Onassis
What’s On

Fran Lebowitz

In discussion with Afroditi Panagiotakou

Dates

Sold out

Please permit all cookies to watch on demand

Prices

8 €

Location

Online, Onassis Stegi

Time & Date

Day
Time
Venue
Day
Monday 14 March
Time
20:00
Venue
Main Stage
Day
Tuesday 15 March
Time
20:30
Venue
Main Stage & Live Streaming

Information

Tickets

Pre-sale for the live stream of the discussion on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 starts on Μarch 2nd at 17:00

Full price, Friend: 8 €

Info

Tickets for the discussion on Monday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 15 are sold-out

The discussion will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation into Greek and into the Greek sign language

On the day of the event, her book “The Fran Lebowitz Reader” will be available for purchase at the Onassis Stegi ground floor foyer

Fran Lebowitz will sign a limited number of copies of her book after the discussion, on Monday 14 March

Attendance Instructions

To ensure public safety, audience arrivals have been staggered into four 15-minute time slots

A' time slot: 19:30-19:45 – 2nd Balcony
B' time slot: 19:45-20:00 – 1st Balcony
C' time slot: 20:00-20:15 – Main Floor Rows Μ-Τ
D' time slot: 20:15-20:30 – Main Floor Rows Δ-Λ

On New York and Athens, urban coolness, and the importance of saying what’s on your mind. When maverick New York writer and critic Fran Lebowitz meets the Onassis Foundation’s Director of Culture, Afroditi Panagiotakou, no one knows what the evening will bring.

Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

If New York were a woman, it would be Fran Lebowitz. Unorthodox and intellectual with a wry sense of humor, a voracious smoker and reader, a writer who – by her own admission – has had writer’s block lasting decades, an associate of Andy Warhol (whom she didn’t like), a figure both provocative and fractious.

The limitless Fran Leibowitz, now more widely known in Greece thanks to the Netflix documentary series “Pretend It’s a City” made by her close friend Martin Scorsese, is coming to Onassis Stegi to take part in an unpredictable conversation with the Onassis Foundation’s Director of Culture, Afroditi Panagiotakou: about the contemporary cultural landscape, life in the world’s metropolises, and the importance of being oneself today.

A discussion where the audience will get the most incisive answers to all their questions.

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    Photo: Elli Poupoulidou

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    Photo: Elli Poupoulidou

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    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

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    Photo: Andreas Simopoulos

“Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.”
In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Her essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media – as well as pet peeves, including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. “The New York Times Book Review” calls Lebowitz an “important humorist in the classic tradition”. Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz is a cultural satirist whom many call the heir to Dorothy Parker. Here are some of the things she’s said. Lebowitz on special interest groups: “Special-interest publications should realize that if they are attracting enough advertising and readers to make a profit, the interest is not so special.” Lebowitz on frankness: “Spilling your guts is exactly as charming as it sounds.” Lebowitz on herself: “Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.” This is Lebowitz off the cuff. Her writing – pointed, taut and economical – is equally forthright, irascible, and unapologetically opinionated.

Lebowitz worked odd jobs, such as taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning (“with a small specialty in Venetian blinds”), before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for “Interview”. That was followed by a stint at “Mademoiselle”. Her first book, a collection of essays titled “Metropolitan Life,” was a bestseller, as was a second collection, “Social Studies”. By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, wry, wisecracking, and waggish, Lebowitz’s prose is wickedly entertaining. Her two books are collected in “The Fran Lebowitz Reader,” with a new preface by the author. This collection has been published in nine languages, including French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Lebowitz is also the author of the children’s book, “Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas”.

Between 2001 to 2007, Lebowitz had a recurring role as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama “Law & Order”. She also had a part in the Martin Scorsese-directed film “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). A raconteur if ever there was one, Lebowitz has long been a regular on various talk shows, including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and Bill Maher. In an interview with the “Paris Review”, Lebowitz said: “I’m not a nervous person. I’m not afraid to be on TV. I’m only afraid when I write. When I’m at my desk I feel like most people would feel if they went on TV.”

She can also be seen in various documentary films, including the “American Experience” series on New York City, as well as “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures” (2016), “Regarding Susan Sontag” (2014), and “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol” (1990), among others. In 2010, Martin Scorsese directed a documentary about Lebowitz for HBO titled “Public Speaking”. A limited documentary series, “Pretend It’s a City” – also directed by Martin Scorsese – premiered on Netflix in 2021, and was nominated for the 2021 Emmys in the Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series category. In 2021, she was given the Forte dei Marmi Festival della Satira Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lebowitz was inducted into the “Vanity Fair” International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2008. She remains a style icon. Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.

Key info about the live streaming
  • Please skip to the 43th minute of the on demand video while it's being processed. Please return in a few minutes and refresh the page for the on demand video.
  • This virtual ticket allows you (or multiple members of your household) to view the event on-line up to three (3) times in total (either LIVE STREAM or on demand) on up to three (3) devices in your household (not simultaneously), at any time until 30.03.2022 at 23:59 UTC+2 from any place worldwide. You may not watch or access the event from more than three (3) devices with one single virtual ticket.
  • You may tune in live on the event’s start time from 15.03.2022 at 20:30 UTC+2, or you may watch the recorded LIVE STREAM on demand at any time until 30.03.2022. If you are watching the recorded LIVE STREAM on demand, you may pause and resume watching as many times as you wish. However, after 30.03.2022 at 23:59 UTC+2, the recorded LIVE STREAM shall no longer be available, so even if not used, this virtual ticket of yours shall be no longer valid and you shall not be entitled to cancellation and refund.
  • In order to obtain best quality for streaming or on demand you will need: A) to have a minimum internet download speed of 2 Mbps B) to use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari web browsers C) to permit all cookies on the page for the video player.

Read the full terms and conditions

Credits

  • Curated by

    Dimitris Theodoropoulos, Pasqua Vorgia

  • Production

    Onassis Stegi

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