The Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun, in collaboration with the Teatro Patologico and the NGO “Skepi”, held an event – open discussion, on the subject of Art and Disability, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 19.00, at the theater stage of 14 Frynichou Street in Plaka.
Artists with disabilities openly discussed everyday life, art, the art of everyday life, the challenges and difficulties in their work. The discussion was accompanied by mental health experts.
Speakers:
Amalia Atsalaki, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, psychotherapist through art.
Eli Driva, actress.
Irene Kourouvani, dancer, choreographer, athlete.
Katerina Malakate, writer.
Giota Tsekoura, Architect, mother of a teenager on the autism spectrum.
Greetings were addressed by:
Alberto Amadei, Head of the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Italy in Athens.
Dario D’Ambrosi, Artistic Director of the Teatro Patologico.
Kali Pagoulatou – Kyparissi, Director of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation – President of the Board of Directors of the Karolos Koun Art Theatre.
The event closed with a musical part, with mezzo-soprano Irene Karagiannis and Grigoris Zambaras, pianist, professor at the University of Tampa in Florida.
Nikiforos Ilias Tsekouras, a teenager on the autism spectrum, painted on stage.
The discussion took place on the occasion of the performance Medea, by the Teatro Patologico, which took place on the stage of the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun on 17 and 19 June 2025. Much more than a performance, the excellent result of a theatre therapy course that embraces children with severe mental and physical disabilities, absolute protagonists on stage. In collaboration with the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, This work was born in the context of the world’s first university course Integrated Theatre of Emotions, an educational and therapeutic course that has revolutionized the way we understand inclusion through art.
The event was held under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in Greece.
