More than 200 artists, musicians, dancers, graffiti, comic or animation artists, visual artists and many others from every corner of the planet are going to meet on June 15 & 16 at the Street Art Festival (SAF), the largest youth festival of Thessaloniki and a major one in the Balkans.  For two days, at Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, under the organizational care of the SAF and TIF-HELEXPO teams, this different type of festival is bringing the pulse of street art to the city, combining an explosive potpourri of live music, dance, visual art interventions, live graffiti and extreme sports in a climate of joy and creative fun. Youth and freedom of expression will paint the city alive and turn it into an incubator of ideas, a venue of socio-artistic fermentation.   

This is the third Street Art Festival and will include:   

• 24 hours of live music with an great line up: 12os Pithikos, Asteria tou Vorra, Rodes United, and the historical Active Member at the conclusion of their career, the American legends of Hip Hop Sick Jacken (Psycho Realm), Slaine (La Coka Nostra) and, finally, hip hop funkers Herbaliser Full Band, are some of the names to share the same stage, for the first time in Greece, at this year’s SAF.
• More than 50 graffiti/street artists, creating over 100 metres of wall, live.
• Seminars and workshops for comic book and sculpted figure, Animation, Beatmaking-DJ Scratching, Skate, Inline, and BMX fans.
• A unique presentation by the innovative 3D pen that has fired the imagination of anyone who has ever seen it! For the first time in Greece!
• Eight eminent dance teachers from Greece and abroad, offering seminars in voguing, waacking, new style, hip hop and dancehall.
• 11 outstanding dance groups to present their prize-winning choreographies in a unique live dance show.

At the two previous events, more than 40 world acclaimed artists, 30 of the freshest music groups of the country, fearless young fans of extreme sports and more than 15,000 visitors met, collaborated, and were moved by each other’s work. Moreover, world acclaimed, prize winning street dance schools from Greece brought the rhythm and pace of Las Vegas to the stage of the Street Art Festival.

Alexandros Marantelos is the Project Manager/Creative Director of the event. 

SAF tickets are sold in advance at the following sale points:

Tickethouse

Small cafe Bar, Kalamaria

www.streetartfestivalthessaloniki.com

www.facebook.com/streetartfestivalthessaloniki

18/05/2015 – 13:12

The interest and love of the public for the 12th Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF) exceeded all expectations. More specifically, this year’s event welcomed over 50,000 visitors from 7 to 10 May. During the weekend, Pavilions 13 and 15 of Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, where the 12th TIBF was deployed, were flooded by visitors, as the book-lovers of Thessaloniki explored new and older publications, received information on the latest developments in the publishing sector and attended over 280 parallel events.

This year’s Fair, which hosted approximately  400 exhibitors and 21 countries and provided a forum for 300 Greek and international authors, became a true ‘celebration’ of culture, achieving the goal initially set by the organisers, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, TIF-Helexpo, Greek publishers and the City of Thessaloniki. The public embraced the event, supplying it with the best ammunition for the future.

Literature, poetry, science, politics, history, art, discussions, roundtables, workshops, seminars, colloquiums, showings, musical and dramatic events took centre stage and comprised a rich four-day period that covered all areas of interest.

There was great visitor response to the tribute to Ibero-American literature titled ‘Voices from Afar’, taking the public on a voyage to the literature of Spain, Portugal and South America, and to the 2nd Young Writers’ Festival. The ‘Books & Arts’ sections, presenting the relationship between books and music, design and cinema, was highly interesting, while our younger friends were attracted to the ‘Children’s and Adolescents’ Corner’. Visitor numbers at the events for the honoured authors of the 12th TIBF, Manolis Anagnostakis and Zissimos Lorentzatos, was also significant.

TIF-Helexpo will continue to fully support Thessaloniki International Book Fair and to ‘invest’ in culture.

12/05/2015 – 11:41

Sending the message that culture stands firm against the crisis, the 12th Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF) is opening its gates at Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre (Pavilions 13 and 15) from 7 to 10 May.

The four-day celebration of culture is boasting improved qualitative and quantitative features this year, hosting approximately 400 exhibitors and 21 countries, providing a forum for 300 Greek and international authors and including 280 events.

As announced during today’s Press Conference, this year’s programme is structured along four main thematic sections: the tribute to Ibero-American literature titled ‘Voices from Afar’, the 2nd Young Writers’ Festival, the ‘Books & Arts’ section and the ‘Children’s and Adolescents’ Corner’, featuring dozens of parallel events. The 12th TIBF is being organised by the Hellenic  Foundation for Culture in cooperation with TIF-Helexpo, the City of Thessaloniki and Greek publishers, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs.

The Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction (Macedonia-Thrace), Mrs Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha, characterised Thessaloniki as a capital of arts and letters, noting that Greece has always been a crossroads of civilisations and continues to produce culture even today. “Books are the most important vehicle of culture”, she noted, expressing the government’s support for the Fair.

The President of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Tassos Tzikas, underlined the improved figures of this year’s event, noting how they prove that the Fair must continue on its dynamic course and remain a major cultural celebration for Thessaloniki. “The city must support the Fair and the goal is its further internationalisation”, he stressed.

According to the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mr Yiannis Boutaris, “the message that the 12th Thessaloniki International Book Fair must express is that Greece is not just antiquity and Byzantium, but remains a centre of culture in the modern world”. In fact, the Mayor announced that the City of Thessaloniki will earmark funds for next year’s event in its budget.

The President of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Mr Christodoulos Yiallouridis, stressed the importance of Thessaloniki International Book Fair as an expression of culture, particularly during these difficult economic circumstances. “Culture is our form of resistance against the crisis. It is our weapon. We stand strong and believe in the future”, he noted. In fact, underlining the international appeal of the Fair, he announced that Russia, participating with a national delegation for the first time, has expressed an interest in becoming the country of honour at a subsequent Fair.

Representing Greek publishers, Mr Nikos Karatzas expressed the fervent support of the Greek publishing sector for Thessaloniki International Book Fair, while stressing that the crisis has affected the book market and estimating that the rate of publication of new titles for 2015 will be significantly reduced.

“Our youth must fall in love with the Fair”, noted that Managing Director of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Kyriakos Pozrikidis, underlining that the event must offer free admission so that everyone can become acquainted with books.

The opening ceremony of the 12th TIBF will be held at Pavilion 15 on Thursday, 7 May, at 19.30.

For more detailed information on the full programme of the 12th TIBF, visit the website www.thessalonikibookfair.com.

06/05/2015 – 16:33