{"id":635,"date":"2019-06-16T18:15:44","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T18:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/?p=635"},"modified":"2023-03-01T16:39:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T16:39:43","slug":"inter-national-crossings-interview-with-katia-arfara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/inter-national-crossings-interview-with-katia-arfara\/","title":{"rendered":"Inter-national Crossings: Interview with Katia Arfara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Savas Patsalidis<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Katia Arfara. Photo: Elina Giounanli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the Onassis Stegi (the word means \u201cRoof\u201d in\nGreek), opened its doors in 2010, something changed drastically in the artistic\nlandscape of Athens. From the very start, Stegi offered space for courageous,\nrestless and daring Greek artists to showcase their work and for international\ncollaborations to flourish. From the outset, Stegi has been the venue in which\nthe boundaries between science, art, society, education, learning and politics\ncould be renegotiated; and a space for actions, interventions and ideas that\nshape and shake society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The impressive building of Onassis\u2019 Stegi, situated in down town Athens, is a powerhouse of cutting-edge works ranging from theatre and performance to dance, music, digital and contemporary art. Its construction started in 2000, exclusively financed by the Onassis Foundation. Photo: Nicolas Mastoras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through the years Stegi has proved to be a real\npowerhouse that brings cutting-edge artworks from all over the world. It is no\nexaggeration to say that, at this moment, Stegi is one of the most\nwell-connected and innovative artistic centers in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the helm of its very active theatre and dance department sits Katia Arfara, a researcher, writer, teacher and curator with a BA in Classical Studies, a BA and an MA in Theatre Studies from Athens University and a PhD in Art History from the Sorbonne University in Paris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katia Arfara has been actively involved in the creative process of major projects, introducing in Greece a highly diversified range of artistic vocabularies and aesthetic forms, while provoking interconnections between local and international practitioners. Besides her teaching record, fellowships and awards, Dr Arfara regularly contributes to the theoretical discourse on the contemporary performing and visual arts as a scholar. Her essays, at the crossroads of aesthetics and politics, have appeared in numerous languages (including French, English, Spanish, Arabic and Greek) and in various journals and critical anthologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Head (2009-12), the Artistic Director (2013-18) and, currently, the Curator for Theatre and Dance at Stegi, she initiated and curated numerous interdisciplinary events and festivals, such as the Fast Forward Festival (which began in 2014), which commissions socially engaged public artworks. Her work as a curator reflects her desire to transgress cultural and social boundaries and, thereby, to connect the local with the global, by creating space in-between. The Fast Forward Festival exemplifies her vision of glo-c-alism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interview was conducted in May 2019,\nfollowing the year\u2019s edition of the Fast Forward\nFestival (FFF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Katia, you are on the curatorial team of one of the most important and active cultural centers in Europe. How would you describe the position of Onassis Stegi in relation to local and international theatre life? Do you think its presence has brought any change in terms of theatre practice?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

During the ten years of Onassis Stegi\u2019s existence, we became active partners of global networks by commissioning and co-producing international projects in theatre, dance and performance. On the other hand, from the very beginning, we placed a strong emphasis on the support of the local scene by producing new works and supporting a wide range of artistic trends, paying particular attention to hybrid, devised and post-documentary practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video 1<\/h6>\n\n\n\n