Human Library in SNFCC

“Living books” share stories about Art and Disability.

The “Human Library: ‘Living books’ share stories about Art and Disability” is an initiative by liminal in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). It is an innovative and interactive series of events that aims to challenge stereotypes about disability, foster inclusion, and highlight the vital role of art in creating a society without exclusions.

Art is a vibrant medium for expression, participation, and social change. Yet people with disabilities often encounter barriers to engaging in cultural life. Through the Human Library, we aim to highlight these obstacles while also showcasing practices that create pathways to full and equal participation.

In a safe and open space, artists and cultural professionals, with and without disabilities, share their personal stories, challenges, and creative journeys.

The Human Library will take place across four themed events, each dedicated to a different art form: Music, Visual Arts, Dance, and Theatre.

What is the Human Library?

The Human Library, which began in Denmark, is a library where people take the place of books. Each “book” has a title, and readers choose which story they want to hear. The “reading” is interactive, with questions and answers, always conducted with respect, free from judgment and prejudice.

In our Human Library, the “living books” present a diverse range of experiences: disabled artists challenging prejudice, alongside professionals who continually push the boundaries of creativity.

We invite you to visit our Library, “borrow” a living story, and become part of a unique interactive experience, where art serves as a bridge for understanding and acceptance!

The Human Library opens with Music

The first workshop will take place on Sunday, September 7, at the Book Castle on the ground floor of the NLG at SNFCC, at 13:00 and 15:00, and will focus on music. In this special edition of the Human Library, we open our “books” and let them share stories where disability and music meet in creative and powerful ways.

Is music a language without borders? Can it bridge differences and bring people closer together?

Artists and musicians with disabilities will share their personal experiences of how they use music as a tool for expression and empowerment. At the same time, professionals who integrate accessibility services into their work will discuss practices and approaches that make the arts more inclusive for everyone.

The event aims to spark meaningful dialogues, challenge stereotypes, and highlight the many ways in which diversity fosters creativity and artistic growth.

Speakers

Beneath two golden wings, a close-up of a made-up eye. Rows of rhinestones on the lower eyelid create the effect of sparkling tears. Next to and below, in thin black letters, it reads “Ody Icons.” Beneath that, in large red letters, it reads “Polydrama.”

Polydrama – Ody Icons

Odysseas I. Konstantinou, creator of Ody Icons and a multidisciplinary artist (performer, composer-lyricist, actor, playwright), shares how he and his team created the first universally accessible music film, Drama, and how their concerts presenting the album “POLYDRAMA” became spaces of accessibility, inclusion, dance, and release.

A sketch of a winding stone path through a forest at night. The only light comes from golden musical notes and symbols sparkling in the darkness. At the top, in white letters, it reads: “Marios Sarellas, The Invisible Journey of Music in the Invisible World of Imagination.”

The Invisible Journey of Music in the Visible World of Imagination – Marios Sarellas

Marios Sarellas, music teacher, sound engineer, and live artist with visual disability, invites us to explore how visual impairment became a means rather than an obstacle, and how accessible technologies can serve as tools for the advancement of music.

A graphic design of a wooden puppet dancing in a room with a parquet floor, surrounded by floating musical notes and symbols. At the top, in red capital letters, it reads “The Silence of Music,” and below, in white letters, “Andreas Plemmenos, Human Library 2025.”

The Silence of Music – Andreas Plemmenos

Andreas Plemmenos, a theatre educator in special education and author, and a member of the Deaf community, shares his experience with music through concert interpretation, dance, and everyday life.

Under the title “Can We All Make Music?” in fuchsia capital letters, with the name Alexis Karampoikis, a colorful graphic design unfolds, featuring spiral shapes reminiscent of waveforms. Among them, musical notes, strings, and parts of imaginary instruments stand out in an explosion of colors.

Can we all make music? – Alexis Karampoikis

Alexis Karampoikis, music teacher, musician, and ethnomusicologist, will talk about inclusive music composition—a tool he created, informally named in.mus.cre (interactive music creation). Through personal stories, he will also present music as a multi-layered medium capable of producing remarkable outcomes across many areas of life and education.

Useful information about the Human Library

“Living books” share stories about Art and Disability.

Date: Sunday, September 7, 2025 Time: 13:00 & 14:00 Duration: 1 ώρα Location: Book Castle, NLG’s ground floor, SNFCC Cost: Free

The event will feature live interpretation in Greek Sign Language.

Next events of the Human Library

Visual Arts: Sunday, October 12, 2025 Dance: Saturday, November 22, 2025 Theatre: Saturday, December 3, 2025

Production: liminal

All areas of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center are accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, click here.

The event is made possible thanks to the donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).