Yanna Grammatopoulou, President of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, and Christos Savvidis, Director of ArtBOX.gr & Artistic Director of Art Athina (2006-2008)
Art Athina, the international contemporary art fair of Athens, is organised by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association since 1993. In 2005, the Association's Board of Directors appointed Christos Savvidis Artistic Director for a period of three years (2006-2008), with the mission to revamp the fair and relaunch it as a truly international event. Taking the distance necessary in order to achieve such an ambitious task, we decided to skip the 2006 edition and to organise an international conference instead, that would springboard the fair into a new era. The conference focused on exploring the role of art fairs, particularly in non-metropolitan regions, to the development of local artistic scenes and their influence on the cultural idiosyncrasy of an area.
The role of art fairs in the formation of new artistic territories
As intended, the conference introduced a dialogue for an upgraded Art Athina. The participants, representing a variety of practices within the arts world (gallerists, artists, collectors, curators, organisers, institutions), engaged in vivid discussions, interesting, not only for Art Athina, but also for the general reality of the Greek contemporary arts scene. Despite the difference in trends, one common characteristic was evident in the interventions of the speakers: the necessity for Art Athina to attain a specific character that will differentiate the fair among other art fairs, in order to attract the interest of the international public. This was also mentioned by the Artistic Director Christos Savvidis in his opening speech.
According to the comments of the participants and the audience, the conference was well organised and meaningful, as the beginning of a dialogue. The organisers were committed from the start to take into consideration the proposals and conclusions that were stated during the conference in planning the next Art Athina. All the speakers stated their support to this movement and suggested specific proposals for cooperation, as did the Director of the Greek Institute of Culture in Berlin, Eleftherios Oikonomou, also Efi Strousa, President of AICA Hellas, and Katerina Koskina on behalf of the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. Yanna Grammatopoulou, President of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association pointed out that the central motto in this effort for Art Athina, is the “opening” in both the manner of organisation as in the content of the fair. With regard to the overall organisation of Art Athina, there will be changes in the structural level and improvements concerning the provided services (both towards the general public and also towards the participating galleries), but also in the communication of the organisatin in Greece and abroad. The conference was broadcasted live on the internet. |
Benaki Museum
|
