Today 19/5, early in the morning, at 7:30, after a prosecutor’s order, an evacuation and sealing operation of the Free Self-Managed Theater EMBROS took place, in the presence of the police and representatives of ETAD (Public Real Estate Company), the company which the historic building of Embros (first printing house in Greece, characterized as a modern monument) belongs to. The operation took place without the permission of the Ministry of Culture which is responsible for these buildings or with its resounding absence and silent complicity.
What problem could the Greek Ministry of Culture have, after all, that a modern monument was cemented since they gave permission to cement the most important of the ancient ones, Acropolis!
What problem could the Greek Ministry of Culture have, after all, that a theater was sealed since throughout this difficult period of the pandemic they devalue Art and insult artists in the worst way, leading them to despair and extinction.
The Free Self-Managed Theater EMBROS was born from the dreams and hopes of millions of people who took part in the social movements of our time. It is an open, public space with an international impact, free access for over 1000 visitors per week and a daily, diverse program of events aimed at a wide range of people from different cultural backgrounds.
Since 2011, hundreds of artists have presented 400 different plays in more than 2000 performances on a non-profit & free entrance basis. There have been organized concerts of 450 music bands, events to support self-organized projects, kinematic initiatives and artistic groups, more than 300 speeches and lectures on all issues of everyday life. Hundreds of meetings, exhibitions, poetry, literature festivals, workshops, a sea of meetings and creation, a breath of freedom and expression in the city center.
We try to bring together the theory and the practice, the artistic and the social and political, on issues that concern everyone, and to redefine the role of art, today, in conditions of emergency. Today, more than ever, the continuation of the EMBROS project is vital and that is why it needs the support of all of us! The assembly of the Free Self-Managed Theater Embros expresses its support in all the social movement spaces that face the state campaign for the imposition of a regularity of submission, fear, privatization and mass stupefaction.
HANDS OFF EMBROS!
THE BUILDINGS BELONG TO THOSE WHO NOURISH THEIR DREAMS UNDER THEIR ROOF