After two extremely successful cycles of artistic workshops in North Evia, Melisma returns renewed to the Municipality of Istiaia – Edipsos, seeking to connect poetry, song and community. The starting point of this year’s cycle, Melisma III, is poetry, with the aim of transforming the speech of the residents into music through a process of co-creation that will highlight the collective memory, local identity and the dynamics of the community.

Through visits to primary and secondary schools and meetings with groups of adults, participants of all ages will process experiences, images and memories related to their place, nature, the sea and the changes that the region has experienced, as well as concepts such as loss, rebirth, collectivity and hope. Using experiential exercises, creative writing and teamwork, texts will be produced that record experiences and emotions, shaping a contemporary poetic imprint of the community. This material will form the basis for new musical compositions and the creation and presentation of an original musical theater work.

The goals of the program focus on strengthening creative expression, connecting speech and music, cultivating collectivity and social cohesion, as well as highlighting collective memory and local identity through the participation of the community in the creation of a new artistic work. The result will be the presentation of an original musical performance in Edipsos, where the participants will appear on stage together with the artistic and educational team of the program.

The artistic direction, musical composition and musical education are undertaken by Michalis Kalogerakis, the artistic direction and theatrical education by Pantelis Kalogerakis, while the musical education is undertaken by Danae Stergiou. The creative writing workshops and the dramaturgical development of the texts are coordinated by Thomas Tsalapatis, while the orchestrations are signed by Fanis Zachopoulos.

According to the artistic team’s note, for Melisma III “Edipsos is a point of inspiration, as it is connected to the myth where the goddess Athena asked Hephaestus to bring warm waters to the surface to heal Hercules. Water, a symbol of purification and salvation, and fire, as a force of nature, are basic motifs of the program”.

A few words about Melisma

Since 2022, Melisma has been implemented in the Municipalities of Limni – Mantoudi – Agia Anna and Istiaia – Edipsos, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with the local municipalities, recording a substantial social and cultural footprint. It is an artistic and pedagogical action, lasting one artistic season, that puts the community at the center and leads to the creation of a new musical theater performance based on the material and participation of the residents themselves.

In an area that has been significantly affected by the devastating fires of 2021, the program seeks to contribute to cultural reconstruction, offering a space for expression, processing of experiences and collective creation. From the processing of trauma in Melisma I to the exploration of tradition and local identity in Melisma II, the program evolves organically, reflecting the needs and dynamics of the community itself. At its core remains the same belief: that art is a field of encounter, memory, regeneration and collective creation.

Melisma is funded by the Ministry of Culture.