Art Athina 2007
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In 2006, Christos Savvidis undertook the Artistic Direction of Art Athina, in order to redesign it and relaunch it as a truly international event. The new programming was done taking into consideration a variety of factors, namely the international environment, the specific local particularities, the conditions of the broader geographical area, the extensive mobilisation of the area's emerging new forces, and the awareness that Art Athina can become an important link within these forces.
The exploration of those factors translated into the following specific goals:
Art Athina 2007 in numbers72 galleries from 1 7 countries
480 artists 12 projects 10 curators 18.500 visitors 140 VIPs (mostly collectors, art professionals and international press) Participants' comments:
“More people than ever before came, and there is a good wave of Greek collectors who buy here quite a lot.” |
HELEXPO PALACE |
MAIN PROGRAMBasic Plan
48 Greek and international galleries presented in standard booths: a.antonopoulou.art (Greece), Agathi (Greece), Arc Projects (Bulgaria), Argo Gallery (Cyprus), Astrolavos (Greece), Centre of Contemporary Art Diatopos (Cyprus), Charim Galerie (Austria), Cheapart (Greece), Cokkie Snoei (The Netherlands), DoDo (Greece), E31 (Greece), Ekfrasi-Gianna Grammatopoulou (Greece), Francoise Heitsch (Germany), Galerie 3 (Greece), Galerie Christian Nagel (Germany), Galerie Haas & Fischer (Switzerland), Galerie Heinz-Martin Weigand (Germany), Galerie Mirko Mayer/M-Projects (Germany), Galerie Reinhard Hauff (Germany), Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve (France), Groeflin Maag Galerie (Switzerland), Kalfayan Galleries (Greece), Luxe Gallery (USA), Medusa Art Gallery (Greece), Mirta Demare International (The Netherlands), Mulier Mulier Gallery (Belgium), Museum 52 (UK), Nice & Fit Gallery (Germany), P37 Art Gallery (Greece), Potnia Thiron (Greece), Q Box (Greece), Rodeo (Turkey), Selini (Greece), Thanassis Fryssiras Gallery (Greece), Tsatsis Projects / Artforum (Greece), Vacio 9 (Spain), Wohnmaschine (Germany), Zina Athanassiadou (Greece).
Contemporary ClubWithin the context of Basic Plan, Art Athina invites a gallery to propose a parallel project. This year, The Breeder gallery (Athens) has been selected and has proposed the project titled “Contemporary Club”. Invited are nine significant international galleries, typically present in some of the biggest art fairs worldwide: Art:Concept (France), Blow de la Barra (UK), Cosmic Gallerie (France), Diana Stigter Gallery (The Netherlands), Galerist (Turkey), Gazon Rouge (Greece), Ibid projects (USA), John Connelly presents (USA), Peres Projects (USA, Berlin), The Breeder (Greece).
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Open PlanArt fairs are evolving to international trendsetters, while concentrating often on emerging artists and galleries with an outstanding exhibition program. Open Plan allows for artists to present their work in a museum-type exhibition. This type of presentation gives a substantial and in-depth approach to contemporary artistic practices. It also offers to both collectors and the public the opportunity to discover that contemporary art works communicate with each other despite their diverse perspectives and visions on aesthetic issues. Organised by independent curators Cecilia Canziani and Sotirios Bahtsetzis, Open Plan includes artists, who have been proposed by the galleries that represent them, either as emerging, mid-career, or internationally established initiators. This generous exposition of selected art works in exclusively designed spaces is one of the new sections of ART ATHINA introduced by Christos Savvidis and ArtBOX.gr.
Participating galleries: Al Riwaq Art Gallery | Adliya-Bahrain, a.antonopoulou.art | Athens, Artrepco Gallery | Zurich, Astrolavos Art Galleries | Athens & Piraeus, Batagianni Gallery | Athens, BROADWAY 1602 | New York, DoDo | Thessaloniki, ekfrasi – yianna grammatopoulou | Athens, Eleni Koroneou Gallery | Athens, Francoise Heitsch | Munich, Galerie Mirko Mayer / m-projects | Cologne, galleria alessandro de march | Milan, Haunch of Venison | London in collaboration with Potnia Thiron | Athens, Kalfayan Galleries | Athens & Thessaloniki, Layr Wuestenhagen Contemporary | Vienna, LORAINI ALIMANTIRI / Gazon Rouge | Athens. Medusa Art Gallery | Athens, Mirta Demare International Visual Art | Rotterdam, MONITOR video & contemporary art | Rome, Qbox | Athens, Peres Projects | Berlin & Los Angeles, Rebecca M. Camhi Gallery | Athens, Rodeo | Istanbul, Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art | Cairo, Vacío 9 | Madrid, Wilkinson Gallery | London, Zina Athanassiadou Gallery | Thessaloniki |
PARALLEL PROGRAM
The rich parallel program consists of thematic exhibitions, projects and talks created specifically for Art Athina, whose aim is to maximize the interest of both public and experts.
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I Syghroni Elliniki Skini / The Contemporary Greek Scene
[exhibition] [tribute to the contemporary Greek arts scene]
This project attempts to present an overview of the contemporary visual arts production in Greece, while at the same time commenting, tongue-in-cheek, on the great expectations, the tactics, the theoretical regressions, the alliances, the often unequal cross-movements observed particularly in the last few years. The theme addresses the existence, or lack thereof, of a contemporary Greek arts scene, its dynamic, and, naturally, its financial “stock” value -contested by some but supported by others. The renewed Art Athina environment, with its ambitious international participants, allows us to honestly examine the comparative advantages and disadvantages of Greek art, while we (artists, theorists, collectors, galleries, institutions and state) take into serious consideration –as these performances will suggest– not only ourselves but more so, our work. In a concise yet indicative manner, "The Contemporary Greek Scene" will present the visual arts within their wider and multifaceted contexts, within their relation to dance, music, performance, fashion, film, etc. Text by project curator Nadja Argyropoulou
The project “I Syghroni Elliniki Skini” (Contemporary Greek Scene) attempts to present a series of snapshots of the current Greek artistic production such as those that constitute the few picture stories of view-masters or the pieces of a live aid event. Set in the form of an all-embracing work of art, a visual jamming, or a stellar formation without apparent links, at the Helexpo parking area and in the context of the 13th Art Athina, “I Syghroni Elliniki Skini” invites the viewer, Greek or foreigner, to take part in its function, either by revealing the aspects-works of which it is composed, or by identifying those aspects that distinguish it from other (central or peripheral, according to the critics' favourite jargon) art “scenes” and by perceiving its various orientations. Its title, written in the language of local, contemporary SMS communication that can be read by a foreign public but may not be comprehensible, echoes (in a tongue-in-cheek mood) the communication obstacles that victimize it. Its presentation here, despite self-evident restrictions in terms of space and costs, expresses the conviction that this setting forms a dynamic reality, a prerequisite, if not a sine qua non condition, for further substantial development, while it may also become a supplier for the market, gain support or develop on the basis of the market’s interest. It is undoubtedly a transitory flux reality including not only motivating global elements or conservative approaches (often, as a consequence of practical and economic limitations), but also highlights and enigmas, with a new concept in mind and an organization of the political aspect in connection with the creeping and ambivalent shift of our national physiognomy and social demands, both domestically and internationally. An eccentricity in the context of the global case of contemporary art which the public is asked, uneducated though it is, to comprehend and perhaps come to like, while the Critique is expected, prejudiced in a bizarre way or too willing, to analyze and classify. The single, indeed safest and unconditionally recommended guiding principles in this approach are the words of Giannoulis Chalepas in as far as the many paths of artistic production are concerned: “Where it hurts you, where it pleases you” |
HELEXPO PALACE |
ON GEEKDOM
[exhibition] [tribute to the contemporary Russian arts scene - part A]
As the period which separates us from the fall of the Berlin wall grows, so too does the relevance of our understanding of the past -not only as it appears in the work of Russian artists but in the art of the Balkans as well, whose official policy attempts to erase their historical past. Other versions of the exhibition, curated by Viktor Misiano, are concurrently presented at the Art Museum Kumu in Talin (Estonia), at the Centro D’ Arte Contemporanea in Prato (Italy) and at Kiasma Museum in Helsinki (Finland). Text by project curator Viktor Misiano This exhibition was brought to life by a desire to show the art of the former USSR countries in the context of a general project. It issues from the assumption that despite the fifteen years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and despite the differences in social development that have arisen in the countries that were part of its territories, it seems reasonable that their cultural and artistic consciousness be examined in a combined context. Additionally, this combined examination is further justified in the case of this decade we are going through rather than the previous one. The previous decade –the first post-soviet period– is often called a “transitional period”. After turning their back on the former state of things, all post-soviet countries have taken their own way towards the “new brave world”. Their past felt like burden – while some reasons were common, each country had its individual motives for this feeling. And while they all gazed at a future with vivid colors, each country formed its own notion about it and that notion was extremely abstract and had literally nothing to do with the present. Real life was unfolding in the present – in the dimension of “here and now”. In “here and now” lay the lives of all those who had been affected by social misfortune: to survive under such extreme circumstances would be feasible only if someone took advantage of the last possibilities the present entailed. In those years there were also the people who responded to the challenge of that era and devoted their lives to their personal success: their life, too, was in a transition into the dimension of “here and now” since it was not only survival but also personal success that depended on the ability to take advantage of circumstances. The new decade in the entire post-soviet area self-proclaimed an era of stabilisation. This holds true for all post-soviet countries (in one’s own way), but at the same time stabilisation in each one of them is rather hypothetical and virtual, for similar reasons everywhere. Nonetheless, today consciousness in post-soviet countries does not recognise itself in the “here-and-now” dimension. The future lost its unforeseeable quality and in order for one to find his way in reality he needed not only intuition but a far more elaborate system of analysis. Currently, the projects’ practice, as well as common reality, assumes that we put ourselves along the temporal dimension, the dimension of history, in other words. Thus, throughout the once single country the period of amnesty has come to an end while retrieval of memory has occurred. All these historic misfortunes, social and socio-psychological developments gave rise to the exhibition of works of artists who live in Bishkek and Riga, Yerevan and Kiev, Moscow or Alma-Ata. Returned past has caused these countries to face a clustered mosaic of unsolved problems the solution of which is justly and rightly to be achieved through dialogue – because the past is common. The congestion of this past and the extent of the problems that have drawn it out of oblivion are so far-reaching that the post-soviet exhibition project called “Progressive Nostalgia” was developed in four exhibitions in four separate exhibition venues: “Return of the Memory” in the KUMU museum in Tallinn, “Progressive Nostalgia” in Centro d’ arte contemporanea in Prato (Italy), “Time of the Storytellers” in KIASMA museum in Helsinki. So all of these exhibitions bringing together artists of the same geographical area concentrate on different subjects and solve different problems, yet all subjects and problems seem similar and are jointly understood by the various artists. It is precisely such shared misfortunes and collective experience that hide behind this exhibition under the name “On Geekdom”. The defense of the eccentricity that inspires the participating artists constitutes a clear-cut reaction to the ideology of stabilization prevalent in post-soviet countries today. Essentially, central power, following its establishment, has appropriated control over social dynamics: not only the political development, but also the communication market. Mass media, in combination with the industry of entertainment form the foundation of the new ideology and cultural policies. This forms the economic basis for a new intelligentsia which, after bidding a cute farewell to the Soviet coyness and then to the chaos of the 90s, has adopted an attitude the famous philosopher Paolo Virno called cheerful resignation. In this context the artistic stage which had been downgraded during the transitional period showed a dynamic tendency – mainly with regard to its commercial and communicative essence, while the public space and the innovative function of art remained underneath the rubble of socialism. And because each tendency to increase economic means and infrastructures is regarded self-evidently and by a large majority as a commodity, another renowned philosopher called it the means without end (Giorgio Agamben). An answer to this may be given through the programmatic and consistent imposition of means with clear and constructive intentions. Artists who follow this path restore the democratic meaning of Soviet transformations from the Soviet past, reshaping collective experience that ignored the concept of the omnipotence of money. Such artists feature in the exhibition “Progressive Nostalgia”. Within this framework an attempt to escape the vanity of mass-media is justified, while by means of a dethronement rhetoric one attempts to enter the innermost meaning of experiences past and present, to record them, to look over them, to stare at them in meditation and intensively. Such artists feature in the exhibition “Time of the Storytellers”. Yet, each one of these positions has its own vulnerability: the clearer its objectives and the means for their achievement, the easier they are assimilated by the media mechanism and become part of the industry of culture. This is why today the triumphant ideology of stabilization causes an additional manifestation of opposition: indisputably straightforward means adopted in the name of objectives that are vague to the extent of utter incomprehensibility. If the prevailing situation of things insists on the communicational role of language (on a semantics level), art, in contrary, fosters an ambiguity of expression, a lack of motive for actions, an escape from unequivocal interpretation etc. Artists who tread upon this path feature in the exhibition “On Geekdom”. There is nothing pioneering behind this strategy. It pre-existed in consciousness and was applied by many during the Soviet era. One of its creators in Moscow was Dmitri Prigov, and in Yerevan Hamlet Ovsepian. Still in the Soviet period Yuri Albert, Yuri Leiderman and Vadim Zacharov followed the same practice. However this experience also proved extremely popular among new generations that did not have time to form in the old regime. This experience was consciously or subconsciously implemented in exactly the same way in which the attempt to manipulate public opinion and the taste of corruption pass from the older power to the new one. Therefore, one of the paradoxes of the current situation of post-soviet history lies in the fact that every modern definition of the present inescapably presupposes a discussion of the past, every manifestation of self-determination in the present takes the form of a historic reflection. For this reason, and since we can say that this is an exhibition about nostalgia, it is important to make clear that this is not about clinging tightly to the past at any cost, nor is it a reactive negation of the present and progress. The nostalgia of today is a form of contemplation on modern times, a way for someone to take a stance in the present and respond to the call of the future. This is an exhibition about progressive nostalgia. |
Benaki Museum
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Critically in Between
[exhibition] [tribute to the contemporary Russian arts scene - part B]
The exhibition “Critically in Between” curated by Victor Misiano, is based on a series of activities and artistic interventions which will be realised within the same exhibition spaces of the art fair (between existing booths and common areas of the building). Thematically, this exhibition reflects the actual framework it exists within, in other words the relationship between art and the market which admittedly has a particular impact pn the creation of the artistic product as well as on the relationship of the art to the public. The proposed projects will adhere to the festive atmosphere of events such as art fairs while at the same time taking a critical stance against them, by means of thought provoking, dynamic, challenging and even reactionary activities. The proposed artworks address the fetishist relationship of the public to the “artwork”, the conventional practices of exhibitions generally, but also the exhibition within the art fair specifically. The critical stance of socially aware artists who analyse the institutional limitations of the art world (institutional critique), as well as the analytical and playful antithetical proposals of artists through alternate and relational modes of artistic expression form the core of this original exhibition. Artists from Russia and Greece –mainly- will participate in the project. The Greek artists are recommended to the curator by the Greek galleries participating in Art Athina. Text by project curator Viktor Misiano
“Critically in Between” is part of the large scale curatorial project “Progressive Nostalgia”. It consists of several parts, realizing during 2007 in various spaces and cities, in KUMU Museum in Tallinn, in Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato, in KIASMA Museum in Helsinki and two more parts in Athens – an exhibition “On Geekdom” in Benaki Museum and the fifth part, in fact, is “Critically in Between” within the borders of Art Athina. These separate exhibitions and projects are united by the geography of participating art material. “Progressive Nostalgia” shows contemporary art from the often called post-Soviet space, i.e. the countries previously consisting the USSR. As Russia, the legal assignee of the USSR, has become the invited country of Art Athina 2007, this led to the idea of developing this mega-project within the context of the fair. However, that is only an occasion; “Critically in Between”, a post-Soviet project, created within the context of the fair, has quite righteous conceptual reasons. The post-Soviet space is the geo-political area that was the last to be included in the world of market exchange and relations: from the moment of this inclusion it has become righteous to speak about globalization of the market. Being neophytes, post-Soviet people experience the world of market relations with special sharpness. They are surprised by the things that seem to be obvious for Americans, Europeans or Chinese. They are outraged by something usual for other parts of the world. More than anywhere they are ready to believe that the market is full of endless creative resource. At the same time, contrary to other countries, where during many years of market co-existence, were created zones of nonmarket relations, posy-communist countries understand the market as something total, without alternative; that idea is supported by the power and most people. At the same time it is becoming more and more difficult to live in this uncontested market, and the task seems to become less and less enthusiastic. The project “Critically in Between” is dedicated to this paradoxical experiencing of the market as total substance, that needs critical separation. The artists from the post-Soviet space are invited to do a project not just about market, and not only in the space of the fair, they are invited to do projects inside the space of the fair, near stands and between them. They should realize their critical introspection, immersing in the substance that seems for them to be uncontested. |
HELEXPO PALACE |
Dear Collector - Guerrilla Girls
[project]
The work “Dear Collector” was created especially for Art Athina and for the fair’s venue facade, in collaboration with the Hellenic American Union and on the occasion of the Guerrilla Girls exhibition in the Union’s exhibition space in Athens.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
ART SCENE – ART SEEN
[project]
In this project by Artemis Potamianou the viewer plays a fundamental role in the production of the final work, through the completion of questionnaires which allude to significant issues concerning art. In these questionnaires -distributed three months in advance by Art Athina 2007- the questions posed are answered by members of the arts community, as well as by those who are not. The completed questionnaires were all shown in an installation piece at HELEXPO during Art Athina.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
PEOPLE[video art programme]
The project presents video art by contemporary Greek artists. The content of the works centres around introspection, interpersonal relationships, their crisis within contemporary society and internal conflicts. Around 15 artists participate in the project and the total time span of the projections lasts around one hour.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
ENTR’ACTE
[video art programme]
Inspired by the film by Rene Claire, "Entr’acte" seeks to exist within something else, in this case an art event, in which it creates an alternative program created to entertain, interrupt, awaken. "Entr’acte" is a tribute to the roots of cinema and to its early years when people of the arts were closely related to people of film. "Entr’acte" attempts to revive the discourse surrounding the effects provoked when artists decide the challenge the moving image. It itself as a work of art, as an action among actions, and as an audiovisual experiment per se.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
ArtTalk
[talks]
In the tradition of the Symposium, Art Athina is launching a series of public encounters with artists, curators, museum directors and art professionals in a newly introduced forum, ArtTalk. The focus is to create opportunity for the visitors of Art Athina to meet an exciting mix of art world personalities both from Greece and abroad and to combine knowledge and rhetoric in view of opening up Art for all.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
PUBLIC RELATIONS / COMMUNICATION / NETWORKING
Art Athina takes steps beyond the self-evident ones, which include: publicity aimed at Greek and international mass media (art-related printed material, luxury lifestyle, broadcasts, travel, etc.); a press office in Athens covering the whole country and press offices in Paris and London. They also include: a Communication and Promotion Program of Events aiming at highlighting Art Athina (Pre-events, Media Events, Official Opening Event, Parallel Activities, organization of Europe-wide briefings, entertainment and dining of media representatives in England, France and Germany, establishing links with international events such as Gulf Art Fair, Sharjah Biennale, and the Moscow Biennale among others, Press Trip to Athens on the occasion of the opening of the fair). The goal abroad is to showcase the special characteristics and advantages of Art Athina, so as to attract attention to those parameters that differentiate us in the framework of the international fine arts scene. Thus, the Greek art fair would become fully competitive on an equal footing. Domestically, the goal is to provide creative artists -their work and the overall environment that constitutes the visual arts scene- the aura that is their due. Among other things, this will help contemporary art reach a public which so far has stood on the sidelines. It is for this reason that Brunswick Arts Consulting, based in London and Paris specializing in contemporary arts, has been selected to handle the international promotion and communication for this event. Among its clients are: Art Basel & Art Basel Miami Beach, Gulf Art Fair, the British Museum, Arts Council England, the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of London, the Sharjah Biennale 8 etc.
A basic goal of Art Athina is to create an informal network of collaborators who will facilitate communication with markets/art scenes the organizers are aiming at. For that purpose, Art Athina is already collaborating with persons or carriers who function as representatives / ambassadors of Art Athina. The Stella Art Foundation, based in Moscow, coordinates all activities related to implementing Russia’s participation in Art Athina as the honored country. Founded in November 2004 as a non-profit organization, the foundation is the brain-child of Stella Kay. Its purpose is to support contemporary art in Russia and to incorporate it in an international framework. One of its basic aims is the creation of the collection of the Museum of Present-Day Art, scheduled to be inaugurated in 2010. The Artistic Director of the Foundation Vladimir Levashov, the General Director Alexander Rytov, Tatiana Rytova and Anastasia Dokuchaeva are working toward the realization of this project in Greece. Finally, Junko Ii, an independent curator based in Tokyo, extensively experienced in international arts projects, is collaborating with Art Athina by representing it in Japan. Her goal here is to prepare the ground for a closer collaboration with this little known country with the purpose of presenting Japan as the invited country in the near future. |