The current exhibition, “Greek Visual Artists and the Shaping of American Art in the 20^th Century”, presented at the Athens Municipal Arts Center until October 30^th, highlights the role played by Greek and Greek-American artists - "Greeks of the Diaspora" - in the formation of an American visual language with a global and lasting impact. In a time when connections between the local and the global are once again being sought, the exhibition, co-organized by the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation and the Organization of Culture, Sports, and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA), serves as a vibrant cultural link and a vehicle for cultural diplomacy. (Cover photo: Artwork creation by Christos Antonaropoulos, cover of the catalogue of the exhibition)

Georgia Manolopoulou, curator of the exhibition, Museologist and  Researcher in Cultural Diplomacy, notes that “art has always been a bridge. And this exhibition functions as such a bridge, between places and times, between the memory and matter of Greek cultural heritage and the dynamism of the American avant-garde, between the silent influence and the recognized role of the Greek Diaspora. An aspect of the creative Diaspora that, although actively present in the formation of the international artistic avant-garde, often remains invisible in public discourse in Greece. The exhibition attempts to bring this contribution back to the forefront, not as an act of restoration, but as an opening towards interconnection and co-creation”.

Featuring 23 artists of Greek descent, 176 works, and decades of creative presence in the USA, the exhibition offers a lived narrative in which each work reveals the inner tension of “belonging” and “co-belonging,” artistic expression as an act of identity, and the influence of the Greek perspective within American avant-garde. According to the curator of the exhibition, Georgia Manolopoulou, “culture and Art created by Greek Americans is not merely the sum of individual works; it is participation in a new version of the Common Place, where Art becomes a means of presence, soft power and co-creation. In this context, the contribution of the Greek Diaspora is not only evidence of successful integration, influence, and co-creation, but also an example of cultural diplomacy from within. An informal but essential ethical and political act, where aesthetics becomes a language of common understanding, acceptance, and dialogue, and difference becomes a field of coexistence rather than exclusion”.

Nina Leen, The Irascibles, November 24, 1950, Black and white photograph, 34x27 cm, Collection of the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation. The photograph depicts two Greek visual artists: on the left, Theodoros Stamos, first in the front row, and William Baziotes, second in the middle row, who profoundly influenced the Abstract Expressionism movement, known as the New York School (Source:  Catalogue of the Exhibition). The Irascibles or Irascible 18 were the labels given to a group of American abstract artists who put name to an open letter, written in 1950, to the president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, rejecting the museum's exhibition American Painting Today - 1950 and boycotting the accompanying competition. The subsequent media coverage of the protest and a now iconic group photograph that appeared in Life magazine gave them notoriety, popularized the term Abstract Expressionist and established them as the so-called first generation of the putative movement. Life magazine decided to publish a photo story for their January 15, 1951 edition, which would document the results of the competition and feature a photograph of the protesters. Front row: Theodoros Stamos, Jimmy Ernst, Barnett Newman, James Brooks, Mark Rothko; middle row: Richard Pousette-Dart, William Baziotes, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Robert Motherwell, Bradley Walker Tomlin; back row: Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Ad Reinhardt, Hedda Sterne (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irascibles)

Georgia Manolopoulou also notes that “Greek visual artists and those of the Diaspora contributed values, ideas, forms, and innovative practices, and forged a network of relationships through art studios and universities to galleries, major museums, and public spaces. Through their work, these creators transformed their relocation and their new home into a creative force, and cultural diversity into a source of innovation. Gestural surfaces and fields of color (Stamos), new sculptural materiality and expression of matter (Voulkos, Benglis), the relationship between typography, city, and light (Chryssa), as well as the radical anatomy of self-image (Lucas Samaras), are milestones in a polyphonic but coherent and unique artistic journey. At the same time, the lyricism of William Baziotes reveals how memory and myth can be integrated into modernism with sensitivity and inner balance”.

Theodoros Stamos, Sentinel, 1962-1964, Oil on canvas, Dimensions 173 x 152.4 cm (left), Infinity Field, Lefkada Series, 1977, Αcrylic on canvas, Dimensions 182.9 x 152.4 cm (right).

Theodoros Stamos (1922-1997) was born in New York to a family of Greek immigrants. Initially he attended evening sculpture classes at the American Artists School; he shifted to painting in the late 1930s. Influenced by artists like Milton Avery and Henri Rousseau, his style evolved toward surreal biomorphism and later abstract expressionism. In the early 1950s, Stamos joined the famous group known as “The Irascible Eighteen”. He exhibited widely, including with André Emmerich’s gallery until 1970. That year, he moved to Lefkada, Greece, and began his Endless Fields series. His works are in major museums such as the Met, MoMA, and the Whitney. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org) 

William Baziotes, Sphynx, 1947, Oil on canvas, Dimensions 96.5 x 75.2 cm (left), Indolence, 1951, Oil on canvas, Dimensions 76.3 x 61.4 cm (right).

William Baziotes (1912-1963) was born in Pittsburgh to Greek parents and grew up in Pennsylvania. In 1933, he moved to New York and studied at the National Academy of Design. Influenced by surrealism and expressionism, Baziotes developed a biomorphic abstract style. He exhibited widely, including solo shows at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery (1944) and Samuel Kootz’s gallery (1946). In 1948, he co-founded the Subjects of the Artist School alongside Rothko and others. Baziotes was also part of “The Irascible Eighteen. His works are held in major museums such as the Met, MoMA, and Whitney. (hellenicdiaspora.org)

Nassos Daphnis, #26-66, 1966, Epoxy paint on paper, mounted on masonite, Dimensions 87 x 121.9 cm (upper), Untitled, 1982, Acrylic resin and enamel on canvas, Dimensions 223,5 x 185,4 cm (lower left), Untitled, 1977, Enamel on canvas, Dimensions 190,5 x 228,6 cm (lower right).

Nassos Daphnis (1914–2010) was a Greek-born American artist and a pioneer of hard-edge painting. Immigrating to the U.S. at 16, he began painting without formal training and held his first solo show in New York in 1938. After serving in World War II, his style evolved from surreal biomorphism to bold geometric abstraction, influenced by Piet Mondrian. He developed a personal color theory and became known for vibrant compositions with sharp lines and contrasting hues. Throughout the 1960s–1980s, he experimented with plexiglass, monumental murals, and even computer-generated designs. Daphnis’s work bridged minimalism and abstract expressionism with both structural precision and expressive energy. His paintings are held in major institutions, including MoMA, the Whitney, and the Met. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

New York, 1982, 25th Anniversary Lunch of Castelli Gallery at The Odeon. Standing left – right: Ellsworth Kelly, Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, Richard Serra, Lawerence Weiner, Nassos Daphnis, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenberg, Salvatore Scarpitta, Richard Artschwager, Mia Westerlund Roosen, Cletus Johnson, Keith Sonnier Seated left – right: Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Leo Castelli, Ed Ruscha, James Rosenquist, Robert Barry. Photo: Hans Namuth (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

Chryssa Vardea-Mavromichali , untitled (Chinese relief), 1981, Charcoal, pastel and pencil on paper, Dimensions 49 x 49 cm (left), Bouzouki Capital, 1957, Bronze, brass, ivory, limestone base, Dimensions 39 x 37 x 37 cm, Base 75 x 42 cm (right).

Chryssa (1933–2013) was a pioneering Greek-American artist known for her innovative use of neon lighting in sculpture. Born in Athens, she studied in Paris and San Francisco before settling in New York in the 1950s. Influenced by the vibrant urban life of New York, she created iconic works such as The Gates to Times Square (1966), combining neon, steel, and plexiglass. She exhibited widely, including at MoMA, the Whitney Museum, and Documenta, and collaborated with leading galleries like Betty Parsons and Leo Castelli. Returning to Athens in the 1990s, she created the Cinema Oasis series, blending neon, aluminum, and city sounds. Chryssa’s work is held in major museums worldwide, including MoMA, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

Peter Voulkos (1924-2002), Walking Man, 1990, Fired stoneware, Dimensions 71,1 x 50,8 x 40,6 cm (upper), Stoneware basin, Fired stoneware, Dimensions 12,7 x 50,8 cm (lower left), Ice bucket No2, 1986, Fired stoneware, Dimensions 35 x 47 x 46 cm (lower right).

Peter (Panagiotis) Voulkos was born in Bozeman, Montana, to Greek immigrant parents. He studied ceramics at Montana State College. Voulkos revolutionized ceramics by blending traditional techniques with abstract expressionist styles, creating large-scale, gestural works. He chaired the ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute and later taught at the University of California. His work expanded to monumental bronze sculptures exhibited widely, including a solo show at MoMA in 1960. Voulkos held hundreds of exhibitions, earned numerous awards, and influenced the transformation of ceramics from craft to fine art. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

Stephen Antonakos, MA 13, 1980, Col-erase pencil on paper, Dimensions 43,18 x 35,56 cm (upper), Floor Neon, 1967, Mixed Media, Dimensions 35.6 x 55.9 cm (lower left), Neon, 1967, Mixed Media, Dimensions 35.6 x 55.9 cm (lower right).

Stephen Antonakos (1926–2013) was a Greek-American artist known for pioneering the use of neon lighting in contemporary art. Born in Laconia, Greece, he moved to New York in 1930, where he began drawing and working in advertising. In the late 1950s, he started creating three-dimensional constructions and, by 1960, became one of the first artists to use neon tubes as an artistic medium. His work explores the interplay of light, color, and architectural form, blending painting and sculpture. Antonakos exhibited internationally, participated in major events like Documenta and the Venice Biennale, and created public installations across the US, Europe, and Asia. His pieces are held in prestigious collections including MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

Lucas Samaras, Chair Transformation, 1969-70, Corten Steel, Dimensions 240 x 150 x 45 cm (upper left), Drawing #2, 1982, Colored pencil, on black cutout wove paper, Dimensions 44,5 x 29,2 cm (upper right), Panorama, 1984, Polaroid collage, Dimensions 27,3 x 81,3 cm (lower)

Lucas Samaras (1936–2024) was a Greek-American artist known for his innovative work in photography, sculpture, and installation art. Born in Kastoria, Greece, he moved to the United States in 1948. He studied at Rutgers University and Columbia, influenced by mentors like Allan Kaprow and George Segal. Samaras gained early recognition for his experimental use of materials such as aluminum foil and mirrors. In the 1960s, he created his famous “Mirrored Room” installations and began transforming everyday objects in his sculptures. He is also renowned for his “AutoPolaroids,” a photographic series exploring self-identity through distorted and manipulated self-portraits. Samaras exhibited widely, including at MoMA, Whitney Museum, and Documenta. His retrospective exhibitions have been held internationally. His work is held in major collections such as the Guggenheim and Tate Britain. Throughout his career, he explored themes of self-exploration, transformation, and the boundaries between reality and illusion. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org)

Lynda Benglis (1941), Weaver, 1999, Aluminum with gold leaf, Dimensions 33 x 33 x 17.8 cm (left), Bird’s Nest, 2016, Glazed ceramic, Dimensions 92,7 x 21,6 cm (right).

Lynda Benglis, born in 1941 to a Greek-American family - her father was a son of Greek immigrants from Kastelorizo - grew up in Louisiana and studied painting at Tulane University. Moving to New York in 1964, she became known for her innovative sculptural works using materials like latex and polyurethane foam, challenging traditional art forms and minimalism. In 1969, her work featured in the Whitney Museum’s Anti-illusion exhibition. Benglis embraced feminist ideas, creating provocative installations and videos exploring gender and identity. She taught at various universities and continued evolving her practice through glass, ceramics, and large-scale sculptures. Benglis has exhibited globally, with works held in major museums like MoMA and the Guggenheim. (Source: hellenicdiaspora.org )

The Hellenic Diaspora Foundation is based in Patras, and holds in its collections over 2,000 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, as well as visual artworks and installations by artists of Greek descent who lived in America or other countries abroad during the 20^th century. The Foundation collects, preserves, and maintains contemporary artworks with the aim of promoting Art and Culture. It utilizes contemporary art as a tool for inspiration, education, research, innovation, and development.

The Hellenic Diaspora Foundation ensures access to research, knowledge, and the connection of the wider public with contemporary art; supports contemporary artistic creation; collaborates with cultural institutions, both public and private, domestically and internationally, as well as with civil society, implementing joint contemporary art initiatives; supports new ideas, creativity, and innovative productions; promotes understanding between different cultures through dialogue with its exhibition collections; embraces the belief that culture should not be regarded as a luxury, but rather as the cohesive fabric of societies, a source of collective memory, knowledge, inspiration, spiritual liberation, and creativity.

(Source: The Hellenic Diaspora Foundation)

Also read:

Visual Arts in Greece: 1950s–1990s – Part 1/6

Visual Arts in Greece: 1950s–1990s – Part 2/6

Visual Arts in Greece: 1950s–1990s – Part 3/6

Visual Arts in Greece: 1950s–1990s – Part 4/6

I.A.

The post Greek Visual Artists and the Shaping of American Art in the 20th Century appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

Yiannis Bouteas’s exhibition, "Stratifications – Transformations," is currently running at the Archaeological Museum of the Saronic island of Poros. The exhibition is co-organized by CITRONNE Gallery in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Piraeus and Islands. Art historian Dr. Tatiana Spinari-Pollali and archaeologist Dr. Maria Giannopoulou co-curate the exhibition. CITRONNE Gallery is also presenting Yiannis Adamakos’s solo exhibition "In Between" (both exhibitions run until September 21). It’s a great opportunity to visit Poros, the greenest island of the Argosaronic Gulf. Its beauty has been celebrated by artists, poets and writers alike. The town of Poros is known for its charming neoclassical buildings (cover photo, visitgreece.gr), while pine forests blanket the island’s hills, reaching all the way down to its sandy beaches.

"Stratifications – Transformations" is an exhibition that focuses on the concept of timelessness, as it is conceived and expressed through the power of contemporary art. Bouteas's objects-symbols, coming directly from everyday life, start a dialogue with the ancient objects of the archaeological museum, and may initially surprise the visitor. A man of antiquity would probably feel a similar surprise if he saw his personal objects in the museum displays today, accompanied by scientific theories and (mis)interpretations. (Source: citronne.com/en) (Photo Credit: Installation view, ©Yiorgos_Brousalis)

The artist challenges the commonly accepted perception of time as a linear unfolding reality and creates his own timeless Museum. Fragmented, oversized digital prints of images depicting ancient sculptures are juxtaposed with archaeological artifacts, serving as a hyper-analyzed and distorted representation of our past. Utilitarian objects from everyday life—both from the present and the recent past—are combined with natural rocks and geological strata, all wrapped in images of artworks. These elements form a composition of contrasting symbols, each carrying its own distinct charge, all grounded in a visual aesthetic framework. Serving as a threshold for all of this is a barcode motif—an allusion to the inescapable digital reality that now dominates every aspect of our lives. (Source: culturenow.gr) (Photo Credit: Installation view, ©Yiorgos_Brousalis)

Bouteas's installation ultimately seems like an unexpected preview of an archaeological museum of the - perhaps not so distant - future. (Photo Credit: Installation view, ©Yiorgos_Brousalis)

Citronne Gallery Poros, housed in an 18^th century austere example of island architecture on the promenade of Poros, opened in the summer of 2006. The name of the gallery refers to the well known lemon grove of Poros. Α determining element to Citronne’s identity deriνes from its location. Poros is an atypical island with a transitory nature. Α Saronic island in close distance to Athens, its proximity and economic and social interaction to the Peloponnesian coast across it, and its large and inviting natural harbor, make Poros, as its name suggests, a ‘passage’. Citronne aspires to be a ‘passage’: a destination, a focal point, a place for assembly and exchange of ideas. Citronne Gallery Athens, which commenced its activity in November 2018, continues—and widens—the endeavor begun in Poros.

Yiannis Bouteas at the Archaeological Museum of Poros, ©Yiorgos_Brousalis (left). “Untitled”, 1974-80, installation including rope, neon and iron, Collection National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST). Exhibition ANTIDORON, The EMST Collection, Fridericianum, Kassel, 2017, photo Nils Klinger

Yiannis Bouteas represented Greece at the Greek Pavilion during the 44^th  Venice Biennale in 1990, alongside Georges Lappas, with Manos Stefanidis serving as commissioner. Bouteas exhibited works from the “Anaptygmata” (“Developments” or “Unfoldings”) series and the “Tomes” (“Sections” or “Cuts”) series. Materials used in these works included sheet metal, iron, stones, and neon light. These works reflected Bouteas’s interest in form, materiality, modularity, and spatial dynamics. The use of industrial and geological materials, alongside the luminous element of neon, aligned with his broader sculptural and conceptual exploration.

Yiannis Bouteas (Kalamata, 1941) studied printmaking at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1959-64) and continued his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1966-70), where he lived for ten years. His work includes constructions and installations, with light – whether natural or artificial – serving as his primary expressive medium, often in the form of neon tubes. The poor materials he selects (ropes, strings, stones, iron sheets, playdough, rubber, asphalt, and later mirrors), retain their autonomous expressive and conceptual power while becoming part of a larger artistic gesture. His compositions are typically spread across the floor or walls. Bouteas participated in the art group Processes-Systems (1976) and has presented his work in numerous solo exhibitions. He represented Greece at the São Paulo Biennale (1981), the Venice Biennale (1990), and the Kassel Documenta (2017). In 2007, he created the work Layerings-Energy Images XVI for the Kerameikos station of the Athens Metro. (Source: Contemporary Greek Art Institute, ISET)

CITRONNE Gallery - Poros also presents Yiannis Adamakos’s solo exhibition "In Between"( June 14 - September 21, 2025). One of the most distinguished figures in abstract Greek painting, Yiannis Adamakos creates indeterminate landscapes—reflections of a sensory world refracted through memory. He is deeply engaged in exploring the boundaries between explosion and calmness, light and darkness, spontaneity and order. He is particularly concerned with the rendering of emptiness, as a space imbued with richness of meaning and sensation. (Photo: Yiannis Adamakos, In Between 16, 2025, Mixed media, 32x42 cm, ©Vagelis_Zavos)

The Archaeological Museum of Poros was built in 1967-1968 at the site of the old residence of Alexandros Koryzis (Prime Minister of Greece in 1941)( feft). There are two exhibition galleries in the Museum, one on the ground and one on the upper floor, hosting exhibits from the entire Troezenian region (Poros, Galatas, Troezen-homeland of the Athenian hero Theseus, Methana and other areas) as well as some finds from older excavations at Hermione. A 6^th c. BC clay sima from the sanctuary of Aphrodite Akraia at Troezen is particularly impressive, given that it preserves its painted decoration and a lion-head spout (right).

Poros is the greenest island of the Argosaronic Gulf. The Poros Strait, and the seaside area of Galata with its pine, olive, and lemon groves surround the picturesque Poros town, where beautiful neoclassical buildings grace the seafront. The visitor can also explore the inland; go biking and hiking through Poros’ pinewoods. (Source: visitgreece.gr)

Poros town and the harbour area have been built on the hillside, opposite the shores of Troezenia. The town’s picturesque alleys, Neorio, and Bourtzi Islet are some of the must-visit places on the island. The visitor is impressed by the neoclassical style of most buildings. The clock tower of Poros is the island’s landmark, located on the hilltop, and surrounded by prickly pear trees and pine trees. This spot offers an amazing view of the harbour, the shores of the Peloponnese, and the lemon tree forest. (Photo: visitgreece.gr)

At the Red House (Villa Galini), the imposing stone mansion built in 1892 by architect Anastasios Metaxas (the architect who restored the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens) on the coast between Poros and Galatas, prominent figures were hosted during the summers—among them Eleftherios Venizelos (Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement) in 1931. Many famous artists, poets, and writers were hosted at Villa Galini. Among them George Horton, Marc Chagall, Henry Miller, Greta Garbo, James Merrill, and Peter Gray, Lucian Freud  enjoyed the solitude and the stillness of the site enchanted by the unique light of Poros and found inspiration in the beauty of the landscape. (Source: visitporos.com)

The great Greek poet George Seferis (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1963) lived in Galini from 1946 to 1949. “Galini, that Victorian house, Pompeian red, gave me for the first time after many years the feeling of a solid home, not a temporary camp: that makeshift stuff I had grown used to thinking was no longer built,” the poet writes in a letter included in his Essays (1962). At Galini, he also wrote the poem “Kichli” (1946), borrowing its title from the small boat that used to anchor in front of the romantic house.

Κίχλη Γ’ (Thrush)

…

Sing little Antigone, sing, O sing. . .

I’m not speaking to you about things past, I’m speaking about love;

adorn your hair with the sun’s thorns,

dark girl;

the heart of the Scorpion has set,

the tyrant in man has fled,

and all the daughters of the sea, Nereids, Graeae,

hurry toward the shimmering of the rising goddess:

whoever has never loved will love,

in the light;

                      and you find yourself

in a large house with many windows open

running from room to room, not knowing from where to look out first,

because the pine trees will vanish, and the mirrored mountains, and the chirping of birds

the sea will empty, shattered glass, from north and south

your eyes will empty of the light of day

the way the cicadas all together suddenly fall silent.

                                          Poros, ‘Galini’, 31 October 1946

Copyright Credit: George Seferis, "’Thrush’" from Collected Poems ( (Princeton University Press, 1995), translated, edited, and introduced by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. (Source: poetryfoundation.org )

Poros is the ideal destination for water sports and outdoor activities such as swimming. Don’t miss the beautiful beaches at Mikro Neorio and Megalo Neorio, as well as the romantic ‘Cove of Love’. Go diving in the crystal clear waters or sailing around the nearby islands and along the coast of the Peloponnese. For those who enjoy inland adventures, Poros also offers great opportunities for biking and hiking through its scenic pine forests.

Love Bay is a beautiful small bay surrounded by trees, which will captivate the visitor’s mind and heart (Source: visitporos.com)

The Russian Bay is a beautiful and picturesque bay, which is classified as a historical monument, because of its great architectural and historical interest. The old Russian Naval Dockyard is located there, at 5km NW of the town and the harbour. The original structures included warehouses and bakeries built to provide for the needs of the Russian Fleet stationed there back in 1834.Today it is a beach where unforgettable summer concerts take place every year. (Source: visitporos.com)

Read more:

Visual Arts in Greece: 1950s–1990s – Part 3/6- “From Sculpture to Energy”

I.A.

The post Poros Island on Display: Art, History, and Natural Beauty Unite appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The island of Hydra has been one of the most important cultural centers since the 1950s, attracting renowned figures from the worlds of art and literature, both from Greece and abroad. This legacy has established Hydra as a vibrant hub of artistic creation. Currently, three notable exhibitions offer visitors the opportunity to engage with a wide range of artistic expressions: “Tamata, Sincere Hope”, an exhibition of religious votive offerings from the collection of Lola Daifa; “Nike of Samothrace”, a photography exhibition by Amalia Sotiropoulou; and “Apocalypse Now and Then”, the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art’s 2025 exhibition by Romanian artist Andra Ursuţa. A perfect reason to visit the car-free Saronic island of Hydra.

The Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra (cover photo, visitgreece.gr), in collaboration with the Holy Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is hosting the valuable collection of votive offerings (tamata) by Lola Daifa until August 31. The exhibition, titled "Tamata, Sincere Hope", curated by art historian Louiza Karapidaki, presents over 500 religious votive offerings, gathered with care and reverence from churches and pilgrimage sites across Greece. Displayed in a manner that highlights both their artistic value and profound spiritual meaning, the tamata serve as silent narratives of faith, hope, and devotion.

The President of the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, Dina Adamopoulou noted that “...this is not merely a cataloging of objects, but an act of deep cultural sensitivity and inner reflection. The votive offerings are displayed in a way that highlights not only their artistic value but also their moving spiritual power, creating a space of silent communication between the visitor and the sacred”. Votive offerings (tamata) shaped as a female figure in an attitude of supplication from Lola Daifa's collection

Votive offerings (tamata) shaped as a male figure from Lola Daifa's collection

A tama is a type of votive offering, or ex-voto, used in the Eastern Orthodox Church, particularly within the Greek Orthodox tradition. Tamata are usually small metal plaques - made from base or precious metals (commonly silver, but also gold or bronze) - and feature embossed images symbolizing the subject of prayer for which they are offered. These offerings are made to icons or shrines of saints, either as a plea for divine intervention or in gratitude for prayers answered. Tamata can be purchased at shops selling Greek Orthodox religious items and are often hung with a ribbon on poles or hooks near an icon or shrine. This ritual is usually accompanied by a prayer and sometimes the lighting of a votive candle. Pilgrimage destinations across Greece frequently display shrines adorned with numerous tamata, bearing silent witness to the faith and hopes of countless petitioners. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)

A wide variety of images can be found on tamata, each capable of multiple interpretations depending on the context of the prayer. A heart, for example (left) may symbolize a plea for love or healing from a heart condition. Hands (right) or legs often represent ailments of the limbs, while a pair of wedding crowns may indicate a prayer for a happy marriage. A torso might refer to general bodily afflictions, and so on. (Photos: collection of votive offerings by Lola Daifa)

Votive offerings (tamata) shaped as a female figure carrying a baby (left), and an eye, probably indicating an eye affliction (right) from Lola Daifa's collection

A votive offering in the shape of a ship from Lola Daifa's collection

A votive offering figuring a horse from Lola Daifa's collection (right). Album “Votive Offerings – The Lola Daifa Collection”, a scientific study and research into the universe of votive offerings by Dr. Panagiotis Kampanis, Archaeologist – Historian, Militos Publications, 2022 (left). “…when the accumulated ancestral knowledge and the science of the time failed to bring healing, people turned first to magic and then to divine intervention, following the reasoning: “For where God wills it, the order of nature is overcome.” This phrase precisely defines the miracle. The biblical “your faith has healed you” encapsulates this hope, which quickly transforms into conviction. The temples of the ancient god Asclepius, as well as the churches and monasteries dedicated to the many healing saints of Christianity, served as “clinics free of charge”. Each saint has specific healing attributes…”

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, else called the "Monastery", at the center of the main port and is the Metropolis of Hydra. The inauguration of the Temple dates before the 17^th century. The Cathedral is a three domed basilica with a dome and the aisles are divided by rows of columns.  It is made all of solid white marble with rich and intense decoration. In the temple there are also icons with ornate coverings that were gifts to the church by wealthy Hydraian and naval Warriors. Inside the building of the Cathedral is located a small Ecclesiastic and Byzantine Museum (Source: hydra.gr,  Photo: press.ert.gr)

The Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra houses many items donated by the descendants of the families who dominated the social structure of the island in the 1800's and were instrumental in the launch of the Greek War of Independence. The museum has a distinctive nautical theme which reflects the strategic importance that Hydra held during that time as a safe harbour from which to launch the Greek fleet.

At the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, exhibits from the Balcan and first and second World Wars are displayed, as well as traditional costumes from Hydra and figureheads from battleships. A historical picture gallery presents works from many great Greek and foreign artists. There are also exhibits of works of art from 18th and 19th Century, nautical maps and the Map of Riga Feraios. In this place is also been kept safe the silver urn with the stuff heart of the Admiral Andreas Miaoulis (Source: hydra.gr)

At the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, a photography exhibition by the artist photographer Amalia Sotiropoulou titled "Nike of Samothrace" is also hosted until August 31. The artist redefines Greek identity through her lens, creating images that balance between the past and the present, the classical and the contemporary. Her work is characterized by a neo-pop aesthetic, where mythology, history, and contemporary culture engage in a dialogue in a bold yet deeply studied manner.

One of the most striking elements in Sotiropoulou’s work is her ability to transform iconic figures such as the Caryatids, the Sirens, or the Nike of Samothrace—giving them a new interpretation through the dynamism of light, color, and composition. Her perspective does not merely replicate classical beauty but reconstructs it, adding elements of modernism and abstraction that challenge the viewer to reflect on their cultural heritage.

Showroom "DESTE Foundation" was inaugurated in June 2009 in the old slaughterhouses of Hydra, which was granted by the municipality. The recently restored and renovated building retains the features and traits of the past, preserving the original elements of its old identity while serving as a unique exhibition space. Every summer the Foundation hosts a series of contemporary art exhibitions on the island, including the assignment of the space to a single artist or team invited to stage a unique, site-specific exhibition.

Above the Slaughterhouse is Apollo Wind Spinner (2020–2022) by Jeff Koons, a 9.1 meter (30-foot) wide reflective wind spinner that greets people entering the port of Hydra on one side and, on the other, welcomes people walking to the building. The face of the wind spinner is that of Apollo. It was first installed at the Slaughterhouse in 2022 for the exhibition Apollo, and remained permanently installed on Hydra, finding its home on the island and becoming one of its new landmarks.

This year, the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art presents Apocalypse Now and Then, a solo exhibition by Romanian artist Andra Ursuţa. The show will be on view at the Foundation’s Project Space until October 31st. This marks Ursuţa’s first major exhibition in Greece.

Andra Ursuţa, Apocalypse Now and Then, Installation view, © Andra Ursuţa; Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, Ramiken, Photo: Dario Lasagni. Ursuţa draws from the visual language and display strategies of archeological museums to invent faux-historicist artefacts belonging to a defunct civilization whose relics seem to speak to the anxieties of our present. Both familiar and absurd, the artist displays fragments of sculptures and studio detritus that have been successively built up and destroyed with analog and digital tools. These works explore the history of object-making and sculpture and the ways in which this manually-derived system of knowledge and speculation has come to shape our visual world. Apocalypse Now and Then plunges viewers into a truncated historiography where passingly familiar ancient tropes, grotesque votives, and scarred bronze figures hover between archaeology and fiction.(Source: deste.gr)

Andra Ursuţa, Apocalypse Now and Then, Installation view, © Andra Ursuţa; Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, Ramiken, Photo: Dario Lasagni.

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I.A.

The post Hydra’s Ongoing Legacy of Artistic Expression appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

The exhibition “Imag(in)ing Samothrace: From Homer to the HoloLens” at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (20.2-29.6.2025) explores “poetic and visual evocations of Samothrace and its cult of the Great Gods over two and a half millennia, finding the changing perceptions that mark each era and the common threads that remain powerful today. From Homer’s evocative description to the mixed reality of the HoloLens, Samothrace has tapped the imagination of poets, mapmakers, artists, archaeologists, and digital modelers”.

Cover photo: Details from Francesco Piacenza (Italian, 1637–1687), L'Egeo redivivo, o’sia, 1688, Ink on paper, leather-bound, 18.4x23x5.8 cm (American School of Classical Studies, Gennadius Library)(left), Maria Filopoulou, Flow (Fonias Falls, Samothrace), 2011, Oil on canvas, 197×155cm Sotiris Felios Collection, Athens (right)

Ciriaco di Filippo de’Pizzecolli (Italian, 1391-1452), copy of Bartolomeo Fonzio (Italian, 1446-1513), Codex Ashmolensis, 15th century. Ink on parchment, 25.5x16.5 cm, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford (left), The Great Gate (Tower A) from the south, 1875, Neue Archäologische Untersuchungen auf Samothrace, American Excavations of Samothrace (right)

Cristoforo Buondelmonti (Florentine, 1385-1430) Liber Insularum Archipelagi, 1420, Ink and watercolors on parchment, 45.5x30cm, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Gennadius Library

This multimedia exhibition brings together objects from the 15^th to the 21^st century, showcasing how artists have depicted their experiences with Samothrace. Highlights include rare Renaissance drawings of Samothracian antiquities, a 15^th-century map, archaeological photographs, and modern art works. The exhibition also features new research on the American Excavations Samothrace and its partners, digital animations of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, and interactive 3D reconstructions of ancient monuments.

The accompanying symposium, “Three-Dimensional Experiences of Ancient Environments”, will be held on February 27^th-28^th in Cotsen Hall. It will feature presentations of several cutting-edge projects using virtual technologies to bring past worlds to life.

(Source: American School of Classical Studies at Athens)

Mt Saos at Samothrace (Source: insamothraki.com )

Samothrace (Samothraki) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean, known for its wild, natural beauty. Referred by mythology as the island of Aeolus, the God of Winds, it is adorned with Mount Saos, the highest mountain in the Aegean (1.611m). Legend says that Poseidon sat atop the mountain to watch the Trojan War. With its rich history, archaeological sites, pristine nature, famous springs, clear streams, cascading rock pools, and beautiful pebbly beaches, the island is a year-round paradise for alternative tourism.

In antiquity, Samothrace was renowned for its mystery cult of the Megaloi Theoi (Great Gods), whose initiation rites, known as the “mysteria” (mysteries), promised protection and spiritual improvement - the opportunity to “become a better and more pious person in all ways.” (Diodorus). The Sanctuary was a sacred space where key events in myth and history unfolded, however the nature of the rites of initiation was held in silent trust by the community of initiated.

The transformative power of the rites is well attested by ancient authors, by the lists of initiates who came to the sanctuary, by the innovative architecture that sheltered the rituals, by the splendid dedications offered to the Gods, and by the humble but crucial detritus of cult—pottery and animal bones—that built up over centuries of use.

(Source: odysseus.culture.gr, NYU Archaeohub)

Marble stele inscribed in Latin and Greek which forbade entry of the uninitiated (left) (Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture), Fragments of lists of the initiated (left), Archaeological Museum of Samothrace (Source: insamothraki.com)

Part of the sculptured marble frieze from the Hall of Choral Dancers (ca. 340 B.C.), Archaeological Museum of Samothrace (Source:.insamothraki.com)

Sanctuary of the Great Gods (Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture)

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods, where the famous statue of Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory) was discovered in 1863, spans about 12 acres, 400 meters from the island's NW coast. Key structures include the Hall of Choral Dancers (340 BC), the Altar Court (340-330 BC), the Hieron (325-150 BC), the Dedication of Philip III and Alexander IV (323-317 BC), and the Rotunda of Arsinoe II (288-270 BC). Religious activity dates back to the 7^th century BC, with monumental buildings starting in the 4^th century BC, funded by the Macedonian royal family. The sanctuary, which attained its greatest glory in the 3^rd and 2^nd centuries BC, was abandoned towards the end of the 4^th century AD. Archaeological research has provided a picture of its development, although neither archaeological data nor literature is able to penetrate the veil of secrecy that covers the mysteries.

(Source: odysseus.culture.gr)

View from the Southeast of the actual state of the Rotunda of Arsinoe II (288-270 B.C.) (left), The Hieron (325-150 B.C.) from the South (right) (Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture)

Cyriacus of Ancona recorded remains in the Samothrace sanctuary in 1444. Archaeologists and experts from France, Germany, Greece and Austria have contributed to its history. The American team, sponsored by the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, began its work at the Sanctuary in 1938. James R. McCredie led the excavations for 50 years, from 1962 to 2012. In 2012, Emory University joined as a sponsor, with Bonna D. Wescoat now leading the team under the American School of Classical Studies and the 19^th Ephoreia of Antiquities of Evros. The team includes archaeologists, conservators, geologists, geomorphologists, geographers, numismatists, and architects, as well as students in all of these fields, and is particularly interested in using digital reconstructions and animations to understand the passage of the pilgrim within the Sanctuary, which in turn informs the understanding of the nature of the experience of initiation.

(Source: NYU Archaeohub)

3D digital reconstruction of the archaeological site of Samothrace by www.samothrace.emory.edu/ 

The Archaeological Museum of Samothrace is located near the entrance to the archaeological site in Palaiopoli, and reopened to visitors in July 2024 after an extensive restoration. Hall A showcases full-scale reconstructions of major buildings in the center of the sanctuary, including the Rotunda of Arsinoe, the Hieron, and the Altar Court. The exhibition also features a video offering a walk through the 3D digital reconstruction model of the Sanctuary. To view the video, click here.

(Source: www.samothrace.emory.edu/)

In autumn 2021, a copy of the statue of Nike of Samothrace was placed in front of the museum. The original is exhibited today at the Louvre Museum. The copy matches the size of the original and was carved from Thassos island marble by a machine, using the model provided by the Louvre Museum. (Source: insamothraki.com)

Room A of the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace with fragments and reconstructions of the most important buildings of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods (Source: insamothraki.com)

Samothrace offers stunning natural surroundings, with rich vegetation among lakes and rivers that will leave a lasting impression on the visitors. What makes the northern part of the island truly unique is its microclimate, which favors a diverse and abundant flora. The higher altitudes are dominated by planes, oaks, cedars, and chestnut trees, while the lower areas resemble a jungle of shrubs, with over 20 endemic species growing on the island. Where the land is suitable for grazing, the wind carries the aromas of nature: thyme, oregano, and other herbs.

Hundreds of crystal-clear streams flow from Mount Saos, rushing through the forests all the way to the sea. Along the way, they form waterfalls and over 100 stone basins, known as “vathres”, which serve as the island’s landmarks.

The second waterfall and “vathra” of Fonias river (Source: insamothraki.com)

The island is dotted with numerous rugged, mostly pebbly beaches, some of which are accessible only by boat. The beach of “Kipos” (Garden), with its black and gray shiny pebbles, stands out. In the south, lies the only sandy beach – “Pachia Ammos” (Thick Sand) - which is the most popular. The fascinating sea floor and abundant underwater life are visible through the crystal-clear waters.

Kipos beach stretches for over a kilometer, with dark-colored pebbles, the result of past volcanic activity, and towering granite and basalt cliffs rising abruptly from the water (Source: insamothraki.com)

The imposing mountainous heart of the island, combined with its pristine nature, offers everything explorers and adventure lovers could wish for. Activities such as crossing gorges, trekking, mountaineering, mountain biking, paragliding, rafting, kayaking, and diving are just some of the options available for those seeking an active experience.

Trekking from Panagia Krimnniotissa to Vatos Beach (Source: insamothraki.com)

Mother Nature has also been generous to Samothrace in geothermal wealth: sulfurous therapeutic thermal springs welcome visitors to the village of Therma and its spa facilities, where they can seek and find health and wellness.

(Source: visitgreece.gr, insamothraki.com)

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“In the Footsteps of St. Paul”: Tracing the Legacy of the Apostle’s Journey through Greece at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

I.A.

The post “Imag(in)ing Samothrace”, the Mystique of an Island, at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens appeared first on Greek News Agenda.

In 2024, Greece commemorates the 50th anniversary of the fall of its military dictatorship (1967–1974) with a series of exhibitions reflecting on the nation's journey from repression to democracy. These exhibitions explore the social, political, and cultural impacts of the dictatorship and its collapse, offering a window into this pivotal period in modern Greek history. Key exhibitions include “1974. From Dictatorship to Democracy” at the National Library of Greece, which chronicles the struggle against the regime and cultural and societal shift of the first years of the Metapolitefsi; “City of Athens 1974 & 1944 – Athens Celebrates its freedom” honoring two crucial milestonesons, the 50 years since the restoration of democracy in July 1974 and 80 years since the liberation of Athens from the Nazi occupation in October 1944 and finally, “Democracy,” an art exhibition at the National Gallery of Greece that explores artistic responses to the struggles against authoritarian rule and pursuit of democracy in 1960s-70s Greece, Spain, and Portugal.

National Library of Greece: "1974. From Dictatorship to Democracy"

The National Library of Greece (EBE), the General State Archives (GAK) and the Greek Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) are co-organizing an exhibition in celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the Metapolitefsi (post-dictatorship) period, entitled "1974. From Dictatorship to Democracy," taking place from July 17 to December 31, 2024 at the National Library of Greece.

The exhibition presents unique archival evidence and rich audio-visual material on the dictatorship as well as the anti-dictatorship struggle, outlining the major institutional changes of first year of the Metapolitefsi period, but also the grand scheme changes in the social and cultural landscape of the country, up to the first years of the 1980s.

National Broadcaster ERT participates in the exhibition with material from its archive, including, among others, 100 photographs, 240 minutes of audio-visual material, censored documents from broadcasts and news, 20 vinyl records, etc. The National Library of Greece participates with material from its Collections, which mainly includes newspapers, magazines and books (over three hundred items in total). The exhibition is accompanied by a 288-page color catalogue, which is a publication of the National Library of Greece, edited by Stavros Zoumboulakis.

The artistic curation of the exhibition has been undertaken by Vassilis Zidianakis and ATOPOS, who invited the visual artist Alexis Fidetzis to present the installation "Phoenix Canariensis" on the ground floor of the National Library, posing the question: How does one present the continuity of archives through the plastic language of visual arts?

As the president of the National Library of Greece, Stavros Zoumboulakis notes: “Let us repeat the undeniable: the unprecedented, in Greek history, period of untroubled democratic life spanning half a century, was entrenched in those first few months of the Metapolitefsi. The Metapolitefsi is not merely the restoration of a pre-dictatorship Republic, but also the transition to a new period of a full democratic life.

We all know its three most critical achievements: the army’s return to the barracks, the end of the Monarchy, and the abolishment of Emergency Law 509. It was all carried out swiftly and dutifully by the first post-dictatorship national unity government and the first Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis, who undoubtedly played a pivotal role, as well as by dint of the forceful demand of mass democratic movements.

But no one can appreciate the significance of the Metapolitefsi without knowing about the dictatorship, its violence and its vulgarity. We want our exhibition to be one of memory and education, aiming to convey to its visitors, and especially to school pupils, both the horror of the Dictatorship and, most importantly, the belief that the Metapolitefsi of 1974 is a major political achievement. In a country with such high rates of self-pity, let us hold that fact in mind with a certain amount of pride.

In the purely political and institutional field, the Metapolitefsi lasted a few months, until the end of the year or, at the extreme, until the passage of the new Constitution in June 1975. But beyond that purely political and institutional Metapolitefsi, there is also a social and, even more so, cultural Metapolitefsi, whose limits cannot ever be strictly defined. What is for certain is that the wind of political change began to blow strong in the final years of the dictatorship, as early as 1970-71, with that unprecedented publishing boom, but was brutally interrupted by the junta of Ioannidis that seized power on 25 November 1973. In the summer of 1974, the country’s intellectual world picks up the severed thread once again and extends it, dynamically and with optimism. In the field of cultural Metapolitefsi, the exhibits of our exhibition stretch as far as the early 1980s."

The President of the General Archives of the State, Dimitris Sotiropoulos commented that this exhibition brings together individual memory and the historiographic record. The exhibition, which spans the three floors of the EBE at the SNFCC, will run until 31 December 2024. Admission is free and the public can visit the exhibition every day of the week from 09:30-20:00.

City of Athens “1974 & 1944 | Athens Celebrates its freedom”: 50 years since the restoration of Democracy & 80 years since the Liberation of Athens

The year 2024 marks 50 years since the restoration of democracy in July 1974 and 80 years since the liberation of Athens from the Nazi occupation in October 1944. The City of Athens, in a spirit of unity and collaboration, is honoring these two crucial milestones for the country’s journey to freedom and democracy, as well as the struggles of the Greek citizens for national independence, by organizing a series of events called “1974 & 1944: Athens celebrates freedom”. The program, aiming to highlight the city’s vibrant historical memory and initiate a dialogue with our modern history is being designed and carried out by the City of Athens Culture, Sports and Youth Organization (OPANDA) and the Technopolis City of Athens, featuring a wide array of events and artistic and educational activities, which will take place until the end November.

The major historical exhibition “1974 & 1944: Athens celebrates freedom”, which is the centerpiece of the City of Athens’ celebrations, is hosted at the OPANDA Arts Center, in Eleftherias Park. The venue, with its buildings of profound historical and architectural value, is part of the memorial site of the old junta Detention and Interrogation centers. From July 22 to October 28, the grand historical exhibition, a joint effort of the Technopolis City of Athens, the Contemporary Social History Archives (ASKI), and the General State Archives, commemorates this double anniversary.

Divided into two major sections, dedicated to the events of 1944 and 1974 respectively, the exhibition narrates a journey from darkness to light, from the extreme cruelty of the Nazi occupation to the frenzied celebration of the first days of freedom, and from the brutality of the junta to expectations born of the fall of the authoritarian regime. Through rare photographs, audio-visual material, documents, newspapers, posters, works of art, notices, personal items and rich archival material, the more than 500 items in the exhibition "1974 & 1944: Athens celebrates its freedom" the exhibition highlights the collective historical memory and the popular struggles for freedom and democracy, focusing on the feelings of hope and joy that these generate and the same enthusiasm that accompanied the Athenians both on the festive days of 1944 and 1974.

At the same time, the exhibition cannot but to unite joy with sorrow, redemption with pain, relief with agony, as the double holiday outbreak was weighed down by both the shadow of the Decemberists and the fear of civil war in 1944, as well as the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

Visitors discover, among other things, evidence from the period of the great famine of 1941 in Athens, audiovisual material related to the arrest and torture practices of the junta, an installation with personal stories of three women of the Resistance who sacrificed themselves for the liberation, and also an installation dedicated to the 25 murdered activists of the Polytechnic Uprising.

And on the other hand, in the center, unique impressions from the river of people that on the day of liberation in 1944 flooded the flag-decorated streets of the capital with songs and dances, flyers, banners and improvised posters full of festive slogans, celebratory front pages for the triumph of democracy, snapshots of hugs with those who returned from places of exile.

Some of the bitterest moments of Athens' modern history join its happiest, in a unique exhibition that is a tribute to two different eras and two different worlds united by the same city, Athens, but the common demand of its inhabitants for democracy and freedom, the collective dream for a better life.

The exhibition, which ends on October 28 and has free entry, is surrounded by talks, discussions, screenings, special guided tours by the exhibition's curators, educational programs, exhibitions, theatre, music, dance, theatrical and historical tours, activities for children and schools as well as an insert of contemporary dance and dance performances. See here for the detailed program of events.   

National Gallery of Greece: “Democracy”

As nearly half the world goes to the polls in 2024 in a historic year of elections, the National Gallery of Greece in Athens unveils a timely exhibition on art, social change, and democracy. This is the first major exhibition to explore artistic responses to the struggles against authoritarian rule and pursuit of democracy in 1960s-70s Greece, Spain, and Portugal. It marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece.

Featuring 140 works by 55 artists, brought together in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía – MNCARS, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona – MACBA, Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Centro de Estudos Multidisciplinares Ernesto de Sousa and private collections from Greece and Portugal.

Running from 11 July 2024 to 2 February 2025, this is the first major international exhibition to examine the political role of art during the pivotal period in Southern European history as Greece, Portugal and Spain transitioned from authoritarian to democratic rule during the 1960s to 1970s.

The large-scale presentation brings together 140 masterpieces by 55 artists and artist groups, showcasing a diverse range of styles, perspectives, and practices. It explores how artists were inspired by and depicted the struggle against the era’s dictatorial regimes and the new cultural expressions and creative practices that evolved during the pursuit of civil liberties, including the rise of critical realism and abstract art, as well as the emergence of performance and conceptual art.  The formation of artistic collectives, the art of protest in posters and prints, the politics of the body and the involvement of art in the public sphere all underscored the demand for democracy in the realm of the arts, providing a vibrant field for creative research and activity.

The National Gallery aims to reflect on the current socio-political state of the world and its resonance with the conflict and turmoil of 1960s and 1970s Southern Europe. Against the backdrop of a historic year of global elections and challenges to democratic values, the exhibition traces the shared cultural experiences, emotions, and trauma shaped by disruption, acts of protest, defiance, and resistance, that are just as relevant today as they were fifty years ago.

Syrago Tsiara, Curator and Director of National Gallery says “We proudly present our landmark exhibition on Democracy and Art in Greece, Spain, and Portugal, showcasing powerful artistic responses to repression and the fight for freedom. This exhibition prompts reflection on our historical experiences, achievements, and their impact on our collective identity and future. Amid rising extremist voices, declining voter turnout, and growing scepticism towards institutional credibility, it serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing need to defend democracy. In these challenging times, museums and art play a vital role beyond solace, empowering profound engagement with imagery, ideas, and critical questions that shape our social interactions and coexistence.”

The exhibition explores themes of ‘Facing the Enemy’, ‘Resistance’, ‘Uprising’, and ‘Arousal’ through  a range of artistic mediums, including sculpture, painting, engraving, posters, video, performance art, as well as theatre and literature and runs until 02.02.2025

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I.L.

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From December 2023 until the end of October 2024, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST-ΕΜΣΤ) will showcase "What if Women Ruled the World? ," a three-part exhibition series exclusively dedicated to the works of women artists or artists who identify as female.

With the re-hang of one entire floor of the museum’s permanent collection and a series of twelve solo exhibitions of Greek and international artists of different generations, over the course of the next months, the entire museum will gradually be taken over by women artists. "It is the first time," emphasizes τhe museum’s artistic director, Katerina Gregos, "that a public museum exclusively exhibits works by women creators, not only in the exhibition of its permanent collection but also in all the spaces of its periodical exhibitions." Despite recent advances, as women artists and cultural practitioners are still underrepresented in most aspects of the art world, this project, initiated by the museum’s artistic director, aims to radically reimagine what a museum would look like if, instead of a few token pieces, works by women artists were the majority.

Katerina Gregos continues: "Our intention and goal is to go beyond the dominant narrative and symbolically -and not only symbolically - overturn the reality of the chronic underrepresentation of female creators in all fields of art." The exhibitions provide an opportunity for women to reflect on their positions, rights, achievements, and demands. What would happen, really, if women ruled the world? And what form would museums have if women had understood their rightful place in the history of modern art?

In an even broader context, the exhibition cycle posits an oft-repeated hypothetical question: Would the world be a better place if women led governance and were key decision makers? Would it mean the end of political and armed conflict and deadlock? And, ultimately, would the world be a more caring and compassionate place? Or would we bear witness to the same human flaws, corruption and abuses of power engaged in by those in critical decision- making positions?

At a time when we are seeing the rise of male-driven authoritarian rule in Europe and beyond, leading to social and political polarization and heightened geopolitical tensions, it seems a timely moment for reflection.

Parts I, II and III of "What If Women Ruled the World?"

Part I of "What If Women Ruled the World?" opened December 2023 with the re-hang of the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition, entitled WOMEN, together, includes the first comprehensive presentation of a number of works from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection Gift to ΕΜΣΤ and showcases a  total of 49 works by 25 artists of different generations; the solo exhibitions Chryssa Romanos: The Search for Happiness for as Many as Possible; DANAI ANESIADOU: D POSSESSIONS; and Time in my hands. Leda Papaconstantinou. A Retrospective.

From 20 January 2024, visitors to the museum were confronted by the question, What if Women Ruled the World? by way of Yael Bartana's iconic neon work of the same title, which also served as the inspiration behind the title of ΕΜΣΤ's exhibition. The two installations, one in Greek and the other in English, each 10 meters in height, are presented on the north and south exterior façades of the museum, interrogating passers-by along one of Athens' main thoroughfares, Syngrou Avenue.

Openings on International Women's Day

Part II of What If Women Ruled the World? opens on 8 March 2024 on the occasion of International Women's Day, with six solo exhibitions of works by Lola Flash, Bouchra Khalili, Tala Madani, and Malvina Panagiotidi, as well as special projects by Yael Bartana, Claudia Comte, and Hadassah Emmeric.

On International Women's Day, the exhibitions will kick off with a performance by Claudia Comte and performer Andrea Tortosa Vidal at 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM in the museum foyer, as part of Comte's installation. Following that, at 9:30 PM, there will be a musical performance by Jeanna Criscitiello at the ground floor exhibition space

Part III will inaugurate three further solo exhibitions of work by Bertille Bak, Penny Siopis, and Eva Stefani on 11 May 2024.

Current exhibitions

Chrysa Romanou - The pursuit of happiness for as many as possible

Chrysa Romanou (1931-2006) is one of the most important Greek artists who emerged in the 1960s. She belongs to the group of Greek intellectuals of the diaspora who lived and worked in artistic centers of the West and for the first time in the history of Greek art actively participated in shaping international currents of their time.

The twenty years that Romanou lived in Paris (1961-1981) were decisive for the development of her artistic identity. From her first steps, the motif of the labyrinth, travel, criticism of consumer society, political interest in social inequalities and injustice, the democratization of art, the osmosis of art and everyday life return as central thematic axes and evolve as the artist matures and the social and political environment changes.

Danae Anesiadou - D POSSESSIONS

This is the first solo exhibition in Greece of the artist Danae Anesiadou, who for the last fifteen years has instilled a wide range of metaphysical and personal concerns in a captivating and multi-prismatic set of works, with references to cinema, the occult, Greek antiquity, surrealism, as well as current affairs. She has been described as "the most characteristic European voice of the crisis of the 21st century".

Anesiadou, seeking to understand and think critically about the present, finds connections between things that on the surface seem completely unrelated to each other: from fake news and conspiracy theories, the entertainment industrial complex of Hollywood and the American Pentagon, reality television and the fashion industry, along with references to ancient Greek sculpture, surrealism and B-movies.

Time in my Hands Leda Papaconstantinou A Retrospective

Time in my hands represents the first ever major retrospective exhibition for Leda Papaconstantinou (b. 1945), one of the most important artists in the history of contemporary art in Greece. For over almost five decades, Papaconstantinou developed a diverse body of work that took on a range of forms – performance, sculpture, video, site-specific installations, painting, etc. – in order to explore issues of gender, sexuality, collective and personal memory, history, politics and ecology, centred always on the body. As a trailblazing feminist artist and one of the most important artists of her generation, Papaconstantinou’s work is a seminal reference point for the Greek art scene and serves as an inspiration for subsequent generations of artists.

From the 1960s onwards, at a time of social and cultural radicalism, Papaconstantinou was one of the first artists to experiment with the then-emerging medium of performance art. Her first iconoclastic performances, carried out during her studies in England, investigate the construction of gender, identity and the female subject, through a feminist perspective that challenges patriarchal structures and other hierarchical relationships of power. The exhibition includes her films and performances from the 1968–1971 period, her first installations in Greece in the 1970s and 1980s, the 1975–1979 community theatre group “Spetses Players”, and her large-scale video installations of recent years. It aims to showcase and reframe pertinent issues within her art practice concerning gender, identity, the social dimension of the artwork, memory, and the relationship between discourse and corporality.

WOMEN, together

This collective exhibition WOMEN, together represents the first re-hang of the museum’s collection since 2019 and makes a bold statement by showcasing only work by women artists. There are a total of 49 works by 25 artists of different generations, ten of which are Greek. Twelve artists and 24 works are from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection Gift, while thirteen artists and 25 works are from the existing collection of ΕΜΣΤ. The exhibition also includes seven new acquisitions, as well as a new long-term loan of a major work by Etel Adnan, courtesy of the Saradar Collection.

While there is no single thematic narrative, rather several intertwining threads, there are many common points of reference and dialogue as well as conceptual and aesthetic affinities between works. The artists are preoccupied with a variety of issues, both related to gender and identity, as well as to social and political issues, and the entanglements between them, although what they mostly share is an interest in materiality and the handcrafted, existential or humanistic issues, and the ephemeral nature of all things.

Finally, there are artists who probe issues regarding history, memory and collective/cultural identities centering around the critical geopolitical position of Greece and its immediate geographic surrounds in South East Europe, the Mediterranean, and the former Levant. These are the territories of the former Ottoman Empire, and with them come a multitude of suppressed or marginalized histories that lay dormant in the wake of new nation building in the twentieth century. The legacy of this history and the current history of the wider region with its rich historical, cultural, and socio-political narratives lie at the heart of EMSΤ’s renewed collection policy.

I.L.

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Sotiris Sorogas is one of the most prominent figures in Greek painting. Throughout his long artistic trajectory, he has developed a unique visual language. His subject matter transcends not only its representation but also space and time. It ultimately becomes a symbol raising existential issues, alluding to life, death, decay, and the inevitable.

His art assumes a metaphysical, spiritual dimension encapsulating the very essence of things. Worn, rusty objects, old boats, wells and random pieces of wood invite the viewer to reflect on the ephemeral. Rugged subjects are depicted with lyricism leaving us wondering about loss, memory, and rebirth. Perishable objects are defined by a sublime aesthetic quality.

Sotiris Sorogas is a calm, gentle man deeply dedicated to his art. He has a poetic way of approaching things. His intellect and artistic honesty are expressed in a nostalgic manner through his art.

He was born in Athens in 1936. He studied with a state scholarship at the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he graduated in 1961. In 1972 he received an annual personal grant from the Ford Foundation. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and at international events organized by the Ministry of Culture, the National Gallery, and private art galleries (Tokyo, Brussels, Dublin, Sao Paulo, New York, Paris, Rome, Basel, etc.).

He taught drawing at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens from 1964 to 2003. Today he is professor emeritus.

In 2004 he was awarded by the Academy of Athens for his entire artistic contribution and in 2019 the President of the Hellenic Republic awarded him the Order of the Commander of Honor.

Sotiris Sorogas spoke to Greek News Agenda * about art, time and poetry.

What does art mean to you? Is it an internal, solitary process or is it conceived in reference to the public?

Over the years, there has been an infinite number of answers regarding the definition of art. This is due to the wide range of its meanings. I would say that your question encapsulates what art means to me.

It is definitely an inner, solitary, process that seeks recipients. In fact, I believe that this is the intrinsic element of its existence.

As far as I am concerned, it also functions as a silent confession and therefore as a redemptive dialogue with the people to whom I am trying to convey the mysterious miracle that constitutes everything that surrounds us.

Icon painters were the first to teach us the sanctity of their work. The monk, icon painter, and author of Interpretation of Painting Art, Dionysius of Fourna in Agrafa, recommended that the monks, before attempting to depict the icon, should fast and pray to the Virgin Mary.

When did you realize that the art of painting is what you want to do, that it is what you love and want to serve?

I must have had an inclination for artistic activities from a very young age. I loved carving boats out of pine bark, drawing Christmas cards and playing the harmonica.

At the age of 12-13, because of a thyroid disease, I was already 2 meters tall. That was the time that my drawing ability became a refuge and, to a certain extent, a way of redemption from the surrounding brutality of the scorn and ridicule that I was subjected to by almost everyone, except for those close to me.

In the end, painting as well as constant reading would contribute to alleviating my misery at that time. By painting, I could depart to another world, of another quality and another ethos. I believe it was the gift of a Divine Providence that reached me from unknown paths and inscrutable starting points. It seems that art is indeed the breath of the lonesome and as Dimoula puts it in her unique way: art “was appointed competent to issue certificates of pending existence, because it has the gift of suffering".

Which were your initial influences and how did they evolve along the way? Could you integrate your style into a particular artistic genre?

While I was studying influences did not exist. I had to learn the language of painting first. I was lucky to have as a teacher Yannis Moralis who was ideal. We were all convinced of its necessity and its valuable contribution to our efforts. We were learning in the midst of complete freedom, so each of us went our own way. Preferences and affinities came later. Van Gogh, however, was a saint for all of us. My work was classified by several critics as "in poetic realism" one of the many "Schools" of that time. If my painting is good, it can lay claim to something of "surrealism" where Engonopoulos classified all worthy art.

How do you choose your subject matter? Describe, as far as possible, the creative process you follow.

The choice of subjects depends on the orientation, particularities, and preferences of the painter. Many paint almost exclusively people and others implicitly indicate their presence. For example, a half-open door may indicate their passing.  The variety of versions and themes is endless. My preference is for things that are about to disappear. Rusty sheet metal on stones, old stopped machinery in deserted quarries, old wood from demolished houses, dilapidated boats, old wells and dry stones of deserted fields. Sometimes I put a small flower at their roots to remind me of spring.

What was that moment in your career when you felt you made your mark in the art world?

I think only an arrogant person would think that they can make their mark in the art world. In any case, this would have to be affirmed by others and time.

How do works of art converse with time? Which are those that ultimately transcend it?

I think none of us know which artworks will transcend time. The constant changes in people's lives also modify aesthetic orientations and often take with them the works that were cherished in their time. Seferis, in his monumental text "Monologue on Poetry", claims that poets like Pindar can be ignored for centuries and even scorned. Every era, I believe, finds itself in its own art.

What is your own relationship with time, as a human being and as an artist?

 I have come to the conclusion that my profound and lasting love for poets and poetry is because I find in them, among other things, my own obsession: Time. I quote what Κiki Dimoula, whom I’ve been rereading lately, read upon entering the Academy: "Time. Long.... If one thinks about it, life is a tireless enthusiastic applause to everything that saws it, to everything that wears it down”. Nikos Karouzos looking at a rose writes: “What a horror, the seconds eat it up."

You have occasionally expressed your concern about the commercialization of art. How does the system of promoting the artistically insignificant, sometimes blatant, work of 'art' ultimately work?

Answering this question would require at least a PhD thesis. It is true that in the past, I have occasionally referred to the commercialization of art.  It has now been assimilated by the dominant mechanism that has already incorporated everything into it. Man, nature and every aspect of our life. There are of course resistances and individual activities, but they are in vain. They are reminiscent of poor farmers, plowing their little fields by themselves. Today painting is absent in art museums. They are filled with objects invented by arbitrary signifiers and explanatory texts that inform the visitor of the significance of the object. They call them "Installations."

Is there a criterion that irrevocably defines which work is really of high artistic value? What are the characteristics it must have and who is the final judge?

None of the above is possible. It is impossible to have such a criterion that defines artistic merit for art.

Stones and poppy is a cherished painting. Tell us its history, the circumstance in which it was created and what does it mean to you?

During the period of the dictatorship, the feeling of absolute lack of freedom in the gloomy atmosphere of those days, I was concerned about how painting, through its inherent silence, could express a clear message, such as Delacroix's The Massacre at Chios.

Among my attempts, Horse with a Rope or Blood under the Statue, I painted a poppy near the stones as an announcement of a spring that would definitely come, since it is an inalienable law. It was printed in a lithograph of 75 copies. In ten days it was sold out.

Everyone loved it. I don't know if that was resistance. I don't believe in politicized painting, because even if it succeeds, the purpose of the message will be one-dimensional. I believe that good painting, in addition to its message, creates a feeling or rather an emotion that emerges from the depths of the subconscious, which is why it remains undefined. In an essay on Picasso, I wrote something about art that I still believe "Great art listens to the inarticulate word that vibrates the silence of the world."

*Interview by Dora Trogadi (Intro image: Left: Sotiris Sorogas; right: Horse with rope, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 1985, private collection)

Read also via Greek news Agenda: Arts in Greece | Sotiris Sorogas’ Poetic Approach to Time and Memory; George Rorris: “A painting is the sincere revelation of one’s soul”; Kostis Georgiou: “Art’s purpose is to provide a zone of unlimited paths”

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Supporting music as well as theatrical education since 1871, the Athens Conservatoire is the oldest institution for the performing arts in Greece and has played a significant role in the advancement of music studies in Greece.  The Athens Conservatoire Centre for Research and Documentation (KETOA), was founded in 2016 with the aim of preserving, curating and bringing to the spotlight the valuable archives and library of the Conservatoire.

From June 2023 until January 2024, KETOA is collaborating with EMSΤ (National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens) for the exhibition Iannis Xenakis and Greece, held at EMST from June 1 2023 until January 7, 2024.The exhibition explores the iconic composer’s controversial relationship with his ancestral homeland.

The exhibition “Iannis Xenakis and Greece” draws from the extensive historical archive of and CMRC (Contemporary Music Research Centre), an organization that was founded by Xenakis himself in 1979, along with the composer Stefanos Vassileiadis, the musicologist, teacher and architect-urbanist John G. Papaioannou, and 22 others, now hosted at KETOA. Rare documents and items, including original handwritten letters and texts by Xenakis, articles, music scores, event programmes, photographs, recordings, videos, and various objects, such as the UPIC (the electronic composition system he invented), cast light on his multi-faceted relationship with Greece, testifying to the fact that contemporary, avant-garde music in Greece has a longer and more sophisticated history than is widely believed.

Visitors are able to follow Xenakis as he takes his first steps into the world of music and architecture, and through his letters, gain insight into his thoughts, concerns, and nostalgia for his homeland and his dreams for the future of the arts in Greece. His relationships with prominent figures in the musical milieu of Greece, such as John G. Papaioannou and composer Manos Hatzidakis, who valued and promoted Xenakis’s work during his period of self-exile in France, are set against Greece’s musical and cultural background of the time. Featured prominently are the five “Hellenic Weeks of Contemporary Music”, an initiative for pioneering musical creation that became a context for presenting Xenakis’s work as early as 1966.

The exhibition places particular emphasis on Xenakis’s activities after his return to Greece in 1974, through the presentation of the Mycenae Polytope (1978) and the founding of CMRC (1979). Both are regarded as integral for the realization of his musical and pedagogical vision. Through the archives of the CRMC collection, many items from which are on display for the first time, the exhibition Iannis Xenakis and Greece engenders a new reading of the tumultuous and often contradictory relationship between Xenakis and the cultural and political environment of contemporary Greece.

EMST is also hosting another exhibition on Xenakis - co-produced with Philharmonie de Paris, under the title Iannis Xenakis - Sonic Odysseys. The exhibition focuses on the most important and ground-breaking work of Xenakis’s visual, literary, architectural, and musical output, while illuminating his personal history by contextualizing the composer in his times, and the political and cultural movements that defined him as an artist.

The Athens Conservatoire Centre for Research and Documentation (KETOA)

The material held at KETOA is relevant not just to the history of the Athens Conservatoire itself, but also the history of musical life in Greece and, in some cases, the political history of modern Greece. The research conducted at the Archives aims also at challenging the still dominant perception that art music never actually existed in Greece.

Besides the historical archive of the Conservatoire, other archives and collections that have been donated or granted to KETOA. Among these are: the archive of the Chormouzios-Papaioannou Foundation, which includes the aforementioned archive of the  Contemporary Music Research Centre (CMRC or ΚΣΥΜΕ in Greek) founded by Iannis Xenakis, the Archive - Collection of Stathis Arfanis, the music archive of composer of the Hellenic National School Dionysios Lavragas, and the archive of the great Greek avant-garde composer and thinker Jani Christou. A large part of the material has been classified and digitized and is available to researchers and anyone interested upon consultation. This valuable material, up to now largely unknown and underutilized in research, has fueled numerous exhibitions, lectures and concerts organized by KETOA in recent years.

Since September 2013, the Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Ionian University has undertaken the responsibility of classifying and digitizing the Archive of the Conservatoire, a work still in progress.

Publishing Activity

KETOA has embarked on as series of publishing projects, focused on Greek musical creation, among which is the magazine Neos Mousikos Hellinomnemon. The magazine’s issue 11, which has just been released, includes a research article on Maria Kallas and her studies at the Athens Conservatory, based on the relevant material of the Conservatory's archive, as part of KETOA's activities for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the former student of the Athens Conservatory.

The most important publishing project for promoting musical creation and activity in Greece, is however, the three-volume History of Music in Modern Greece) edited and written by a large team of distinguished scientists and researchers. The edition, tracking the history of Greek music from as early as 1453 going up to the year 2000, is accompanied by six compact discs with unknown or rare recordings of works of classical Greek music. The first volume has already been released and is almost sold out, and the other two are to be released soon.The Centre believes that his edition will decisively change the concept of what Greek music is on an international level, putting it on the map of musical studies where it belongs, among other European countries.

Future Projects

Among the immediate plans of KETOA are the organization of an event in memory of esteemed composer Dionysios Lavragas and his work - on the occasion of the recent grant of his music archive to the Athens Conservatory, as well as a publication for the archive - collection of Stathis Arfanis, who also generously donated his collection to the Athens Conservatory.

KETOA's future plans include the creation of a Greek Music Repository, dedicated to preserving the country’s rich musical heritage. Although in recent years many uncollected works of Greek musical production have been identified, a great number of them remain lost or forgotten. KETOA considers of the utmost importance the effort to collect as many works as possible (scores, recordings, etc.) to be stored and managed in this future Repository. Finally, the creation of a Museum that will house all the treasures kept at KETOA and make them accessible to the general public, is another project that the Centre considers essential.

I.L.

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