The multidisciplinary Patras Art Festival (PAF) returns to the Peloponnesian city for its fourth year, taking place on June 29-30 under the theme “Get Closer.” Hosted at Dexameni Project (Panachaidos Athinas), this beloved festival features 25 artists and 12 captivating events across two days. Attendees can immerse themselves in contemporary dance performances, live music concerts, thought-provoking photo exhibitions, pulsating DJ sets, and engaging educational seminars. Tickets are available on sale here.
Highlight performances include:
Athanasia Kanellopoulou’s “Rupture Persephone” delves into the reflections of the human psyche’s dark landscapes, drawing inspiration from the myth of Persephone. Two selves, light and darkness, converge in a minimal representation, straddling the dividing line of light and shadow, creating an entire universe of profound exploration.
The dance performance “In Repeat,” choreographed by Eirini Apostolatou and performed by the talented students of Art Evolution Studio in Patras, showcases the explosive evolution of everyday life, highlighting the power of repetition. Through dynamic dance movements, the performers reveal the unchanging beauty inherent in this process.
Julian Bulku’s “From Innocence to Innocence” is an experimental fusion of theatre, poetic script, contemporary dance, Albanian folk elements, and meditation/manifestation. It delves into the protagonist’s struggle with emigration and homeland, identity and gender, and the perpetual endeavour to safeguard the purity of one’s consciousness amidst life’s relentless onslaught of experiences. The original script blends poetry from Albanian legends and poetry with global voices in literature, music, and philosophy, offering a personal, local, and universal exploration of culture and consciousness.
About the Patras Art Festival:
Patras Art Festival (PAF) was founded in 2021 under the artistic direction of Eirini Apostolatou. PAF is a multidisciplinary festival that centres around contemporary dance and incorporates parallel thematic activities and art forms. It serves as a platform for artistic expression across various disciplines, connecting audiences with the art of dance and the experience of the body in motion. The festival promotes universal accessibility to culture by making its events and activities available to all members of society. It fosters a spirit of cross-cultural dialogue and exchange by bringing together artists and audiences from diverse nations, social groups, and age ranges, celebrating the power of art to unite people and inspire positive social change.