We, the communities around the Akadimia Platonos Garden, have won against BlackRock.

BlackRock Protest Semester is a response to an illegal deal signed from the minister of the environment Giorgios Stathakis for the construction of a 45.000m2 shopping mall “Academy Gardens”, close to the archeological site and the large public garden of Akadimia Platonos. The project is backed (350mln) by the supranational corporation BlackRock, the so-called world’s largest shadow bank.
Akadimia Platonos is a unique conjunction of an archeological site and a pulsating meeting point of local and international communites. With the alternative economy gatherings, permaculture workshops, performances, martial arts lessons, courses for non-fossil energies, rainbow families celebrations, seminars on politics, fair trade shops, commons festivals, Akadimia Platonos garden manifests a culture of solidarity. One of the initiatives active in the garden is a free access intercultural university Avtonomi Akadimia. It practices the sharing of knowledge by inviting artists, philosophers, scientists, shamans and activists to be involved in a long term deep exchanges with a world-wide community of participants. This continuous action of the so-called activist art is a constitutive form of protest as university. It aims to transform our educational system from the regime of punishment into joyful experience of enfolding our creative potential.

Yes, while Greece is being relentlessly privatized and the ecosystem of Mediterranean Basin brutally raped by criminal corporations, we envision an enlightened society.
We designate the agency of art to act in favor of all living. By being present in the garden of the Plato’s school we negotiate philosophy today. We decenter. We intertweave incompatible paths of knowledge. We elaborate on an environmental vocabulary for art and politics. We heal, sing, plant, dance, draw deantropocene drawings. We reinforce our spirits.

The booklet of the BlackRock Protest Semester can be viewed here

June 16 | 16 Ιουνίου, 18:00 Introduction of the BlackRock Protest Semester by Joulia Strauss
June 16 | 16 Ιουνίου, 18:00 Raimar Stange ^^ climARTe // Art and Climate Change
June 20 | 20 Ιουνίου, 19:00 Music Jam and Kitchen on Exarcheia Square (within the frame of the so-called International Refugee Day)
July 12 | 12 Ιουλίου, 18:00 Luca Di Blasi ^^ Guilt Collectives and Identity Migration
July 12 | 12 Ιουλίου, 20:00 Clara Stella Hüneke ^^ Love, Sex and Collectivity
July 13 | 13 Ιουλίου, 19:00 James Simbouras ^^ Deep Artists Talk
July 14 | 14 Ιουλίου, 17:00 Officinalis ^^ Gingko planting and herbal wisdom share | “Resilience: plant allies”
July 14 | 14 Ιουλίου, 19:00 Helen Dimos & William Rowe ^^ Defend Akadimia Platonos with sound // Protest walk and sound workshop
July 22 | 22 Ιουλίου, 18:00 Patricio (Peru) ^^ CIRCULOS DE MEDICINA AMAZONICA // Lecture and Ceremonies with the Sacred Plant
September 15 | 15 Σεπτεμβρίου, 14:00 – 18:00 September 16 | 16 Σεπτεμβρίου, 10:00 – 14:00 Khien Phuc (Cambodia/France) ^^ Qi Gong Workshop
June 16 – July 14 | 16 Ιουνίου – 14 Ιουλίου: Eirini Vlavianou ^^ Observation, exploration and artistic reflection on Akadimia Platonos site during the BlackRock protest semester