Author: gourgourini

Group exhibition “trifles and troupes | everything lies under the surface” curated by Ioanna Gerakidi

“We must rid ourselves of the delusion that it is the major events which have the most decisive influenceon us. We are much more deeply and continuously influenced by the tiny catastrophes that make up daily life.”

— Siegfried Kracauer, The Mass Ornament (1963)

 

The Blender Gallery presents the group exhibition trifles and troupes, everything lies under the surface, curated by Ioanna Gerakidi, from November 28, 2024, to January 25, 2025. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, November 28, at 19:00. By focusing on that which the political and cultural scholar Siegfried Kracauer describes as tiny catastrophes, or as surface-level expressions, the exhibition examines ephemeral gestures that are often dismissed as insignificant, even though they have historically shaped and still affect psychosocial schemes. trifles and troupes, everything lies under the surface seeks to explore, transcribe, and ultimately legitimize colloquialisms, diaries, temporary archives, and micrologies. The exhibition traces the quotidian as a strategy and a vessel to reveal the multiple potentials of a surface and along, the unnoticed meaning residing on what’s considered as trivial, ephemeral, popular. In other words, it aims to establish that which would otherwise remain unobserved by intentionally encountering its belletristic qualities, always in order to move beyond them. By engaging with both the temporal and the marginal, the protective and the intrusive, the isolating or the solidary, it longs to decipher both mundane structures and vexed pasts, to see with, through and beyond popular schemes, profane themes.

The participating artists, all trace surfaces of harm or healing, of distraction and amusement, of fantasy or utility creating a constellation resisting to just fill the voids of life. What they request, instead, is acknowledging and celebrating vocabularies, successions, transformations and sociabilities informed by the frivolous or the alienating, yet also by hope and trust, and the ecstasies arising when we all, humans and non humans come together. The exhibition’s works ask to be seen for and through their facets, to begrasped as intrinsic parts of the artists’ lives, both literally and metaphorically. What does it take to move beyond the visible, to linger over the in-betweens of the real and the imaginary, to look with the flesh, exposed or veiled, to observe the industrial, to closely touch the seemingly insignificant, to praise the frenzy? The works exhibited in trifles and troupes, everything lies under the surface fearlessly ask these questions, longing to stay with all of the oxymora occupying our realities, conducts, contracts. The participating artists choose to become with and beyond their surroundings, to undemonize the trifle, to demytholologize the emblematic, to stay with the risk of revealing what lies under the surface. And that’s exactly where the exhibition turns into an allegorical troupe performing our demons and gods, our confusions and certainties, our remorses and indifferences, validating our surface-level expressions.

 

trifles and troupes

everything lies under the surface

Group exhibition, curated by Ioanna Gerakidi

November 28, 2024 – January 25, 2025

Artists

Niki Danai Chania, Dimitris Gkikas, Maria Konti, Natalia Manta, Vasilis Papageorgiou, Katerina Papazissi, Myrto Patramani, AnnaMaria Pinaka, Janis Rafa, Ariadne Strofylla, Dimitris Tampakis, Orestis Telemachou, Eleni Tomadaki, Natalia Triantafylli, Elena Zaghis

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of public moments. More info will be announced soon.

Visual Identity: Alex Brouhard

Communication: Maria Paktiti & The Blender Gallery

*Ioanna Gerakidi, Natalia Manta, Vasilis Papageorgiou,  Janis Rafa and Eleni Tomadaki are ARTWORKS Fellow

Man Number 4 by Miranda Pennel wins the ARTWORKS BEST FILM AWARD

Heartfelt congratulations to Miranda Pennell, the recipient of ARTWORKS Best Film Award, for Man Number 4 which competed at the inaugural Reframing Image section within the 13th Athens Avant Garde Film Festival! 

Ιn the jury’s words the film resembles a renaissance painting of the internet. Borrowing a photo posted on social media, the creator maps out a geography to be explored and composes square by square, a transcendental experience that surpasses the boundaries of simple cinematic viewing.

This award is not only a recognition of artistic excellence but a call for action. It reflects ARTWORKS’ commitment to supporting contemporary artists and amplifying voices that redefine the landscape of Greek and international filmmaking. 

The Reframing Images jury also awarded 2 special mentions to Maria Anastassiou for her film Notes: Remembered and Found by and to Alekos Alexiadis for Climate Diary. Congratulations to both filmmakers!

A big thank you to Reframing Images jury – Kostis Charamountanis, Christina Koutsospyrou, and Neritan Zinxhiria – for your commitment to artistic freedom, to the Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival and the Greek Film Archive for such an inspiring collaboration, and always grateful to our founding donor, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). 

The awards ceremony for the ARTWORKS Best Film Award – Reframing Images Competition took place on Sunday December 15th  at the Greek Film Archive.

Marily Konstantinopoulou | ARTWORKS Co-founder © Photo Vangelis Patsialos

REFRAMING IMAGES JURY | Kostis Charamountanis, Neritan Zintziria, Christina Koutsospyrou | © Photo Vangelis Patsialos

ATHENS AVANT-GARDE FILM FESTIVAL TEAM | © Photo Vangelis Patsialos

 

“Canvas for Change: Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities”

ARTWORKS is collaborating with 7 partners from European countries to implement the program “Canvas for Change: Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities” – a new initiative by Urban Center funded by the Erasmus+ program through the National Youth Agency. The program targets artists and youth workers aiming to become agents of social change.

From Greece, three visual artists and SNF ARTWORKS fellows have been selected to participate. Specifically, Madlen Anipsitaki, Konstantinos Kotsis, and Elina Niarchou will travel to Sardinia to take part in the seminar organized by Urban Center from December 9 to 18, 2024.

Canvas for Change delves into the intersection of public art, youth work, and social/political action, emphasising the transformative power of art in engaging young people and fostering civic participation. The project aims at harnessing the power of creativity as a tool for social change in local communities.

Despite the potential of public art to inspire civic engagement, especially in young people,  youth workers, artists, and changemakers often lack the necessary tools and strategies to harness this power effectively. Additionally, marginalised youth frequently face barriers to participation in artistic and civic activities.

The primary aim of this project is twofold: to explore the synergy between public art and youth work and to equip youth workers, artists, and changemakers with the skills to engage young people in civic actions, foster political participation, raise awareness on pressing issues, and advocate for social change. Moreover, the project aims at creating a platform of exchange between young artists, youth workers and changemakers from European Islands (Sardinia, Madeira, Malta, Cyprus, Greek or Spanish Islands and Iceland).

The training week will take place in December 9-18 2024 in Elmas, located in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia.

Main objectives of the project:
– Exploring the benefits and potential of combining public art, youth work, and social/political action.
– Enhancing the skills of 24 participants in using public art as a medium to engage young people in civic actions and political life, to raise awareness among local communities on social and political issues, and to support key community-driven causes.
The program includes workshops, in-person and online lectures, as well as hands-on field activities, making it a comprehensive experiential and educational initiative.
A distinctive feature of Canvas for Change is its special focus on addressing the unique characteristics and needs of islands.

C A N V A S   F O R   C H A N G E
Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities
Erasmus+
9-18 December 2024  | LOCATION Elmas/Cagliari (ITALY)  

 

Funding information

Canvas for Changes: Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities is an Erasmus+ Seminar financed by the ANG (Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani) with an Erasmus+ grant.

 

Partners

Urban Center (partner capofila)
Madrid Street Art Project
ARTE.M
Associu Popularte
Kol og salt ehf – Galleri Uthverfa / Outvert Art Space
Planbe
ARTWORKS
Future Icons
Gozo Nadur Local Council

 

Roundtable Discussion “Exploring the Intersection of Cinema and Contemporary Art”

Join us this Sunday, December 8th at 14:30 for the roundtable discussion we are co-hosting with the Athens Avant-garde Film Festival to discuss where cinema meets art. The conversation will  bring together a distinguished panel of moving image artists – Maria Anastassiou, Danae Io, Shambhavi Khaul, Nate Lavey, Pablo Marin and Malena Szlam –  whose works are featured in the Festival’s Reframing Image section, while being moderated by the acclaimed filmmaker, Menelaos Karamaghiolis !

Roundtable Discussion
“Exploring the Intersection of Cinema and Contemporary Art”
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 14:30

Moderated by Menelaos Karamaghiolis
Participants: Danae Io, Nate Lavey, Pablo Marin, Malena Szlam, Maria Anastassiou, Shambhavi Khaul

The discussion will be held at the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki)

Complete the participation form and secure your spot:

https://forms.gle/ewKsVTRZiPyGfZPB6

The day will conclud with a celebratory event to mark the official start of the “Reframing Images” Competition Section

Party Reframing Images
Sunday December 8, 2024, 21:00
Djs: K.atou & Jacob of Cappadocia
BIOS
Pireos 84, Athens

Art Is (Not) For Sale / Free Palestine!

Art Is (Not) For Sale / Free Palestine!

In a time of war, of genocide, of gendercide, art (if it exists) is for sale.
In a time of resistance, of struggle, of freedom, art (which exists) is not for sale.
In a time of censorship, art (which is defiant) is not for sale.
In a time of indifference, art (if it can be called “art”) is for sale.
In a time when words fail us, art (which came before words) is not for sale.
In a time when all we have is each other, art (which is and is not for sale) is active solidarity.

FAC is organising a solidarity art sale to raise funds for Queers in Palestine @queersinpalestine and the Dismantle Damon campaign @dismantle_damon. The sale will open on Thursday 28 November and run until Sunday 1 December.

Artists who have already committed to participate include: Madlen Anipsitaki/Simon Riedler, Irini Bachlitzanaki, Isabella Eda Baker, mélie boltz nasr/Andromache Kokkinou, Stella Chaireti, Vera Chotzoglou, Maria F. Dolores, Naomi Frisson, James Fuller, Vasilis Galanis, Catriona Gallagher, Anna Gonzalez Noguchi, Alexandra Greene, Richard Hronsky, Rowena Hughes, Dimitra Ioannou, Fanis Kafantaris, Katsarida Press, Dionysis Kavallieratos, Markellos Kolofotias, Elena Koumarianou/Caterina Stamou, Chrysanthi Koumianaki, Anna Koura, Beskida Kraja, Maria Lamprinidi, Latent Community (Ionian Bisai, Sotiris Tsigkanos), Maria Louizou, Naya Magaliou, Irini Miga, miss dialectic, MKX, Mochi, Petros Moris, Kosmas Nikolaou, elianna otta, Vasilis Papageorgiou, Maria Papapostolou, Yiorgos Psychas, Andreas Ragnar Kassapis, Eleni Riga, E Scourti, Fiona Spathopoulou, Myrto Stampoulou, Sweatmother, eugenia tzirtzilaki, Konstantinos Χatzipapas, Xenokratis, Doreida Xhogu, Paky Vlassopoulou, Maria Zreiq, 3 137.

Art Is (Not) For Sale / Free Palestine! is curated by Caterina Stamou @thebirdsdokiss and Pati Vardhami @pati_v_pati

The initiative is supported by @3_137_artist_run_space, @eight_athens @amoqa.athens @sest_somateio

Opening hours:
Thursday 28 November 8-11 pm
Friday 29 November 8-11 pm
Saturday 30 November 4-8 pm
Sunday 1 December 4-8 pm

Address:
Feminist Autonomous Centre for research
Agiou Panteleimonos 7b 104 46 Athens

GROUP EXHIBITION “DESMOS: A Dinner Study”

DESMOS: A Dinner Study is a project by the A-DASH platform, curated by Christina Petkopoulou. It explores themes of closeness, sharing, and empowerment within the artistic community through the study and the reenactment of historical gatherings organized by the Desmos gallery, known in Greek art history as the “Desmos’ Mondays.” The group show hosted at EIGHT/TO OXTΩ, Critical Institute for Arts and Politics (8 Polytechniou St., Athens), will feature artistic and curatorial work shared at a series of thematic dinners, along with archival material. The opening event will take place on Saturday, December 7, from 18:00 onward and a performance program is soon to be announced.

Since spring 2024, A-DASH has been organizing a series of dinners at the independent exhibition space Work In Progress Studios in central Athens. These were five simple pasta dinners, each with a different curated group of guest artists and curators, held in five unique temporal and spatial settings. The gatherings prioritized relationships and practice, resulting in five distinct actions, whose traces form the material for this group exhibition. Among the displayed works, material from the curator’s research is exhibited, archival documents, and personal records from the Desmos Gallery archives (part of the National Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum Archive – ISET).

DESMOS: A Dinner Study exhibition serves as a contemporary curatorial interpretation of the historical “Desmos’ Mondays,” a series of events organized by the Desmos gallery starting in 1972. During this time, gallery founders Epi Protonotariou and Manos Pavlidis hosted gatherings where they offered pasta to artists in a private setting within the gallery, accompanied by avant-garde music selected by contemporary composers. This exhibition reflects on the relationships, bold choices, and unconventional practices that historically shaped artistic communities. It considers environments of care, safe spaces, and settings that support and empower the artistic community, fostering critical internal relationships essential to creativity. The focus here is on practice and sharing, beyond the art market’s competitive pressures and production demands. Artists and theorists will present artworks, installations, notes, texts, archival material, and performances inspired by the thematic dinners, attempting to identify conditions that foster connection and empowerment within the creative community, both in the past and present times.

With the financial support and under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. Special thanks to Kava Oinotypo for providing wine for the dinners and opening event, and to KOPRIA for their floral decorations.

 

DESMOS: A Dinner Study

Opening: Saturday, 7.12.2024, 18:00

ΤΟ ΟΧΤΩ/ΕΙGHT, 8 Polytechniou str., Athens

Visiting Hours: 7.12.2024-11.01.2025, Thursday-Saturday 18:00-21:00 and by appointment

Curated by: Christina Petkopoulou

Participating: Nadja Aryropoulou, Eloise Fornieles, Ioanna Gerakidi, Panos Giannikopoulos, Marina Velisioti, Nikolas Ventourakis, Olga Vlassi, Sylvia Sachini, Christina Kotsilelou, Dimitra Kondylatou, Konstantinos Kotsis, Kosmas Nikolaou, Rena Papaspyrou, Phantom Investigations (Ino Varvariti, Giannis Delagrammatikas), Theo Prodromidis, Nana Seferli, Stefania Strouza, Mare Spanoudaki, Marianna Stefanitsi, Stamatis Schizakis, Christoforos Marinos, Myrto Xanthopoulou, Zoe Hatziyannaki, Yiannis Hadjiaslanis, Konstantinos Hatzinikolaou, Vera Chotzoglou, VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas, Kostas Tzimoulis)

*Christina Petkopoulou, Ioanna Gerakidi, Marina Velisioti, Nikolas Ventourakis, Olga Vlassi, Dimitra Kondylatou, Konstantinos Kotsis, Kosmas Nikolaou,  Giannis Delagrammatikas, Theo Prodromidis, Nana Seferli, Stefania Strouza, Mare Spanoudaki,  Myrto Xanthopoulou,  Vera Chotzoglou are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows

ARTWORKS Best Film Award within the context of the Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival

The Greek Film Archive in collaboration with ARTWORKS presents the new competition section, “Reframing Images”, within the context of the Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival. ARTWORKS through support from Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), offers the ARTWORKS Best Film Award, amounting to 5,000 euros, supporting filmmakers who innovate and experiment with moving image, contributing decisively to the evolution of modern cinematic art. The jury of the competition section consists of SNF ARTWORKS Moving Image Fellows, Neritan Zinxhiria, Christina Koutsospyrou and Kostis Charamountanis.

The newly launched Competition of AAGFF, “Reframing Images”, aims to showcase artists and filmmakers who explore new forms of storytelling and cinematic form. Regardless of duration or genre, the section presents, in Greek premiere, debut or second feature films, as well as medium-length and short films. Ranging from 2 to 85 minutes in duration and coming from 27 different countries, such as Argentina, Nigeria, Cambodia, Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon, the 26 films in this year’s programme comprise a selection of fiction, film essays, creative documentaries, as well as experimental and artists’ films.

Exploring innovative aesthetic tendencies, the programme aims to present how filmmakers use and experiment with stylistic devices to convey their connection to the contemporary world. Combining essay style with the use of archival material, some of them explore the ways in which the intimate and political content of images can act as a space for reflection. Others examine the legacy of colonialism as well as its contemporary postcolonial implications, while some seek to give form to experiences of exile, migration and social marginalisation. With a strongly sensory approach, some films attempt to capture personal and collective experiences of oppression and violence, such as the patriarchal culture in Iran, the 2019 popular uprising in Chile, the war in Palestine and militarisation in Lebanon. Composing visual landscapes with a dreamlike mood, other films explore the imaginative potential of landscapes, whether natural or man-made, and their coexistence. Following a diary film practice, some filmmakers collect fragments of everyday life to reconstruct them in a poetic and contemplative way.

THE JURY – REFRAMING IMAGES COMPETITION

Neritan Zinxhiria (1989), born in Tirana, Albania, lives and works in the Balkans. He is the director of the films Chamomile, The Time of A Young Man About To Kill, A Country of Two. Through cinematic language and between fiction and docu-
mentary, he explores how death and loss redefine human memory. His latest short film Light of Light was a Grand Prix Slamdance winner, was nominated for a Tiger Award and had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Christina Koutsospyrou (1980) was born in Athens and studied at the University of the Arts London (LCC). Her first film, In the Wolf (2013), is a docu-fiction exploration of the life of shepherds in mountainous Nafpaktia, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has since been screened at more than 50 festivals internationally. She was awarded as best newcomer at Dokufest in Kosovo, and won the Best Film award at Syros International Film Festival, while the film received special mention at Doclisboa and was nominated for the Best Documentary Award by the Hellenic Film Academy.

Kostis Charamountanis (1994) is a self-taught filmmaker, screenwriter, editor, and composer whose work has been recognized and awarded in major film festivals worldwide. He recently completed his debut feature film, Kyuka Before Summer’s End (2024), which premiered in the esteemed L’ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024.

More info
http://www.tainiothiki.gr/en/13aagff

13th Athens Avant Garde Film Festival
5-18 December, 2024
Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki)
Iera odos 48 & Megalou Alexandrou 134-136
Kerameikos

On Sunday 8/12 at 14:30 ARTWORKS organizes a thought-provoking roundtable discussion titled “Exploring the Intersection of Cinema and Contemporary Art ” that will take place within the context of  13th edition of the Athens Avant-garde Film Festival at the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki). The discussion will be moderated by the acclaimed filmmaker, artist and ARTWORKS’ collaborator Menelaos Karamaghiolis, bringing together a distinguished panel of moving image creators whose works are featured in the festival’s Reframing Image section.

Roundtable Discussion
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 14:30

Reframing Images x ARTWORKS
“Exploring the Intersection of Cinema and Contemporary Art”
Moderated by Menelaos Karamaghiolis
Participants: Danae Io, Nate Lavey, Pablo Marin, Malena Szlam, Maria Anastassiou, Shambhavi Khaul
The discussion will be held at the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki)

Complete the participation form and secure your spot:

https://forms.gle/ewKsVTRZiPyGfZPB6

Party
Sunday December 8, 2024, 21:00
Reframing Images
Djs: K.atou & Jacob of Cappadocia
BIOS
Pireos 84, Athens

 

 

SNF INTERNS meet ARTWORKS

On Thursday, November 21th, the ARTWORKS team presented its mission and initiatives to the SNF Interns. The interns also had the opportunity to visit art spaces that highlight the vibrancy of Athens’ contemporary art scene. Specifically, they toured Can Gallery and explored the solo exhibition of Maro Fasouli (SNF ARTWORKS Fellow 2020), “A House as Big as You Need and Land as Far as You Can See.”

Following this, they visited Kyan Project Space, an independent venue serving as a meeting point for artists and the public, hosting experimental exhibitions and activities. During their visit to Kyan, artists Kyveli Zoe (SNF ARTWORKS Fellow 2021), Julien Saudubray, Tefra, and Michael Fanta presented their work and shared insights about their creative process.

GROUP EXHIBITION “It empties, it fills, the light”

On Wednesday, November 20 at 20:00, the exhibition It empties, it fills, the light will open at the V. & M. Theocharakis Foundation, highlighting the significance of light in art through a dialogue between the works of seventeen distinguished historical and contemporary artists.

Spanning installations, paintings, sculptures, and photography, the participating artists delve into the conceptual meanings of light—from its metaphysical essence to its tangible, plastic qualities, as well as its omnipresence in daily life—covering a period from the 1960s to the present. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to witness how light transitions from being a natural phenomenon to an artistic tool, while celebrating the influential contributions of artists such as Takis, Antonakos, Chryssa, Bouteas, and Lappas, as well as contemporary figures like Apostolou, Gerasimou (ARTWORKS Fellow), Efeoglou  (ARTWORKS Fellow), Karakostanoglou, Kontis, Lascari, Nikolakopoulos, Patsourakis, Sagonas  (ARTWORKS Fellow), Touliatou (ARTWORKS Fellow), Charitonidi, and Hassabi.

The exhibition is co-curated by Takis Mavrotas, the director of the visual arts program at the Foundation, and Panos Giannikopoulos, curator of the Greek Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. It empties, it fills, the light was conceived by Marina Miliou-Theocharaki. This collaboration merges the extensive experience of the esteemed Mavrotas with the innovative perspective of Giannikopoulos, offering a comprehensive and multifaceted exploration of light’s conceptual and formal dimensions.

It empties, it fills, the light 
V. & M. Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music

Curators: Takis Mavrotas & Panos Giannikopoulos

Production Director: Marina Miliou-Theocharaki

Artists: Takis, Stephen Antonakos, Chryssa, Yannis Bouteas,  George Lappas, Eugenia Apostolou, Pinelopi Gerasimou, Dimitris Efeoglou, Nikomachi Karakostanoglou, Giorgos Kontis, Anna Lascari, Pavlos Nikolakopoulos, Eftihis Patsourakis, Fotis Sagonas, Iris Touliatou, Despina Charitonidi, Maria Hassabi

Opening & Talks: Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at 20:00

Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-18:00, Thursday 10:00-20:00

More information:

https://thf.gr/el/events/adeiazei-gemizei-to-fos/

*Pinelopi Gerasimou, Dimitris Efeoglou, Giorgos Kontis, Fotis Sagonas, and Iris Touliatou are ARTWORKS Fellows.

EPJ10 authored by Akis Kokkinos, supported by ARTWORKS

ARTWORKS proudly concludes its collaboration with Enterprise Projects by supporting the creation of the 10th edition of the EP Journal, authored by Akis Kokkinos (SNF ARTWORKS Curatorial Fellow, 2022).

Read here EP J10 “The Curator as Artist (as Curator) A Draft Toward New Modes of Studio-Based, Visual (Curatorial) Practice”.

Discover more about ARTWORKS collaboration with Enterprise Projects here.

Sam Albatros presents the novel “Dad, I Want You to Be Ashamed of Me”

“Maybe shame is what you feel when you start to truly get to know someone. When perfection makes room for our human side—what you love with all the mistakes they have made or will make. Because it’s the human part we seek. Perfection is for strangers, for celebrities on TV. For those who are never really part of our lives.” — Excerpt from the novel Dad, I Want You to Be Ashamed of Me.

An evening full of surprises, celebrating the release of Dad, I Want You to Be Ashamed of Me. The central theme of the book is the diary of the protagonist, who shares his secrets without shame, in an attempt to finally connect with his family.

In the spirit of the book, the audience will be invited to anonymously share a secret to be read on that day.

ROMANTSO, Anaxagora 3-5, Athens
Wednesday, November 6
Arrival Time: 20:00
Free Admission

* Sam Albatros is SNF ARTWORKS Fellow (2021)

THODORIS TRAMPAS AT OSTEN Biennial Skopje 2024

Thodoris Trampas (SNF ARTWORKS Fellow 2020) joins the OSTEN Biennial Skopje 2024 and receives the Special Recognition Award by the OSTEN BIENNIAL Skopje 2024. This award is given to artists distinguished for their innovation, creativity, and the impact of their work on the contemporary art scene.

The award ceremony will take place during the Biennial on February 6, 2025, at the National Gallery of North Macedonia – Chifte Hammam, Skopje. There, Thodoris Trampas will present his new art performance titled “Separation.” This site-specific performance was designed and created exclusively for the unique space of the Zincirli Mosque, offering an experience closely tied to the historical significance and uniqueness of the venue. The performance addresses issues that shape our society in an unorthodox and provocative way, touching on the divisions that define us culturally and socio-politically. Through a powerful artistic language, the performance examines the boundaries set between people, such as those of religion, identity, gender, and politics.

More info here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YoWpxVwAcFxGTkaB/

https://www.osten.mk/en/awards-2024/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGIj-5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUnwG0urM4vhJAfkSFnbZXvyjSNlM2AnpgYlUDaQo9MBSbBLKY2anaKupg_aem_alZgSRo66TgayPayqsa3Ng

“Weaving Worlds” curated by Daphne Dragona

Weaving Worlds is an exhibition about processes of world-building or re-worlding as depicted, discussed or enhanced through art. The experience of the pandemic allowed us to reflect upon what is lost in a condition of continuous acceleration, and what is yet to be gained in order to find ways of living with each other in a period of a generalized crisis. Weaving Worlds addresses the need to reimagine forms of co-existence on an environmental, social or political level. It questions the idea of a one-world world acknowledging the existence and interdependence of different realities, needs and possibilities.

Participating artists: Margarita Athanasiou, Campus Novel, Sofia Dona, Maro Fasouli, Dimitris Gavalas, Effie Halivopoulou / Tim Ward / Nikos Falagas, Zoe Hatziyannaki & Constantinos Hadzinikolaou, Charles Hustwick, Andreas Ragnar Kassapis, Chrysanthi Koumianaki, Anna Lascari, Michael Lekakis, Stefanos Levidis, MAENADS (Eleni Ikoniadou, Afroditi Psarra, Anne Duffau), Alexia Celia Peza / Petros Tatsiopoulos / Nori Tsouloucha, Dimitra Skandali, Lina Theodorou, Μaria Varela, WordMord {Onlania tentacle}.

*Margarita Athanasiou, Sofia Dona, Maro Fasouli, Andreas Ragnar Kassapis, Chrysanthi Koumianaki, Stefanos Levidis, Μaria Varela are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows

Weaving Worlds
An exhibition curated by Daphne Dragona at Deree – The American College of Greece
Friday, May 20 – Saturday, June 25, 2022
Opening: May 20, 2022 18:00-22:00
ACG Art Gallery – The American College of Greece, 6 Gravias Street, Aghia Paraskevi

Organised by: The Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts (FRSFPA) of Deree – The American College of Greece
as part of the Arts Festival 2022
Supported by: the Art History, Graphic Design, and Visual Arts Programs

Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 14:00-18:00, Sat: 12:00-16:00
Entrance is open to the public. Visitors are required to wear face masks at the exhibition venues.

“EPISTEMOLOGIES OF THE SUN ” curated by Marina Fokidis

Rebecca Camhi gallery is pleased to announce a new group exhibition reflecting on the notions of the sun as a driving force and, at the same time, an existential homeland, curated by Marina Fokidis.

The exhibition includes Zoë Paul’s weavings on obsolete fridge grills, Iasonas Kampanis’ painted portraits of animals taken from ancient Greek mosaics and friezes, Yugoexport’s collection of zoomorphic ceramic sculptures and vases, Panos Profitis’ facemask-sculptures, inspired by the iconography of ancient Greek amphorae, and Eleni Kotsoni’s ongoing collage-installations, made from material fragments of the past and the present, to create a continuous narrative.

This paradoxical title emphasizes how crucial light is in the conception and creation of these artworks. It examines the sun’s ability to transcend geographical boundaries, and to heal the human condition and our environment. The artists of the exhibition were born and raised in countries of the so-called broader south, where the sun is untamed and powerful. These include Athens, Belgrade, Kythera, Livadia, South Africa, and Rhodes.

Their works carry the influence of a shared understanding of South-eastern cultures: their myths, traditions, political idiosyncrasies, economic realities, and craftsmanship. The metaphorical and literal “shapes” and “colours” in these works encourage the viewer to look beyond the hegemonically imposed “white” purity of the Renaissance and Classicism, as well as Enlightenment’s rationalism and in general, the prevalence of western thought in society today.

The branch of philosophy called epistemology is defined by the relationship between the researcher and reality, the artists and their surroundings. This is what constitutes their version of the Epistemologies of the Sun.

You are invited to expand on these epistemologies through multiple perspectives and orientations during many occasions this summer such as the summer solstice, when the sun will be at its zenith.

Epistemologies of the sun
Group show curated by Marina Fokidis
Artists: Iasonas Kampanis, Eleni Kotsoni, Zoë Paul, Panos Profitis, Yugoexport
Duration 12/05/2022 – 09/09/2022

*Iasonas Kampanis and Panos Profitis are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows

“Βlue Beyond”, ELEONORA SIARAVA

 

Eleonora Siarava, a choreographer who lives and works between Greece and Germany presents her new piece Blue Beyond. Blue Beyond is a dance performance about time which as an experiential perception, a natural phenomenon, a corporeal event runs through a continuum. It constructs an imaginary condition where future penetrates present and present emerges into future creating overlapping temporalities. Drawing from the chi-fi book of the beginning of the 20th century “Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future” by Olaf Stapledon, 1930, explores corporealities, cartographies and images of the Future and questions how the idea, the vision or the fantasy of the Future is depicted, reflected, embodied.

Through an interplay with mythologies, realities, dramaturgies, fictions, topologies, imaginary spaces of the future, memories of the live present and embodied traces of the past, the idea is to turn the stage into an active hybrid space with movements, objects, sounds, words and create a live moving capsule of imprints and visions forming a Memoir for¦of the Future, a cyclic schema to represent time.
The piece uses montage techniques in order to reveal different variations of non-linear performance unfolding and explore how body and movement are affected when transferred in a different temporal condition or spatial context. To enhance this, there is an interactive sound design with live amplification processes and recording within recording techniques.

Blue Beyond follows a series of Siarava’s artworks about Time. The Body and the Other ~ (2020) premiered in one of the most important dance production houses in Europe, Tanzhaus NRW at Düsseldorf in the framework of Temps D ‘Images Festival while Who knows where the time goes – potential destination #1 (2021) was presented in Athens supported by the Ministry of Culture of Greece and after a residency at SE.S.TA Centre for Choreographing Development/Interdisciplinary Incubator 2019 (Prague).

Concept – Choreography – Artistic Direction: Eleonora Siarava
Dance, choreography: Eftychia Stefanou
Sound design: Yannis Tsirikoglou, Space design: Eleonora Siarava, Light design: Eliza Alexandropoulou, Dramaturgy advice: Betina Panagiotara, Set construction: Christofili Kodolefa, Athina Koubarouli, Costume: Girogia Dipla, Production assistant: Nefeli Vlachouli, Visual communication: Christofili Kodolefa
Production: Per_Dance Choreographic Research Plarform
www.per-dance.com
With the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Greece for 2021-2022

20-21-22 May | 20.00 | Theseum Theatre
Tournavitou 7, Athens
Duration: 50 minutes
Tickets: https://www.ticketservices.gr/event/blue-beyond-eleonora-siarava/?lang=en
Contact: [email protected]
Post-Performance Talk
On Sunday 23th May the performance will be followed by a discussion between the artistic team and the audience facilitated by the dramaturg Betina Panagiotara.

Η παράσταση πραγματοποιείται με την οικονομική υποστήριξη του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού για το 2021-2022

Solo show “I follow the sun as I follow my distraction”, Vasilis Papageorgiou

In sculpture there is a kind of plausibility and honesty of the materials. The material has its own properties that can only be used but not changed; the substance can be used in different ways to demonstrate various attributes. The honesty and ethics of the materials remain unscathed. In the art of sculpture, the physical dimension of the space in which the work of art is perceived plays a central role.

Having the notion of sculpture as a starting point for his solo show “I follow the sun as I follow my distraction” at Callirrhoë, Vasilis Papageorgiou is using materials through which gestures can be expressed. Bended copper plated plastic, marble spheres cut-in-half, curved steel, (de)formed plasterboards and clay shape his narration and convey to the observer the illusion of entering the domestic environment of the artist. An unconscious fantastical world is opening up as the spectator is building an imaginary space that includes all the objects to be gazed in an apparent sequence. Papageorgiou offers a twist of perspective on how we can observe familiar objects differently.

At this point, the question of the different connotations of the definition of sculpture comes to the fore, starting with the smallest object that can be found in the exhibition space and moving towards the sculpture in the middle of the room that could easily be spotted at a public space. But what is it that can actually be seen and interpreted? What’s the title hinting at?

Vasilis Papageorgiou
I follow the sun as I follow my distraction

curated by Olympia Tzortzi

27 May – 10 July 2022
Opening day: 27 May, 7 pm – 10 pm

Group show “Βeautiful South”

Following an initiative of the King George Hotel, group exhibition “beautiful south” will be hosted in its lobby from 20 May till 26 June. The show will highlight the dual identity of the hotel as one of the oldest hotels and meeting points of Athens and at the same time as one of the spaces that attempts to bridge the traditional with the contemporary.

The selection of the artworks is based on works that belong to private collections and subsequently, on works from a selection of young Greek artists that play a significant role in the scene. This would be the first attempt to exhibit a NFT artwork in such an environment in Greece and will be a great addition to the more traditional mediums – such as paintings and sculptures – that will be presented. As the title implies – beautiful south – the main topic of the exhibition is the topos that we are interacting with. The south is a place which stimulates emotions, that supports a sense of freedom (through its natural surroundings).

Through a pluralistic selection of works, the show tries to unify and facilitate, attempts to build bridges and proposes a better understanding of contemporary art. A one-day symposium on the relationship between art and technology will take place. Andrea Lissoni, director of Haus Der Kunst in Munich, and Miltos Manetas, a distinguished multimedia artist, will play the key role to the symposium.

Beautiful South
King George Hotel
2, Kleomenous str., Athens

with works by Giannis Adamakos, Olive Allen, Margarita Bofiliou, Maria Georgoula, Giannis Gkizis, Dionisis Kavallieratos, Paul McCarthy, Maro Michalakakou, Roila Mpouzea, Albert Oehlen, Malvina Panagiotidi, Tasos Paulopoulos, Sofia Petropoulou, Yorgos Stamkopoulos, Erik Steinbrecher, Nikos Tranos and Kostis Velonis

Opening: 20 May, 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Duration: 20 May – 26 June

“Directed by Desire”

Directed by Desire is a collaborative project iterated into a group exhibition conceived and curated by Daphne Vitali and Arnisa Zeqo and taking place in rongwrong, Amsterdam from 15 May to 2 July, 2022. The exhibition brings together the work of mainly women artists and writers based in Greece, Italy and the Netherlands. The works deal with notions of desire, love and exhaustion. The sensitivity of the artists weaves together the personal with the political. The artworks invite us to think about the power of interpersonal relations and their effects in daily life. The exhibition presents both existing and newly commissioned works that move between longings for a person and for human solidarity altogether.

Directed by Desire addresses issues of affect and intimacy in the form of longing, frustration, tiredness, personal turmoil and tensions. These are emotions and situations often felt and experienced on a quotidian basis that determine both everyday lives and artistic creativity. In the exhibition, personal stories and imagined fantasies become strategies to confront the complexities of achievements, failures, self-negation, love, uneasiness, devotion and unfulfillment. Sensual pleasure and desire are sometimes linked with harsh, uneasy and demanding conditions such as distance, disillusionment, abandonments and other forms of emotional difficulties. The artists’ works engage different registers of intimacy and proximity and act as vehicles for emotional engagement.

The title of the exhibition is borrowed from a verse by American poet, intellectual and activist June Jordan (1936 – 2002) who has been an important reference for the curators while thinking of the power of the word and poetic sensibilities in relation to ideas of affect. Τhe artists participating hold a particular relation to language, writing, visual poetry and artists’ books.

Directed by Desire

Curated by: Daphne Vitali, Arnisa Zeqo

Participant artists: Eleni Bagaki, Mirella Bentivoglio, Tomaso Binga, Becket MWN, Quinn Latimer, Aliki Panagiotopoulou, Iris Touliatou, Raffaela Naldi Rossano, Myrto Xanthopoulou.

*Eleni Bagaki, Iris Touliatou and Myrto Xanthopoulou are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows

Rongwrong, Amsterdam
Binnen Bantammerstraat 2, 1011CK, Amsterdam

Opening: May 14th , 6-8pm –during Amsterdam Art Week
Duration: May 15 – July 2, 2022
Fridays and Saturdays 14:00 – 18:00 or by appointment

More info: http://www.rongwrong.org/

The exhibition is made possible with the support of NEON Organization for Culture and Development.

Waste/d Pavilion, Episode 2: Oliver Ressler

State of Concept Athens is happy to present the second episode of Waste/d Pavilion, the solo exhibition of Oliver Ressler, entitled “Assets Must be Stranded” curated by iLiana Fokianaki, accompanied by a public program curated by PAT.

Oliver Ressler has been for many decades working in the intersection of art and politics, closely inspired by and connected with the work of various activist groups and social movements, civic society and volunteer groups. Overall his work is characterized by themes that relate to politics, the aftermath of globalization and turbo-capitalism, protest and democracy, the commons in relationship to labour and questions that relate to ecology and sustainability and how these connect to the damaging effects of the anthropocene/capitalocene.

Belonging to a group of artists that discuss politics and ideology mainly through photography and the moving image, he is known to Greek audiences, for his four film series entitled “Occupy, Resist, Produce” that is discussing the aftermaths of the economic crisis of 2007-8, since one of the films, was dedicated to the occupation of the Vio.Me factory in Thessaloniki, by workers that took over and operate it to this day.

For this exhibition, Oliver Ressler presents works that will resonate very much to Greek audiences who the last decade witnessed protests and massive mobilization against extraction and pollution throughout the country: from the case of Erimitis in Corfu to the resistance against wind turbines in the historic Agrafa mountains, to the goldmine in Skouries in Northern Greece. Ressler has been following the environmentalist movement and has produced a series of films examining questions of climate activism. Primarily the artist will present his most recent film The Path is Never the Same (2022), discussing the efforts of activists and local residents from 2012 until this day to stop the lignite mine operations in Hambacher Forest in the region of Rheine, Germany by occupying trees and living on them.

Audiences will also see two films from his series “Everything’s coming together while everything’s falling apart” that follow the struggles of local residents to halt government plans to upend their lives and ruin their surrounding environment. The first film is focused on the infamous story of the ZAD, an autonomous zone created by local residents and activists, in an effort to stop plans for a new airport in Nantes, France. The second film, focuses on the Ende Gelände, a forest in Germany where local residents and activists aim to stop lignite extraction. Ressler will present also photographic works.

Bona-Fide: Elsa Brès – Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou Α dialogue between artist Elsa Brès and art historian Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou (SNF ARTWORKS Fellow) as part of the Bona-Fide series of exhibitions dedicated to contribute to the promotion of young artists and critics/curators. Brès presents Notes for Les Sanglières, a short film about a film in the making, shot in the rural French region where she lives, which deals with wild boars as allies, inspired by the ideas of ecofeminism. In her text Mavrokordopoulou, a researcher on the subterranean imaginary in contemporary art, especially with regard to nuclear spaces, shares her thoughts on Brès work in relation to ecology, in the fundamental sense of the term as the interaction of organisms with each other and with their environment.

Oliver Ressler’s exhibition was made possible by the support of Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKÖS).

Waste/d Pavilion is part of the ‘Coalition of the Care-full’ a program of The European Pavilion.
The European Pavilion enables cultural spaces to experiment and reflect on Europe. To question, discuss and define what Europe is and what it could become in the future. To tell stories, to imagine, to question. Is there a more appropriate venue for such an undertaking than the European Pavilion?
‘Coalition of the Care-full’ is funded by the European Cultural Foundation. https://culturalfoundation.eu/stories/european-pavillion

Waste/d Pavilion, Episode 2:
Oliver Ressler – Assets Must be Stranded
Bona Fide 2: Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou & Elsa Brès
Opening: 27th of May, 19:00-22:00
Duration: May 27th 2022 – September 24th 2022
Opening Hours: Wednesday – Friday, 16:30-20:30 Saturday, 12:00-17:00

“Spirit Structures” by Petros Moris

In ‘Spirit Structures’, Athens-based Petros Moris unfolds a ranging installation of sculptures, etchings and video both inside and outside PTX; a dialogue of works revolving around the entanglements between the material and metaphorical undergrounds of geology, bodies, and psyches. Equally employing both computational and archaic production techniques, machine learning algorithms, makeshift rapid prototyping and intaglio printing, the artist looks at the internal anatomies beneath surfaces and skins – domains that reverberate the processes of animation and transformation, engendered by the fateful interdependencies of earthly and cosmic phenomena.

*Petros Moris is SNF ARTWORKS Fellow 2018.

Spirit Structures
Petros Moris
PTX Athens, Pl. Theatrou 10, Athina 105 52
Exhibition dates: 02.06 – 19.06.2022