All things summer are coming to the SNFCC

Concerts, open-air cinema, full moon sleepovers, and outdoor exhibitions

Like every summer, this year too, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is once again the coolest meeting point in the city: walks by the Canal, strolls around the Stavros Niarchos Park, sea views from the Lighthouse Terrace, games by the Water Jets, concerts and films at the Great Lawn with or without a full moon, DJ sets at sundown — everything conspires to make for some wonderfully carefree warm nights in the most beautiful time of the year.

The beloved Parklife concert series presents international artists covering a wide range of music genres and providing a great excuse for unique musical escapes at the Great Lawn of the Stavros Niarchos Park. This summer’s guests include Devendra Banhart (July 25), Buena Vista All Stars (June 29), and the National Symphony Orchestra and Choir of ERT in a concert-tribute to songs by Queen (Sept. 08).

Of course, the Greek summer also means open-air cinema, and the successful series of screenings Park Your Cinema and Park Your Cinema Kids are back at the Great Lawn for a ninth year in a row. The program of screenings for adults is co-curated in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Film Festival, and the films for children are co-curated in collaboration with the Athens International Children’s Film Festival.

The SNFCC is once again welcoming the full moon, inviting everyone for two unforgettable Full Moon Sleepovers. On July 21, the Stavros Niarchos Park stays open all night, featuring plenty of games, movie screenings and a host of other activities under the moonlight, while on August 19 a special movie-marathon will keep the boldest up until dawn.

At the same time, from July 17 to early September, an impressive lineup of Greek DJs will have a standing appointment on the terrace of the Lighthouse every Wednesday around sundown, for the now established Sunset DJ sets.

In September, the SNFCC Green Weekend returns to the SNFCC for a third year (Sept. 21 and 22). This is a two-day event dedicated to the environment, this year focusing on the theme of the “Green City”.

In early October, the programming baton is passed to the three-day festival In Orbit (Oct. 4, 5 and 6), returning to the SNFCC for a fifth instalment to once again offer the Athenian public the opportunity to get to know local hip hop, electro and  rock bands.

Last but not least is the continuation of the two outdoor exhibitions at the Esplanade and the perimeter of the SNFCC: the tribute to Alex Mylona’s work titled “Fulfillment | whatever does not become a monument, becomes an object or an accessory” and the photography exhibition “Portraits of Women” by Pepi Loulakaki, which were launched in April during the WOW Athens festival.

The entire summer program is staged with free admission, thanks to a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

The detailed program is as follows:

PARKLIFE

Devendra Banhart
Thursday 25/07, 21.00
Great Lawn

One of the main exponents of the psych-folk scene, Devendra Banhart is coming to Athens after 18 years, as part of his European tour, his first stop being the Stavros Niarchos Park Great Lawn. On Thursday, July 25, the artist will present songs from his entire discography, as well as from his latest album, Flying Wig, which was released in September 2023. 

Buena Vista All Stars
Saturday 29/06, 21.00
Great Lawn

Traveling from the streets of Havana to the stage of the SNFCC, Buena Vista All Stars are coming on Saturday, June 29, to the Great Lawn, as part of their world tour titled Una Noche en La Habana (One Night in Havana), for an evening filled with the magical rhythms of Latin America and timeless tunes, such as Chan-Chan, Dos Gardenias, El Cuarto De Tula, Candela, Carretero, etc.

Queen Symphonic Concert with the National Symphony Orchestra and Choir of ERT
Sunday, Sept. 08
Great Lawn

On September 8, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of ERT will present all the greatest hits of Queen, one of the most successful rock bands in history, at the SNFCC Greal Lawn. Songs that have forever marked rock music, such as “We Will Rock You,” “We Are The Champions,” “The Show Must Go On,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “I Want To Break Free,” “Another One Bites The Dust,” “I Want It All” and many more, will be rendered symphonically, with absolute respect to the original musical score, by composer Achilleas Wastor. The orchestra will be conducted by Yiannis Hadjiloizou and the choir by Michalis Papapetrou.

Park Your Cinema
From end-May to mid-September
Great Lawn

Some of the best moments of our lives always happen in the summer. Not by chance, some of our favorite films are also set in the summer months. Because summer is always cinematic, and summer in film is as rich and complex as life itself. Romantic love affairs, unexpected adventures, intense emotions, loud music, electrifying suspense, purifying horror, hearty laughter – this year’s movie selection has something for everyone. And it also has traces of the sunscreen’s scent, the taste of ice cream and the feeling of sand between our toes. This year, the Thessaloniki Film Festival and the SNFCC take us on a vacation into the most inviting waters we have ever dived in: the vast ocean that is the big screen.

Park Your Cinema Kids
From end-May to mid-September
Great Lawn

Young viewers and their families are invited to the SNFCC’s Great Lawn to discover ancient myths, classical tales and stories filled with fantasy, magic and mystery, in exciting animated and live-action films for all ages.

From the flying adventures of Icarus and Daedalus in the film of the same name to the tour of the colorful “Land of the Dead” in Coco, and from the adorable and mischievous feats of the beloved pack of friends in the film Little Nicholas’ Treasure to the recent adaptation of The Little Mermaid featuring the voice of Marina Satti, this year’s program selections aspire to invite children on a journey through fantasy and timeless myths. As the Great Lawn is turned into a wonderful world of classical tales, laughter, joy and curiosity, young and old alike will spend unforgettable moments with film heroes made to stay with us for a lifetime.

Full Moon Sleepover
Sunday, July 21, and Monday, Aug. 19
Stavros Niarchos Park

After last year’s great success, this year the SNFCC is welcoming the public on both full moons!

On the Buck Moon of July 21, Stavros Niarchos Park is pulling an all-nighter inviting everyone to experience a unique night featuring lots of music, games, screenings, and many more activities. There is only one prerequisite: to be prepared to stay up late! The Athens Open Air Film Festival is selecting the films that will be screened at the Great Lawn from dusk to dawn. On such an exciting night as this, will there be anyone that will want to get a shut-eye?

Full Moon Film Marathon: On August 19, the Film Pit is landing on the SNFCC to glitz up the August Full Moon with films from its cinematic chest in a movie marathon featuring nostalgic 1980s flicks. Monsters of mythology, flying aliens, cars without brakes, dialogs with unforgettable lines, lots of suspense, action and…a post-midnight surprise for those who can handle it!

Sunset DJ Sets
Every Wednesday, starting from 17/07
Lighthouse Terrace

At the highest point of the SNFCC, the Lighthouse Terrace, with a 360˚ view from the Saronic Gulf to the Acropolis, our favorite DJs await us every Wednesday with a backdrop of the sunset and rhythms ranging from soul, funk, and trip hop to electronica and world beats.

SNFCC Green Weekend
Saturday & Sunday, September 21 & 22
Stavros Niarchos Park

The SNFCC is organizing, for the third consecutive year, the SNFCC Green Weekend, a two-day event dedicated to the environment, featuring a variety of activities, this year focusing on the theme of the “Green City”. Offering a platform for discussion, information and exchange of best practices in environmental protection, the SNFCC Green Weekend aims at raising public awareness and actively engaging citizens.

In Orbit v.5
Friday through Sunday, October 4 to 6
Dome

The contemporary music scene returns to the Dome for the fifth consecutive year with the Music Escapades: In Orbit v.5, a three-day festival that maps the hip hop, electro and rock music of the city, in their now established meeting with the Athenian public.

Alex Mylona | Fulfillment
Whatever does not become a monument, becomes an object or an accessory
Esplanade
Until 30/09

The revival and/or fulfillment in modern-day terms of Alex Mylona’s vision is proposed by the outdoor exhibition that is presented at the Esplanade of the Cultural Center, curated by Syrago Tsiara, in the context of the collaboration between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) and the National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum. 

The concept of the exhibition focuses on female artistic creation as it correlates with historical and institutional reality, restrictive terms, the dream and the praxis of transcendence. It starts out from the sculptural/architectural propositions conceived and implemented by Alex Mylona during the 1970s to unfold as a modular project that converses with the SNFCC’s program and seeks to fulfill the creator’s original vision in modern-day terms of exhibition experience, visibility and participatory action in the public sphere. 

This dynamic project will be kicked off in April, in the context of WOW Athens 2024, with the contribution of artist Eleni Mylonas, MOMus - Museum Alex Mylona and "Alex Mylona Museum of Contemporary Art" Foundation.

Pepi Loulakaki | PORTRAITS OF WOMEN
Photography Exhibition
April 6, 2024 – June 30, 2024
Perimeter of Stavros Niarchos Park 

In a series of 48 photographs, the exhibition “Portraits of Women” by Pepi Loulakaki is presenting photographic portrayals of women (1992–2020) from the Greek countryside and/or underprivileged social environments of the urban fabric; moments from their childhood or teenage years, but also impressions of the adult life of women who have remained bold and fearless, open to challenges, with purity, sweetness, enthusiasm, strength and kindness — such is the photographic gaze that “captures” them, always free in a time that stands still. Women, as explored by Pepi Loulakaki’s photographic gaze, never grow up.