Season 2023-2024 at Onassis Stegi

And now, what are we to do?

We do not wait. Nor do we carry on, unphased. We speak, and we roar for all those wounds from which we ought to bleed. And with the question “What’s the point of Art?”, comes the moment when we need it the most. May we find the words, may we give a name to every senseless cruelty that ravages our lives. May we set our feelings on a path that leads somewhere other than silence or violence.

And what of joy?

What of spontaneous joy, that human need we’ve come to miss? Where does that fit in? We make way for it, by whatever means, lest we get used to the darkness. May it lift us to our feet. Cognisance and joy often seem at odds. And so, we take to the mountains, all together, we put on pagan feasts and dance until dawn. Because in the end, life must win.

Afroditi Panagiotakou
Director of Culture at the Onassis Foundation