TRANSITION TO ELEUSIS 2021 EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE CANDIDATE CITY FINAL BIDBOOK IN DEX __Introduction-General considerations_2 __Contribution to the long-term strategy_8 __European dimension_14 __Cultural and artistic content_20 __Capacity to deliver_68 __Outreach_76 __Management_80 __Additional information_98 __Appendix_100 Eleusis2021 European Capital of Culture Candidate City INTRODUCTION Why does your city wish to take part in the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture? Eleusis differs radically from the stereotypical image of Greece as a country with beautiful beaches, where people are carefree and relaxed, and spend their lives enjoying the sun and sea. Eleusis is a reflection of an entirely overlooked - but at the same time very real - aspect of Greece: productive Greece. Some 30% of the country’s GDP is produced in Eleusis and the wider Thriasian Plain area, a percentage that is roughly equal to the national contribution of tourism to GDP. Eleusis is Greece’s productive engine, and the ECoC encounters it at one of the most critical times of its history, the time of crisis. In ancient Greek, crisis means decision, and Eleusis’s desire to candidate for the title of ECoC at this momentum is related to the entire city’s irrevocable decision to turn page in its history and make its definitive transition to a new growth model. In the case of Eleusis, the title of ECoC will act as a catalyst for a series of developments at national, local and European level, which are critical for the city’s future. At the national level, the ECoC title will act as a catalyst... ...for changing the stereotypical image of Eleusis as an industrial city. In the 1960s and 1970s, the city’s natural environment suffered major degradation due to pollution caused by industrial facilities operating in the area. For Greeks, the image of Eleusis is inextricably linked to industry and the destruction of the natural environment. This is why, as Filippos Koutsaftis very eloquently observes in his famous documentary on Eleusis, entitled "Mourning Rock", "anyone passing through here, looks the other way." Despite the fact that the city’s reality has changed radically since then, the stereotype of a city ruined by industry remains prominent in the public perception, discouraging people from visiting Eleusis and becoming acquainted with the significant cultural reserve currently at its disposal. If the title of ECoC is awarded to Eleusis, the city’s image will definitively become linked to art and culture, thus breaking the stereotype of an industrial city. ...for establishing Eleusis as a dynamic cultural centre in the region. Since the end of the 20th century, industrial activity has gradually decreased in the area of Eleusis, resulting in the loss of a significant number of jobs. This accentuated the need for transition to a new model of economic growth based on the tertiary sector and focused on cultural development, since the city has rich cultural resources. Since the year 2000, Eleusis has consistently sought to transform itself into a dynamic cultural centre, because its citizens are increasingly aware that the city’s sustainable future and improved quality of life are directly dependent on its cultural growth. Eleusis has many important achievements to boast of in the period since year 2000. The Municipality has a steady investment in culture of approximately 5%-6% of its annual budget. It has managed to establish the city’s central cultural institution, the Aeschylia Festival, as a national event with a leading position in the field of visual arts. It has established methods to support contemporary creativity that are innovative by Greek standards. These include commissions for the production of large-scale installations in the Introduction-General considerations 3 Eleourgio, and the provision of incentives to cultural organizations, such as the MA in Heritage Management, the Attica School of Ancient Greek Drama, busart and Motus Terrae, for relocation to Eleusis on a permanent basis. Perhaps the most important achievement of all is the fact that this cultural growth is founded exclusively on the city’s own strength and resources. However, the aim of establishing Eleusis as a dynamic cultural centre also requires the assistance of national and regional authorities, especially for the infrastructure projects that are their responsibility. The crisis that Greece is going through the past years involves a threat, at national and regional planning level, namely, that the cultural development of Eleusis takes second place in view of more urgent needs. If Eleusis is chosen to be the ECoC, this will establish the cultural development of the city as a priority at national and regional planning level. The announcement of Eleusis’s candidacy for the title of ECoC has already resulted in the inclusion of the objective of establishing the city as a dynamic cultural centre in Western Attica, in the Region’s strategic plan for the period 2014-2019. The fact that the city has qualified for the final round of the competition has resulted in planning for the immediate rehabilitation of Eleourgiki by the Region of Attica, a project worth EUR 2.5 million, to start at the beginning of year 2017 with an expected completion date at the end of 2018. Thus, for Eleusis, the title of ECoC will function as a guarantee that the city will definitively turn a new page in its history, by completing its decade-long objective of becoming a dynamic cultural centre. ...for sustainable development of Greece in general. Given, on the one hand, that Eleusis is Greece’s "productive engine" and that, on the other, Greece is faced with the need to redefine the concept of sustainable development overall, we believe that the sustainable development we are seeking in Eleusis through the linking of productive sectors with art and culture, will have a direct impact on the country’s overall growth. At European level, the ECoC title will act as a catalyst... ...for better understanding the "Greek case" and therefore for the promotion of mutual understanding among European citizens. Crisis and Grexit tend to create an image of a Greece surrendered to southern indolence. This image is, of course, reinforced by tourism branding and the efforts to develop the Greek economy by promoting the attractive Greek summer. In fact, this image reflects only one aspect of Greek reality. However, the possibility of this image becoming ensconced in the perception of European citizens is a serious threat to mutual understanding between Greeks and other European citizens and, therefore, to European cohesion. If the title of the ECoC is awarded to Eleusis, the institution will function as a unique opportunity to promote the – pushed aside by tourism and the crisis - image of productive Greece, an image that will contribute to the promotion of a better understanding between Greeks and the other peoples of Europe. ...for Eleusis’ aim to become an effective interlocutor in the European dialogue. Contact and networking with Europe that are intrinsic to the institution of ECoC, will act as a catalyst for the reinforcement of the cultural capital of Eleusis, the diversification and enrichment of its cultural offerings and the development of its overall know-how on issues of cultural development and sustainability. Through the ECoC, Eleusis is aiming to become an effective interlocutor in the contemporary European dialogue. The developmental, social and environmental challenges faced by Eleusis today are at the heart of contemporary European concerns. Thus, we believe that Eleusis can evolve into a valuable interlocutor in the current fluid landscape of Europe, in this Europe of transition. Through the ECoC, Eleusis aims to evolve into a major contact point for Greek artists and cultural operators with the contemporary cultural landscape of Europe and beyond. The city bears a very special relationship to the notion of transition. Throughout the centuries, the history of Eleusis has been a history of consecutive transitions. Today, the city is again confronted with a need for transition to a different model of development. What is more, transition is inscribed in the city’s founding myth, the story of Persephone, that symbolizes the change of seasons and perpetual transition from the land of the dead to the land of the living and vice versa. Eleusis is a micrography of Europe, and this makes it an ideal place to study the challenges that Europe is facing today. It is no accident that the artists who have worked here not only understand the city’s dynamics, but also use them as raw material for their work. Stefanos Tsivopoulos, who created an installation entitled Eleusis2021 European Capital of Culture Candidate City "The future starts here" in Eleusis in 2012, writes: "Although geographically small, Eleusis is suitable for a study of the great political, economic and environmental issues that concern the global community. How is it possible for such a small city to embody such timeless concerns?" In an interview, Michelangelo Pistoletto, who created an installation based on the concept of the "Third Paradise" in 2014, said that "whoever saves Eleusis will save the whole world." Also during an interview, Tarek Atoui, who created the "I/E Elefsis" project in 2015, mentioned that "for me, Eleusis is a very powerful metaphor for the social and geopolitical dynamics of post-industrial Europe, which is returning to its archaeological and historical past in order to remain standing. (...) The question is how to make the shift. How to re-imagine Europe and its position in today’s transition." At the local level, the ECoC title will act as a catalyst... ...for the goal of keeping the young people in the city. There is a very high percentage of highly educated young people in Eleusis. However, most of them leave the city for either Athens or abroad, since they find themselves overqualified for the job opportunities offered in Eleusis.