Democracy is coming in New York
Onassis Festival NY 2019
A festival of arts and ideas that celebrates, evaluates, and considers anew the concept of democracy.
Onassis Foundation, believes that Culture is a way of life. 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. According to The New York Times, "Every theater has qualities inscribed in its DNA, and they’re always about more than just the art. At the Public Theater, the fervor for Shakespeare is matched by a relish for politics, the devotion to new work by a commitment to inclusiveness. So a festival focused on democracy? Seems like an ideal fit."
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.“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.”