Sevi Matsakidou
Building a Culture of Artivism Across Europe
Sevi Matsakidou, Educational, Research, and Advocacy Manager, El Sistema Greece
Like many organizations across Europe, El Sistema Greece draws part of its support from European Union programs. While our work has always focused on music and social change, we’ve recently partnered with organizations beyond the music sector to explore something broader: “artivism” across different art forms. This collaboration led to the launch of a new project, co-funded with the EU and dedicated to empowering young people, especially those with fewer opportunities.
El Sistema Greece Widens Inclusion to Work With Adults
Sevi Matsakidou, Communications Manager, El Sistema Greece
El Sistema Greece (ESG) was born in 2016 as a project that supports refugee communities through music. We teach violin, viola, cello, French horn, trumpet, percussion, choir and music theory to students aged 6-26, as well as music initiation for the youngest students. In addition to our El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra, we now have small orchestras in each of the three ESG nucleos in Athens. We have frequent concerts in public spaces, often in the biggest cultural center in Athens, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
