Onassis
What’s On
Visual arts

Adhocracy [Athens]

"Adhocracy: From making things to making the commons"

Dates

Prices

Free admission

Location

Onassis Stegi

Time & Date

Day
Time
Venue
Day
Monday-Sunday
Time
12:00-21:00
Venue

Information

Tickets

Exhibition: Free admission
Parallel events: Prices vary, depending on the event

An exhibition about the revolution in contemporary design. "Adhocracy" highlights achievements by makers who are guided by the will to change the system by changing the way they make things themselves.

"Adhocracy" at the Onassis Stegi in Athens is the continuation of the research started for the 1st Istanbul Design Biennial in 2012, curated by Joseph Grima and associate curators Ethel Baraona Pohl, Elian Stefa, and Pelin Tan. The "Adhocracy" exhibition has also been presented in New York (New Museum, 2013) and London (LimeWharf, 2013).

The access and use of new technologies has gone from being an inaccessible realm to a mundane reality; and nowadays we are witnessing a hype of people perkily using them to make things. The Industrial Revolution contributed to the unlimited production of identical, increasingly sophisticated goods that required specialized professionals to produce them. We are now witnessing a “New Industrial Revolution” based on limited production and prototypes; a movement fueled by a cultural shift that drives people to share designs and collaborate with others in online communities; with digital desktop tools and affordable manufacturing devices. The entry barriers that have been firmly in place since the last Revolution are now being swept away by access to information and tools that can also be modified. This new paradigm does not need big production lines or factories with highly standardized industrial processes. It is enough to have generating work spaces for interaction, where the ideas of citizens who have training or experience can mix, cross-fertilize and spread. Rather than big factories and the bureaucracy that the system has built to control itself, we are now feeding self-organizing networks that are not afraid to learn by doing, and even to challenge the values of the capitalist model and the absolute truths proclaimed by a financial system that has proved unable to regulate itself.

The "Adhocracy" exhibition and symposium at the Onassis Stegi in Athens will be focused on the relation of design and society within a global approach, while at the same time highlighting the dynamics of the local art, architecture and design scene. The economic and political context of Greece during the current period of deep economic and social crisis provides the appropriate framework in order to reveal universal and trans-local conditions of our current time and future. This is an opportunity to objectively evaluate the actual critical circumstances and their effects on city and society that concern all of us whatever our geographic location.

Going beyond the notion of "Do it yourself" and the trendiness of "Tactical Urbanism", "Adhocracy" highlights achievements by makers who are guided by the will to change the system by changing the way they make things themselves. It includes examples of makers whose work embraces open source design, and particularly emphasizes the idea of the commons in relation to production. The place for production has been extended from the workshop to the street and the city. The process of design and the way that we define a product is affected not only by labor conditions but also by the development of new alternative pedagogies. While focusing on the process rather than on the final object, it is possible to subvert the economic system based on consumerism. The "Adhocracy" exhibition in Athens does not only reveal the current alternative ways of production process and the social-economic realities of design but aims to share concrete results and methodologies, realms of thinking and critical understanding of labor, product, and education.

More info and open call to submit projects.

Parallel Events

Urban Design Fiction Hackathon

Two 36-hour marathon sessions dedicated to designing and creating artefacts and applications using open source software and hardware. 24 participants will be selected to create collaborative works in four interdisciplinary groups, generating new ideas relating to the urban landscape and to local cooperative networks in the process.

  • 1st Hackathon
    Saturday 16 May at 10:00 until Sunday 17 May at 22:00
    Discussion and presentation of results: Monday 18 May 2015 at 19:00
  • 2nd Hackathon
    Saturday 13 June at 10:00 until Sunday 14 June at 22:00
    Discussion and presentation of results: Monday 15 June 2015 at 19:00

Adhocracy symposium: "From making things to making the commons"

Two panel discussions in which speakers from Greece and abroad discuss and analyze the fundamental concepts underlying "Adhocracy".
Thursday 18 June 2015 | 17:00-21:00 | Free admission | Upper Stage

Workshops

Pinhole: Make your own camera

Workshop in which participants make a camera out of recycled materials and develop photographs in a darkroom.
By Pinhocchio in collaboration with Officina GISTO.
Thursday 30 April 2015 | 10:00-19:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1

The Character of Bread: Bake a loaf of bread that embodies you and your character

The participants will each select their own particular ingredients and method for baking their bread. Each loaf will be unique and bear the mark of its creator, allowing the personality, idiosyncrasies and interests of the individual bakers to be decoded the following day.
By Louiza Zachareas.
Saturday 2 May 2015 | 15:00-19:30 and Sunday 3 May 2015 | 14:00-17:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1

What is Wikipedia, and how can we contribute to it?

A thought-provoking workshop about Wikipedia and the ways in which we can contribute to it. It covers the fundamental concepts involved as well as describing how to create an entry.
By the Greek Free / Open Source Software Society – GFOSS (Vasilis Danovasilis and Sotiris Kilafis).
Thursday 7 May 2015 | 17:00-19:00 | Free admission, on a first come first served basis | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)
If you have a laptop, please bring it with you.

Fuzz Pedal Workshop

Yannis Anastasakis and the JAM pedals group invite you to make a fuzz pedal (a small electronic device used by musicians to change the sound and tone of an instrument) which is yours to take away with you after the workshop. You will learn how to make a pedal from scratch and work on its appearance and artwork, too.
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May 2015 | 12:00-17:00 | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00) | Cost: 50 € (for both days of the workshop)
If you have a laptop or your own glue gun, please bring it with you.

Open source, content and data licenses in practice

A presentation on software licenses (with an emphasis on Creative Commons) and choosing the right type of license for your work.
By the Greek Free / Open Source Software Society – GFOSS (Prodromos Tsiavos).
Thursday 14 May 2015 | 17:00-18:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

A workshop on “SynAthina” for citizen action groups

"SynAthina" is a City of Athens internet platform which supports groups of citizens and makes it easier for them to engage in activities which help improve the quality of life in the Greek capital. Come and meet them.
By Amalia Zepou.
Thursday 21 May 2015 | 18:00-21:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

Fuzz ink screen printing

Print unique designs and graphics on a T-shirt or bag using the silkscreen method under the guidance of the fuzz ink company.
Sunday 24 May 2015 | 12:00-19:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
T-shirt price: 4 € | Tote bag price: 4 €

Online debate: How to build living knowledge

A three-day digital workshop/debate dedicated to the core subjects raised by the exhibition will be staged online by the IRA-C group.
Monday 25 to Wednesday 27 May 2015 | Online event

Native products: Producing, designing and manufacturing products locally

Plants are turned into pulp which provides the raw material for a series of moulded objects. The papairlines group shares its method.
Saturday 30 May 2015 | 12:00-16:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

Revitalit: Give a new lease of life to your old lamp

Bring an old lamp with you and we will rejuvenate it together; we can give it a complete make-over, and a new lease of life. A full-on one-day workshop by Konstantia Manthou, Dimitris Stamatakis and Souzy Tros Art Canteen.
Saturday 6 June 2015 | 12:00-18:00 | Free admission
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00) | Exhibition hall -1

"Living / Doing / Caring / Sharing"zine

The workshop introduces participants to the culture of zines and their creation. What are zines, how can you make your own? Using a range of techniques including text, collage and illustration we create a group zine by employing a number of simple, everyday and other practices. By the Athens Zine Bibliotheque group.
Sunday 7 June 2015 | 12:00-18:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

Choco Choco BAM BAM

A singular performance in which Eleni Hadjittofi prepares and hands out a range of chocolate treasures packed full of surprises. In collaboration with Souzy Tros Art Canteen.
Thursday 18 June 2015 | 12:00-20:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1

Friction Atlas: A site-specific installation in public space

Friction Atlas is an ever-changing archive in which the rules underlying public behaviors and assemblies are imaginatively presented in an open-air installation in a still-to-be-announced central Athenian location.
By La Jetée (Paolo Patelli and Giuditta Vendrame).
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June 2015 | 15:00-19:00 | Free admission
Location: Souzy Tros - Markoni 8, Eleonas (Metro station: Eleonas)

Introduction to Arduino

Get to know the Arduino platform in a four-hour introductory workshop featuring example applications and a presentation of fundamental concepts.
By Thanos Eleftherakos.
Saturday 20 June 2015 | 12:00-16:00 | Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

MoCM (Monopolis Custom Made) workshop: Creating hand-made electronic constructions

Creative playfulness in which inspiration and innovation are given free rein in the transformation of everyday objects into musical instruments. An original workshop that isn’t just for beginners.
By Andreas Monopolis.
Sunday 21 June 2015 | 14:00-17:00| Free admission | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

Workshop for teenagers: Design Fiction Prototypes

Electronics, hacking and hands-on creativity: creating fiction prototypes -artifacts or applications- which describe the future or fantastic parallel worlds. The teenage participants will experiment with electronic circuits, smart materials technologies and "Do It Yourself" (DIY) and "Do It With Others" (DIWO) methodologies.
By the artists Afroditi Psarra and Maria Varela.
Monday 22 June to Friday 3 July | Monday to Friday 10:00-14:00
Cost: 90 € for all ten sessions

Presentation on the works FAB ATH, HUM[erus] Robotic Arm & AKTINA*

Presentation and open discussion on the works FAB ATH, HUM[erus] Robotic Arm & AKTINA* created by groups of students, researchers and academics from the Faculty of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens who interact and create commons of knowledge, innovation and production.
Friday 26 June 2015 | 18:00-20:00 | Free admission
Exhibition hall -1

Freeform Hatblocking: Hat making workshop

Workshop introducing participants to the basic techniques, raw materials and tools of hat making. The participants will create their own hand-made hat using the freeform hatblocking technique.
By Konstantinia Vafeiadou.
Saturday 27 June 2015 | 12:00-17:00 | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

RING MIX 1.0: 3D printed jewellery

Cut and sew, copy and paste. The techniques of Tristan Tzara and the Dadaists, of William Burroughs and contemporary DJs, find new applications in the world of 3D computation. Create your own unique rings in three dimensions, step by step & get your own 3D printed ring by Jazzt Design team.
Participants are requested to bring their laptop in order to attend the workshop.
Sunday 28 June 2015 | 11:00-14:00 and 17:00-20:00 | Exhibition hall -1
Reservation: 213 017 8036 (daily 10:00-19:00)

Credits

  • Organization

    Onassis Stegi, Christos J. Carras

  • Curated by

    dpr-barcelona (Ethel Baraona Pohl, César Reyes Nájera) and Pelin Tan

  • Co-curated by

    Panos Dragonas

  • Coordination

    Konstantina Soulioti

  • Architectural design & supervision

    Panos Dragonas and Varvara Christopoulou

  • Visual design

    Folder (Marco Ferrari, Elisa Pasqual, Alice Longo, Mattia Spresian)

  • Texts translation into Greek

    Vassilis Douvitsas

  • The music at the opening day is by

    radiodoc.gr

Special thanks to the "Traces of Commerce" team, Afroditi Psarra and Maria Varela for their contribution to the parallel events programming.

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