Part of: Oedipus in search of Colonus | Loukia Alavanou
Educational Program

On the road to Colonus | School Visits

Dates

Tickets

Free

Venue

Onassis Stegi

Information

Addressed to

Students 13+ and their teachers

Program duration

120 minutes

Installation dates and time slots

01.11 — 30.11.2023

The exact dates and times will be determined with the participants.

Information

People who are pregnant, suffer from heart or vision problems, epilepsy, or other serious medical ailments, as well as people who use hearing aids, pacemakers, or any other implanted medical device, are advised to consult their doctor before using the VR headset.

The use of the VR headset is allowed for minors over 13 years old, provided an adult escorts them.

ARIONA bears no responsibility for restoring any damage that may occur to the user of the VR headset due to a violation of the above instructions.

Introduction

Is there a link between the tragedy of “Oedipus at Colonus” and the Roma camps in Western Attica?

Having previously represented Greece in the 59th Venice Biennale, Loukia Alavanou creates a virtual reality installation in which the viewer encounters residents of the Nea Zoi settlement in Aspropyrgos enacting roles from the famous work by Sophocles in a digital projection that seamlessly weaves past, present, and future together.

Following the route of Oedipus from Thebes to Colonus, the artist traces common elements between the course of the tragic hero and the Roma community, which re-settled in the said area during the 1980s. Thebes as a starting point, the effort to be incorporated and integrated within society, and the toponym of the Nea Zoi settlement (i.e., “New Life”) are a few of the parallels annotated during the film, inviting the viewer to reflect on contemporary issues.

Notions of human dignity, universal freedom, aging, and death are being probed within Loukia Alavanou’s installation and engage the audience in broader queries around displacement, immigration, and human rights.

Through the theatrical atmosphere of the exhibition space, virtual reality technology, and the ergonomic posture chairs designed by Takis Zenetos, the students will witness a singular viewing experience. The 360-degree spectrum of the film is further enhanced by directional sound sources and the unrestrained movement of the specially designed chairs, offering an adventurous journey within a digital composition of fiction and reality.

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Photo: Kiki Papadopoulou

Conditions of participation

  • Priority order is followed.
  • All participating students must be over 13 years of age.
  • Up to 32 people (students and accompanying teachers) may participate in each visit.
  • Accompanying teachers need to present the students' consent forms in paper form, signed by the students' legal guardians.
  • Accompanying teachers will be given a separate form, which they must present in printed form.
  • The consent forms and any additional information will be given to the interested parties via electronic mail.

Application and selection process

Apply for participation at education@onassis.org.

Information

T.: 210 3713000

Email: education@onassis.org

Credits

Loukia Alavanou
VR Project Artist
Eirini Basiouka Polychroniadou
Visual Artist