The Onassis Foundation is creating a new world at Neos Kosmos

SAME84 – known for his large-scale murals and public artworks created in Greece and around the world – has applied his bold and colorful palette, and his hybrid figurative and abstract graffiti style, to the basketball court at the 39th Youth Center. Here’s what the artist himself noted about the work: “The thinking behind it all was to create a court filled with colors, ideas and textures that are found on the streets themselves, so as to make it quite literally part of the Neos Kosmos neighborhood. And to make the space completely functional, so that every basketball lover can take their first steps there, because there are many shining examples of neighborhood kids with a real love of basketball reaching tremendous heights, no matter the neighborhood they’re from. We created a court that feels familiar, where everyone can feel at home. I hope that, on seeing the work’s bright colors, local residents will take on its optimism, and that the neighborhood will embrace and love the work, and protect it too.”

The artist Ath1281 – who has created murals at various points around the city, and has presented work as part of solo and group exhibitions in Greece and around the world – has covered the 60th Youth Center with humorous everyday scenes involving his signature human figures. Here’s what he had to say about the basketball court he painted: “The mural is made up of a series of self-contained scenes. It starts by depicting humankind’s current relationship with the environment before leading us into an imaginary world where humans, flora and fauna join together to form a sports team – ‘Team Earth’ – for the win. The aim was to spark public awareness of environmental issues, and to create a pleasant space where children and local residents can come to exercise.”

Ever since it first opened its doors, Onassis Stegi has sought to activate its local area with arts events, with the aim of generating everyday relationships and unexpected meetings – a vibrant community bustling with people through the day and night. Everything from the street parties launching Onassis Stegi’s artistic season each year, which bring thousands of people pouring into the neighborhood, to audiovisual tours around the Neos Kosmos you never knew existed and Soundscapes Landscapes 1, an artistically-curated digital mapping of the area for real-time exploratory walks, all just by launching a simple app on your smart phone or tablet. From the Music Connects Onassis Stegi with Panteion University initiative, a pioneering program presenting dozens of contemporary music concerts, to the European Big Bang Festival for music catering to children up to the age of twelve, which always includes events in Dourgouti Park. From performances that tour the streets around Onassis Stegi, such as High & Low – A Murderer in Tokyo by Syllas Tzoumerkas, to the site-specific workshop titled The Dourgouti Island Hotel Project (DIH), with the “Ohi Pezoume” team inviting participants to use materials drawn from oral histories provided by residents, and from the historical and sensory mapping of the neighborhood, in Music for the New World, a project realized in partnership with the Urban Dig Project and the ARTéfact Ensemble for contemporary music, with Onassis Stegi commissioning five young composers to create new works performed by ARTéfact. Anthropological, archival, and historical elements drawn from the Dourgouti Island Hotel archive acted as raw materials for the compositions’ organically-formed libretti. Last but not least, in our efforts to support local residents, and to strengthen our ties with the surrounding area, Onassis Stegi has – for many years now – offered everyone living in Neos Kosmos, Koukaki, Nea Smyrni, Paleo Faliro, and Kallithea the chance to buy tickets for our events at a reduced rate.