Let the River Take It / Να το πάρει το ποτάμι
Collaborative community performance, 20th April 2019, Levadia, Greece; part of the ‘Memory of Water’ project
‘Να το πάρει το ποτάμι / Let the River Take It’ was designed as a collective catharsis, an invitation both to remember and to release memories into the River Erkyna. It aimed to weave together references from Levadia’s past and present, including the tradition of washing clothes and rugs in the river, the historical industry of textile mills and the many women who worked in them, and the ancient myth of the Oracle of Trophonius – where the dual springs of remembrance and forgetting combined to form the river itself. The event was also a purposeful restaging of domestic activity in the public realm, making visible ‘women’s work’ which is often either hidden or ignored.
‘Να το πάρει το ποτάμι / Let the River Take It’ was a performative action in two parts. It began as a procession from Nerotrivi (the former public laundry) in the town centre with banners and music, and ended further down the River Erkyna. The second half of the performance was a mini-riverside festival and collective washing event, where local people shared stories and songs about memory, the river, and letting go.
Members of the public were invited to join myself and others* in the river as we washed the individual words ‘Να το πάρει το ποτάμι’ from sheets that were hanging on a line, and from a banner used in the procession.
Mrs Georgias and others shared stories and songs about the River Erkyna, including memories of working with and around the river, and new and traditional folklore about remembering and forgetting.
t s Beall with Nikki Vouloutoupolis. Nikki joined the artist in the River Erkyna, helping to wash the words ‘’Να το πάρει το ποτάμι’(Let the River Take It) out of sheets which were then hung on a laundry line during the event.
Elpida Vartholomatou and the Association of Women Workers re-enacted a morning of washing rugs in the river, sharing traditional food and merriment which preceded the procession and riverwashing further downstream.
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*During the riverwashing, I was joined by a Greek performance artist who prefers anonymity, and by Nikki, who also took part in the re-enactment led by local artist Elpida Vartholomatou.
‘Let the River Take It / Να το πάρει το ποτάμι’ began as a procession in the town centre, and ended with a mini-riverside festival on the banks of the River Erkyna in Levadia, Greece. 
Mrs Georgias and others shared stories and songs about the River Erkyna, including memories of working with and around the river, and new and traditional folklore
about remembering and forgetting.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Courier; color: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 t tsB with Nikki, who joined the artist in the River Erkyna, helping to wash the words ‘’Να το πάρει το ποτάμι’(Let the River Take It) out of sheets which were then hung on a laundry line during the event.
Elpida Vartholomatou and the Association of Women Workers re-enacted a morning of washing rugs in the river, sharing traditional food and merriment which preceded the procession and riverwashing further downstream.