Denis de Rougemont Forum Athens: Fearless Festivals

grape - Greek Agora of Performance just concluded a week ago. Organised by the Athens Epidaurus Festival, grape is one of the most vibrant places in Europe for performing arts. A delegation of 12 people connected to EFA among which members, board and team representatives have attended the programme featuring many great artists and shows from Greece performed in spectacular venues throughout Athens and in the ancient amphitheatres of Epidaurus.

7 August 2025

It's in the context of grape, that the European Festivals Association (EFA) has teamed up with its member the Athens Epidaurus Festival to organise the Fearless Festivals: a grape / EFA Denis de Rougemont Forum. This international forum was a way to celebrate the legacy of festivals and mark the 70th anniversary of the oldest and most important festival in Greece.

By encouraging connections, collaborations and co-productions between festivals in the East and West, the Denis De Rougemont Forum strives to bridge the gap between the different regions of Europe and to develop festivals' international relations with countries that are less well represented but have a vibrant scene.

This is exactly the idea behind grape: to promote Greek performing arts abroad. grape is a rare bird, a little jewel imagined by Katerina Evangelatos, Theatre and Opera Director, and Artistic Director of Athens Epidaurus Festival. It began in 2023 and is now in its third year. grape aims to create a dynamic platform where artists can present their work to presenters such as festival directors and cultural venues from all over the world. And it works! Since its launch 12 productions have circulated in more than 40 cities in America, Asia, and Europe. grape has contributed to put Greece on the map of countries that count in theatre and dance, and to support the outreach of Greek artistic creations.

Building on grape and the Denis de Rougemont Forum, the Fearless Festivals Forum was the perfect format to illustrate how festivals and artists can learn from each other in an international context, listen to different experiences and needs. The Forum took place on 23 July at the Goethe Institute in Athens and focused on the fears the artistic and cultural sector, as well as our societies, must overcome today. The Forum spotlighted the vital role of festivals as pivotal spaces for free expression, artistic experimentation, and public assembly. Two panels looked at the subject, presenting the viewpoints of festival directors and cultural institutions on the one hand, and artists and creators on the other, in order to get an overall view of the sector.

Fearless Festivals: Leadership, Risk and Reinvention

The first panel invited festival directors to speak on the theme of “Leadership, Risk and Reinvention”. They addressed the balance between continuity and change within their festival and their country, talked about how to foster cross-border collaboration and artistic mobility, and explored what festivals can do to lead better without fear.

Speakers of the session included three EFA Members: Haris Pašović, Director of Sarajevo Festival (Bosnia Herzegovina), Milena Lubarda Marojević, Director of Theatre City Budva (Montenegro), Johanna Freundlich, Artistic Director of Helsinki Festival (Finland), as well as Gabriella Triantafyllis, Chief Artistic Programming & Production Officer of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (Greece), Florian Borchmeyer, Curator of Festival International New Drama - FIND / Schaubühne Berlin (Germany), and Argyro Chioti, Artistic Director of National Theatre of Greece (Greece), moderated by Katerina Evangelatos, Theatre and Opera Director, Artistic Director of Athens Epidaurus Festival.

Here are some of the main points that came out of the discussions:

Many festivals are born at very critical moments. It's worth looking back at their history and their creation.
It’s crucial for a festival to be at the forefront and produce new, original works.
Festivals need to show solidarity and support each other.
Inter-human meetings are essential to connect with people abroad.
Festivals should talk with people outside of their communities, who think differently.
Festivals must protect the process that allows artists to experiment and struggle, in order to preserve the integrity of how the final product comes to life.
Festivals are spaces for mentoring and incubation. Their role is to encourage the next generation of artists.
The sector needs to make the most of its international connections and be bold enough to share a common vision and bring people together.
Festivals must be more rebellious and self-confident. Festivals need to show that they are relevant.

Working without fear: Performance in a changing and challenging environment

The second panel ‘Working without fear: performance in a changing and challenging environment’ focused on how artists work, how they navigate through the many challenges they face, and how they connect to festivals. The panel who have all been supported by Grape:

The second panel “Working without fear: Performance in a changing and challenging environment” focused on how artists work, how they navigate through the many challenges they face, and how they connect to festivals. The panel was made up of four Greek artists who have all been supported by grape: Patricia Apergi, Choreographer; Katerina Giannopoulou, Theatre Director; Pantelis Flatsousis, Theatre Director; Anestis Azas, Theatre Director; moderated by Dimitris Papanikolaou, Professor of Modern Greek and Cultural Studies, University of Oxford

Here are some of the reflections and comments shared by the speakers:

Is it really possible to work without fear?
The fear of not being funded is a reality that exists for a long time for artists.
Artists' works reflect on the collective and individual fears.
Creating new audiences involves new dramaturgy and new risky gazes.
Talking about the crucial issues of our time is important and must continue, even if fear can sometimes knock on our doors.
The digital world and AI make it sometimes difficult to say the difference between what is real and what is not real. The enemy is blurred. It’s difficult to take action when you don’t know the difference.
In most EU countries, artists have the privilege of being born and raised in societies where freedom of expression and creation is granted. Freedom is not always a given and we must remember that.
Artists must be political but the risk has to be taken together with the festivals’ artistic directors. If the artistic and cultural sector is very powerful it will be very difficult for a government to silence it.

Connecting festivals makers

With an international delegation of 60 professionals from the performing arts, and 12 people connected to EFA among which members, board and team representatives, grape created many opportunities to exchange and think about the 8 performances produced by the festival, and more broadly about what’s happening in the world today. grape is truly inspiring and can serve as a model for many festivals to put their local artists foreword and contribute to their international visibility.

"I thought this was a very strong Denis de Rougemont forum, thanks to strong content, strong organisation of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, and strong artistic programme." said Jan Briers, EFA President.

"We were particularly intrigued about how most of the performances that we saw had a social theme and message behind them, showing that the Festival is pushing a social agenda, and that the performances were not only aimed at entertaining the audience, but also aimed at getting the audience to discuss after the performance." shared Etienne Bonello, Director of Festivals Malta.

2025 also marks Katerina’s last edition as Artistic Director, a role that will be taken over by Michael Marmarinos from September. Marmarinos is also an actor and writer, and was Artistic Director of 2023 Eleusis, European Capital of Culture.

There is a real and growing problem of (self-)censorship and political interference in many EU countries, as highlighted by the Forum. Festivals need to stand up strongly for the arts, for freedom and for democracies. EFA is focusing on the theme of Artistic Freedom in 2025 and will continue to play its role in bringing together its members and the wider festival community to discuss their responsibilities and build projects that contribute to the well-being and living conditions of every individual in our societies.

by Audrey Brisack

Denis de Rougemont Forums

Fearless Festivals: a grape / EFA Denis de Rougemont Forum

Goethe Institut-Athen

23 July 2025

Athens is hosting EFA's next Denis de Rougemont Forum: The Fearless Festivals Forum adresses performing arts festivals and is part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival’s grape platform which takes from 22 to 27 July 2025.