With the desire to keep the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), in constant dialogue with the public until its official delivery to the State, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announces its intention to make the SNFCC again fully accessible to the public, organizing open events that will give visitors the opportunity to re-discover and enjoy the project. The construction of the SNFCC has been officially completed and the SNF took delivery of the project today thus beginning the transitional phase of the delivery to the Greek state.
The events will start on August 16th, having as a main goal to give the public the chance to develop stronger ties with the project and accompany it throughout the delivery process to the Greek State, which is expected to be completed by the turn of the new Year.
The summer hours of operation for the Stavros Niarchos Park will be from 06:00AM to midnight every day. The winter hours of operation will be from 06:00AM to 20:00PM. A program of free events will take place including wellness and fitness programs (such as Wellness and Exercise Consultants who will be available daily from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 18:30 to 21:30; yoga classes every Monday and Friday at 19:00 and every Tuesday and Thursday at 08:00 etc) activities for children and families (such as the music and kinetics educational program “Play and Learn” every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30 and at 20:00), screenings (every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 21:00) and music concerts. Visitors will have the opportunity to enter the buildings of the Greek National Opera and National Library of Greece by participating in one of the 90-minute scheduled guided tours taking place four times a day, starting at 9:30, 11:30, 17:30 and 19:30 respectively. The two buildings will be otherwise closed to the public at this time while the transition to the Greek state takes places and the GNO and NLG prepare for their move into their new headquarters. The programming which will take place from August till delivery to the State is funded exclusively by the SNF.
Temporary food trucks will be available for guests to purchase food and beverages. At a later stage, a restaurant and cafes will operate on a permanent basis. Τhe parking facilities, which follow the SNFCC’s opening hours, will operate without charge at this stage. Later on, parking facilities will be available upon payment. The parking structure has a capacity of almost 1.000 car spaces. The playgrounds will be available for use once the process for obtaining all the necessary permits has been completed. Moreover, free WiFi named SNFCC-FREE-WIFI is available across the entire SNFCC.
The SNFCC’s new programming comes on the heels of the Metamorphosis celebration, a free, four-day cultural festival featuring performances, family activities and exhibits, which took place from June 23rd to June 26th giving the public the opportunity to visit for the first time the buildings of the GNO and the NLG as well as the Stavros Niarchos Park in its entirety. Almost 120,000 guests visited the SNFCC during the four-day celebration.
The SNFCC Membership Program was also launched during the events and more than 41,000 members registered through 26,000 personal and family applications. The membership fees for these applicants were covered through a one-time grant provided by the SNF, for two years. It is worth noting that almost 1 out of 4 members are children up to 17 years old. Membership registration will recommence in September and the fees paid by new members will contribute to the SNFCC’s future sustainability. Corporate and donor memberships will also be developed by the end of the year through close collaboration between the SNFCC AE, the NLG and the GNO.
“The first phase of our vision has been realized,” said Andreas C. Dracopoulos, Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. “The hope now is for the public to continue to embrace the SNFCC as its own, support it, enjoy it, make it a destination and integrate it into its daily life.”
Renzo Piano, during a press conference that took place on June 24th, stated “This is a story of excellence. The excellence started with [Andreas C. Dracopoulos] and the Foundation. They set up a very ambitious plan and then it went on. Because excellence is contagious. Once you start it goes through. It touched everything, it touched us. “
A listing of events taking place in August is available on the SNFCC’s website, www.SNFCC.org, and the SNF’s website, www.SNF.org