collaboration with the cultural organization REVMA | A Moving Creative Society and the University of West Attica, specifically the Laboratory for Soft Energy Applications and Environmental Protection.
The awareness-raising event on the value of sustainability in Plato’s Academy Park, as a natural and historical site, was structured by three teams and developed along three axes: research, artistic creation, and public information.
Goals of the Event:
- To highlight the importance of the Plato’s Academy grove, currently threatened by redevelopment plans, cementification, and reduction of green space.
- To promote to the public the need to defend urban green spaces.
- To open a network of local groups and stakeholders involved in the sustainability of natural areas.
- To promote access to public space management.
- To raise awareness among youth and children about the value of a clean, green city.
Guest Speakers at the Open Discussion – Awareness Event:
- Nelli Poulopoulou / Director – Coordinator of REVMA | A Moving Creative Society
(Topic: Art and collectivity / Nature’s asymmetry vs. utilitarian anthropocentric development) - Panagiotis Ktenidis / Researcher – Academic Advisor at the Laboratory for Soft Energy Applications and Environmental Protection, University of West Attica
(Topic: Urban groves as a response to overheating and heatwaves / Environmental awareness in schools and communities) - Emilia Bouriti / Researcher, visual & performance artist – Artistic Director of Syn+Ergasia Art Platform
(Topic: Participatory art and community resilience)
Discussion Themes:
- The threat to natural areas from leveling and cementification – especially Plato’s Academy Park – and possible alternatives
- Art and collective actions in public space – where they intersect
- Energy awareness and new perceptual approaches to interaction
- Expanding and networking collectivity in issues of public space
Event Details:
📅 Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
🕖 Time: 19:00
📍 Location: REVMA, Servion 8, Athens
About the Park:
Plato’s Academy Park holds significant historical, cultural, and environmental value. It is one of Athens’ most important archaeological sites and is part of a modern cultural network. The park consists of trees and pathways forming a grove that, in prehistoric and classical times, was considered sacred.
Today, it is divided by a central double-lane road and remains the only natural area in the neighborhood. Since antiquity, the area has enjoyed rich vegetation due to the nearby Kifisos River and its geographical position in the Athens basin. It has low elevation, underground streams, and air currents.
Currently, the area is considered degraded due to pollution from the Kifisos highway and traffic congestion on surrounding roads. Nevertheless, it is still the largest public green space in the Kolonos district, with scattered antiquities visible to visitors. Thousands more remain stored or buried underground.
The issue of revitalizing the park has long concerned the local community, which has repeatedly opposed redevelopment plans believed to serve corporate interests.
In 2021-2022, a programmatic agreement worth €3.8 million was signed between the City of Athens, the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Attica, and the public company Anaplasis Athens S.A.. The plan includes ongoing archaeological excavations set to be completed by 2025.
It is expected that hundreds of trees, including olive trees and cypresses, will be cut down and that existing park pathways will be eliminated to allow for the unification of excavation sites and the construction of a large museum within the park, focused on the city of Athens.
The redevelopment plan has faced opposition from local residents, who are calling for a sustainable upgrade and maintenance measures. At the same time, it has raised concerns among archaeologists, urban planners, and environmentalists, who emphasize the need to protect both the ancient remains and the green space.
