From the 1st to the 3rd of April 2023, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is presenting the first WOW – Women of the World Festival in Greece. The festival is staged in cooperation with the UK-based The WOW Foundation, the world’s largest event dedicated to women, girls and non-binary people. The WOW Foundation was founded by Jude Kelly in 2010, when the first WOW Festival took place at Southbank Centre, London. Since then, The WOW Foundation has organized festivals and events in more than 30 cities across six continents, attracting 5 million people.
WOW Athens, presented in Greece in cooperation with the British Council and with the support of the British Embassy Athens, includes speeches by Greek and foreign guests, discussions, exhibitions, workshops, mentoring sessions, educational programs, concerts, and much more, in an ambitious event aiming to empower women and feminities in tackling the barriers and inequalities they encounter daily, and celebrate the victories won to date as well as the people behind them and their inspiring stories. Diverse and interdisciplinary, the festival focuses on present-day Greek reality, while also looking at shared concerns and challenges from across the globe.
Elly Andriopoulou, Managing Director of the SNFCC, notes:
“In recent years, and thanks to the booming modern-day feminist movements in Greece and internationally, the issues of gender inequalities have been gaining more and more visibility in the public sphere. Moreover, current events, both domestic and global, unfortunately continue to provide us with facts that are shocking, troubling, and underline the need for change, both on an institutional and on an individual level.
Our aim here at the SNFCC is to make room and provide opportunities for conversation that can bring us closer to a just society, a society in which we participate equitably and enjoy equal opportunities. Gender inequalities in the entire spectrum of our individual and collective experience concern us on both an institutional and a personal level. Therefore, the organization of a festival aiming to provide a platform for awareness-raising, exchange of ideas and dialog on these issues, along with talks, music, visual arts and participatory activities, was something that we had been planning for some time, and now came the time to realize it thanks to our partnership with The WOW Foundation.”
Jude Kelly, CEO and founder of The WOW Foundation, states: “WOW Festivals were created to bring people together to celebrate women, girls and non-binary people, and explore the state of gender equality in today's world. The WOW Foundation is thrilled to be working with the team at SNFCC to bring this galvanising experience to Greece for the very first time, with a programme that is set both to challenge and entertain. The state of play for gender equality across the globe presents many concerns, and we look forward to coming together to tackle these issues, while also celebrating the incredible strides that are being made in Greece and beyond at the inaugural WOW Athens."
Program Highlights:
The Guerrilla Girls, Artist Talk (Monday 03/04, 18.30, Stavros Niarchos Hall): The Guerrilla Girls are anonymous artist-activists who use disruptive headlines, outrageous visuals and killer statistics to expose gender and ethnic bias and corruption in art, film, politics and pop culture. They believe in an intersectional feminism that fights for human rights for all people.
The Guerrilla Girls, Exhibition: “The Art of Behaving Badly” (27/03-20/04, 4th Floor Atrium, National Library of Greece): This exhibition includes provocative posters, videos, and other art forms created by The Guerrilla Girls that raise awareness of discriminatory practices in the visual arts.
Concert by award-winning British jazz composer and saxophonist Nubya Garcia at Stavros Niarchos Hall, on Monday 03/04, 21.00). Garcia trained alongside celebrated jazz musicians, such as Nikki Yeoh and Gary Crosby, and studied at leading music schools, including the Royal Academy of Music and Berklee College of Music. Her debut album, SOURCE (2020), was released to great critical acclaim and earned her successive distinctions and awards, as well as a nomination for a Mercury Prize.
A script-in-hand performance of Maryland by Lucy Kirkwood, translated into Greek by Alexandra K. and directed by Katerina Giannopoulou. Maryland, which was first staged at the Royal Court Theatre and then at WOW London 2022, is a rallying cry in response to the normalizing of horrific actions being committed against all women.
On Rebel Girls: A discussion about stories that change the world (Sunday 02/04, 11.00, Stavros Niarchos Hall): Where are all the important women in history? Did they ever exist? Why did it take so many books about important women for us to learn their stories? And where did it all begin? On Sunday, April 2, Elena Favilli, author of Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, talks with Stella Kasdagli, author of 30 Women Who Changed the World, about female role models, girl empowerment, gender equality and how books can really change the world.
Photo exhibition in collaboration with Athens Photo World and the Czech Center of Athens (01/01-31/05, Stavros Niarchos Park Perimeter): Through a series of 48 photographs displayed at the exhibition “Woman,” Czech photographer Dana Kyndrová realistically, and sometimes humorously or wryly, captures moments that highlight women’s role, at times prevalent, and at other times obscure but still indispensable. The photographs cover a long period of time, spanning from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, and make no discrimination based on age, country, religion, profession, or other characteristics.
During the festival, key issues will be highlighted in a series of panel discussions hosting prominent Greek and foreign women speakers. Indicatively, the following topics will be addressed: • Justice vs. Vindication: Sexual violence inside and outside the courtroom — in cooperation with DIOTIMA, Centre for Gender Rights and Equality. • Expectations and stereotypes for women’s appearance - Body Positivity • Sexist speech and gender stereotypes in the public sphere • Women’s sex life (sex education, sexual health, female desire, orgasm gap) • Gender stereotypes in sports • Invisible work and feminization of care work • Gender stereotypes and sexism in the music industry • Women’s representations in the work of Greek women creators • Maternity and self-determination in reproduction • Women’s entrepreneurship • Financial literacy as a tool for women’s empowerment • Female leadership
In addition, a unique experience for participants will be offered by the WOW Speed Mentoring sessions, where women and non-binary people of various social backgrounds and ages, at any stage of their career, can meet with the objective of inspiring and supporting each other. Mentors come from all professional backgrounds, and this is a great opportunity to use their expertise to help other women overcome their challenges.
Furthermore, the SNFCC Agora will be hosting the “heart” of the festival, the WOW Marketplace. Curated by the WOW team and freely accessible, it will present businesses, charities and activist organizations that have been founded and are run by women or non-binary people and will be selling their products and/or providing information on important issues.
At the same time, throughout the weekend and in all SNFCC spaces, several free workshops, activities and happenings will take place, featuring a variety of themes for all ages.
In conclusion, the morning of Monday, April 3, will be devoted to school students. There will be an open call to secondary education students to attend a panel discussion about consensus and converse with the speakers. Prior to their visit, students who wish to do so may prepare a fanzine on gender inequality and present it to their class, using tools they can find on the SNFCC’s educational web platform SNFCC Class.
