Can we be introduced to C.P. Cavafy through comics, collage and hip-hop music ? A school program for the poet from Alexandria, by the Cavafy Archive of Onassis Foundation.

April 16 – 22, 2016

The “Cavafy goes to school” program, now in its 3rd year of operation, is run by the Cavafy Archive and the Department of Educational Programs of the Onassis Cultural Centre (of the Onassis Foundation).  In 2016, for a 2nd consecutive year, the “Cavafy goes to school” program travels all over Greece, and specifically to Andros island, introducing the work of the poet from Alexandria to local High School and Lykeion students, from April 16th to 22nd.

Through three originally designed workshops, which will take place at the Korthio and Gavrio High Schools, students, with the facilitation of artists and literary professionals will approach the sacred and sophisticated works of the poet from Alexandria, employing the tools of the most unconventional art forms.

This creative and innovative reading helps students understand and connect with the poems, while the material which is produced at the workshops, highlights the contemporary character of Cavafy’s poetry.

Educational Programs:

1.    What if Cavafy were… comics?
Korthio High School
April 16th to 22nd

Cavafy’s poems turn into the great illustrated classics! How would ‘Ithaca’ ‘translate’ into images? Cavafy’s verses come to life as students create their own comics.
Workshop Team: Panayotis Ioannides (poet), Alexia Othonaiou (comics artist)

2.    A school full… of Cavafy
Gavrio High School
April 18th to 22nd

Using various kinds of art and techniques (such as collage and recitation), we turn the school into an absolute Cavafian environment! Through a large-scale visual work and other experiential activities, our school attains… an Alexandrian atmosphere!
Workshop Team: ΗΟ PE (visual artist), Christos Chryssopoulos (writer)

3.    Cavafy’s verses in… a hip-hop song
Korthio High School
April 16th to 22nd

We invite and challenge students and teachers to read the poet’s work in an entirely different way… in the rhythm of hip-hop music.
Workshop Team: Jeff Gonzalez (music producer, hip-hop artist), Katerina Eliopoulou (poet)

Managing Director: Afroditi Panagiotakou
Senior Academic Advisor: Dimitris Papanikolaou
Project Manager: Thodoris Chiotis
Assistant Project Manager: Marianna Christofi

Related links:
https://vimeo.com/141669854
http://www.sgt.gr/gre/SPG1324/

Press Office: 2103713019

About the Cavafy Archive:
The Cavafy Archive was acquired by the Onassis Foundation in 2012, with the objective to safeguard the almost 4.000 manuscripts and other items included in the archive, but also to make it accessible to scholars and to the wider audience and in general to spread the works and the global character of Cavafy’s poetry.
In parallel, the Cavafy Archive visits the school classroom, through the “Cavafy goes to school” educational programs for children and teenagers.  Through six originally designed workshops in six different schools in Attica, students, with the facilitation of artists and literary professionals, approach the texts of the poet from Alexandria and, employing the tools and the ‘language’ of the most unconventional art forms, understand and appreciate his work.

About the Onassis Foundation:
In line with Aristotle Onassis’s wish, as noted in his will, the Onassis Foundation was established in 1975 in order to provide support to Greece and its people in critical areas: health, education, culture, social solidarity and the environment.  The efforts and initiatives of the Foundation have consistently focused on securing accessibility to these critical - for social cohesion - benefits, by the largest possible number of people.
The ultimate goal of the Onassis Foundation is to release the creative potential of our society, improving the present and offering a more optimistic look ahead.