Democracy Is Coming | Onassis Foundation

Photo: Joseph Fuda

Onassis Foundation is involved in culture as a way of life, not just culture as art. It wants to stimulate public curiosity, to initiate or continue the conversation on what’s happening, what should be happening, and what we’d like to see happen in Athens, New York and the world. This April in America, the ONASSIS FESTIVAL 2019: DEMOCRACY IS COMING will be staged in association with the Public Theater, New York, on April 10-28 in the Public Theater itself and at La MaMa. The 19-day Onassis Festival is a festival of arts and ideas that celebrates, evaluates and considers anew the concept of democracy – perhaps the most renowned Greek innovation. Through a multidisciplinary program of theater, music, talks and more, The Public Theater and Onassis USA, two agitators of public curiosity — one Greek, one American — bring together artists and thinkers from both countries to offer artistic interpretations and embodiments of democracy.

“All our actions at the Onassis Foundation aim to promote democratic ideals, and inspire individual voices to realize their full power and potential, especially at times when those may be challenged”, said President of the Onassis Foundation, Anthony S. Papadimitriou. “When we decided to dedicate our annual festival to the theme of Democracy, we found in The Public Theater an ideal partner. In ancient Greece the theater was a sacred space where artists and citizens could exercise freedom of speech without fear, irrespective of their social status, religious practice, or political ideology, and share an emotional and thought-provoking experience — which is what we are offering with Democracy is Coming”.

“Democracy and theater were both born in Athens, in the same decade at the end of the 6th century BCE”, said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “We are so honored to partner with Onassis USA to celebrate our shared values of democracy and free artistic expression”. The Festival continues the thematic exploration of democracy in recent Onassis USA programming, including Onassis Festival 2018: The Birds, A Festival Inspired by Aristophanes, the Speaking Truth to Power series in collaboration with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the 2018 revival of The Gospel at Colonus, the Lee Breuer / Bob Telson landmark, at the Delacorte Theater, in collaboration with The Public Theater.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, Onassis USA Senior Advisor, said: “There is a lot of talk about democracy these days, but, as is often the case, it can come across as shallow or devoid of meaning. So what are we talking about when we talk about democracy? To be reminded, we have to look back, to the Greeks, and forward, to the artists, who more accurately and honestly than any politician can remind us of what democracy is meant to look like, in its purest form”.

“This festival is named after a Leonard Cohen song – ‘Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.’”, said Onassis Festival Curator Mark Russell. “Just as Cohen’s song is a provocation, so too is this festival. What is the condition of democracy today when we see it undermined at every turn? The ancient Greeks created this form of government, our founding fathers revived and reinvented it for their time. How do we reinvent it for ours? Using song story, and discussion, 'Democracy Is Coming' is an invitation to all New Yorkers to take measure of where we've been, where we are and where we are going”.

The Festival includes a wide range of productions, concerts and discussions. It will kick off with the new Public Theater production, "Socrates" by Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Holes) directed by the Tony award winner Blake Nelson (Doubt, Junk) and starring Michael Stuhlbarg as Socrates. The highlights of the “Democracy Is Coming” festival also include "Antigone - Lonely Planet" by Lena Kitsopoulou — performed in its original version in America at the Onassis Festival 2016 as Antigone now, it will now be featured in the full, updated version staged at Onassis Stegi, Athens, in December 2017 — in which the director will sing rembetika; "The Fever" by 600 HIGHWAYMEN; the Xylouris White concert; a conversation with Susan-Lori Parks and Oskar Eustis; a colloquium on Democracy; and Euripides Laskaridis’ "Relic", which received its Greek premiere in 2015 at the Athens Festival.