“Folly for Songs for Funk Kinships”: Jenny Marketou’s new public sculptural environment and the parallel events in the Megaron Garden

On the occasion of the new public sculptural environment “Folly for Songs for Funk Kinships” (A Shelter for Songs and Wild Kinships) by Jenny Marketou, which opened on September 12 in the Garden of the Athens Concert Hall, a rich parallel interdisciplinary program of events and educational workshops is unfolding.

Curated by Panos Giannikopoulos, the exhibition is part of the visual arts program of annexM, under the direction of Anna Kafetsi, and was specially commissioned for the Concert Hall Garden.

About the Work

The project takes shape in situ, with the Garden itself functioning as an artistic studio, where materialities, seasonal shifts, and existing life forms organically contribute to the creative process.

Developing from summer through spring, the installation unfolds as a shelter for wild kinships and sonic synchronizations, following the transformations of seasons and vegetation. Its architecture playfully challenges conventional notions of functionality and ornamentation, asserting a space where form does not obey codes of utility but negotiates the conditions of shared existence. The broken circle that defines its structure-an open shape allowing free access and circular flow-is composed of clay elements, natural-material bricks, wood, and organic traces. These structures host birds, insects, small animals, plants, and other forms of life.

In Folly for Songs for Funk Kinships, human presence withdraws from the center to participate equally within a plural community. The work is inscribed within the Garden yet simultaneously establishes a framework for the emergence of a new ecosystem of relations-a meeting ground between the animate and the inanimate-where notions of life, matter, and care are redefined. The material structures remain open to decay and transformation, adjusting to the subtle shifts of the environment. The materials activate sensory experiences while also serving as a practical foundation for the cultivation of relationships, forming a field of encounters that resists predetermined hierarchies.

Throughout the installation period, composer Esthir Lemi presents a sound composition created specifically for the work. Dedicated to vanishing “species,” both living and musical, it creates an immersive environment of shared listening that acknowledges the presence of non-human life forms. The composition will be performed live during two evening events in the Concert Hall Garden.

The work was realized in collaboration with the social cooperative Cob, employing practices of natural building and bioclimatic architecture.

The exhibition is open during the Garden’s regular hours (Monday–Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. until sunset).

About the Artist

Jenny Marketou, born in Athens and based in New York, develops an artistic practice that bridges ecological thinking, public space, and forms of collective action. Through installations, performances, educational initiatives, and participatory projects, she creates infrastructures for coexistence and shared inquiry.

Her work has been presented in major art institutions and international exhibitions, including Documenta 14, Manifesta, Museo Reina Sofía, ZKM, Queens Museum, and the New Museum.

Her recent projects, Wet Gatherings and Futuring Waters, bring together artists, scientists, and communities around aquatic ecosystems and the forms of care that emerge from them.

Parallel Events

Trails in the Garden

Jenny Marketou, Panos Giannikopoulos

Dates & Times:
Friday, September 26, 2025, 18:00–19:00
Friday, October 31, 2025, 18:00–19:00

Description:
Guided walking tours inviting visitors to explore Folly for Songs for Funk Kinships. These trails highlight the Garden as a living ecosystem and the artistic practice that animates it, while encouraging an exchange of questions and observations with the audience.

Participation: Free admission.

[Learn more HERE]

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Ecology of Silence

Esthir Lemi

Dates & Times:
Friday, October 10 & Saturday, October 11, 19:00–21:45

Description:
A three-hour sound installation in a continuous listening loop. The layered soundscape draws from electronic music, endangered musical species, the “ecology of silence,” and the idea of coexistence with the park’s natural sounds. It incorporates recordings from experimental magnetic tapes of the 1980s using analog synthesizers. The work focuses on gentle, non-invasive listening and an immersive experience in dialogue with the surrounding environment.

About the Artist:
Esthir Lemi studied painting and music composition in Athens. She holds an MA from the Berlin University of the Arts with a focus on multimedia works, and a postgraduate degree in electroacoustic composition from the Zurich University of the Arts. She completed her PhD at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. As a composer, she primarily creates graphic scores combining image, sound, movement, and light, while her research focuses on developing new models of performance theory.

Participation: Free admission with online reservation.
Recommended for: Teens and adults. A quiet presence and limited movement are advised.

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Before I Entered the Room, What Was I?

Marios Chatziprokopiou

Date & Time:
Sunday, October 19, 18:00–19:00

Description:
A performative reading-walk in the Garden, where writer and performer Marios Chatziprokopiou reads excerpts of texts in situ. The action unfolds as a performative reading connecting literary voices to the themes of the installation, seeking to release narration from the human subject and open it to other forms of existence.

About the Artist:
Marios Chatziprokopiou is Assistant Professor at the Department of Culture, Creative Media & Industries at the University of Thessaly. He is a poet, translator, performer, and researcher, having presented performances and performative lectures internationally. He has translated four books by Clarice Lispector, and his poetry has been translated into English. His debut collection Local Tropics (Antipodes, 2019) explores queer mourning and desire in relation to oral poetic traditions.

Participation: Free admission with online reservation.

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Building Folly-Tools

Kostas Kontomanos, Jenny Marketou, Social Cooperative Cob

Dates & Times:
Saturday, October 25 & Sunday, October 26
11:00–13:00 and 16:00–18:00

Description:
An experiential workshop inspired by the Garden’s biodiversity. Using natural materials and ancient techniques, participants will create small shelters for animals (birds, bees, cats). The workshop emphasizes artistic expression, collective knowledge, and community care.

Participation: For ages 10–16. Up to 20 participants per workshop.
Ticket: €5 per child, online purchase required.