Free Time: Lapathiotis

Saturday October 13 14:00 – 18:30 at Exarchia. [public space outside the property of poet Napoleo Lapathiotis, corner of Kountouriotou and Oikonomou Streets]

Duration: 4 hours, interpolated by 10 minute individual appointments

In case of rain: The event includes covered space

Twelve years ago, our inhabited the courtyard of the house of poet Napoleon Lapathiotis, presenting the performance “Heart n’ Bones: The life and work of poet Napoleon Lapathiotis” when the building was still fully standing. As it is now falling, we went there again with a one-day performance named "Leisure Time: Lapathiotis”, this time on the street outside, taking the warmth that even at its current state the house emits.

The interactive performance was mainly targeted to residents and customers of the public market. For many it was a surprise that this house belonged to Lapahtiotis.

We used the facade and the fence as a visual installation-reading room. Reading the poems that had given life to this house 12 years ago, we now talked about the spatial footprint that the poems had left at this home, opening a discussion on dealing with memory and loss. Some spectators chose to devote more of their "free time" to memory and get involved in a ten-minute private live-art performance in an adjacent hidden garden, with Lapathiotis' poems and choreographer-dancer Irene Alexiou. There they transformed their personal loss to a vehicle for a truthful one-to-one encounter and co-creation. This private aspect of the show is a development of our touring performance entitled "Eurydice".

Live art performer: Eirini Alexiou

Hosts: Nadia Siokou, George Sachinis

Photography: Maria Toultsa

Music of the video: Music from "Heart n' Bones: The life and work of poet Napoleon Lapathiotis." Composer: Kostas Dalakouras. Curation - reading of the poets of Lapathiotis: Christos Kanellopoulos

"Leisure time: Lapathiotis" is part of the #UrbanDig_Ushakova artistic project of Ohi Pezoume company.

The program of "Athens 2018 - World Book Capital" is realized due to the support of its donors and supporters. The Major Donor is Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Gold Donors are the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and CORE Construction. Institutional Donors are the Onassis Foundation, the Wellfare Foundation for Social and Cultural Affairs, Athanasios Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the Greek Collecting Society for Literary works. Valuable contributors are Aegean Airlines, Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" and Urban Rail Transport S.A.