Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has appointed Belgian artist Jan Fabre director of the annual Athens & Epidaurus Festival for the 2016 – 2019 period and Greek artists expressed outrage as Fabre unveiled his plans for the following four years of the festival at a press conference held at Acropolis Museum in Athens.

During his speech, Fabre did not mention Greece and Greek artists, but praised Belgian arts instead. He also said that he is not able to supervise all performances, therefore he cannot announce which of them will be presented.

“During my four years as curator of the Athens and Epidaurus International Festival, I hope to build bridges and devise dialogue. I hope to make the Festival representative for the multicultural society it stands in,” he said during the press conference.
Fabre also said he doesn’t like the term “director” and he prefers to be called the festival’s curator.

Moreover, this year’s festival will be dedicated to the “Belgian Spirit,” as the 2016 festival starts with an exhibition of Fabre’s drawings, models, photographs and videos entitled “Stigmata. Actions & Performances 1976 – 2013” at the Benaki Museum in July and will travel to the Musée d’art contemporain in Lyon in September.

However, it is not the first time that his actions and words have caused reactions. Fabre had triggered many reactions with his groundbreaking 24-hour performance “Mount Olympus” where men dancers were dancing naked.