FORUM #10 
European Cultural Exchanges 2009 
ATLANTIS project

About FORUM European Cultural Exchanges

Ongoing platform for the development and promotion of European cultural exchanges –with emphasis on Southeastern Europe– aiming towards the support and diffusion of contemporary artistic creation. Founded in 2000 in Thessaloniki by Apollonia european art exchanges (Strasbourg) and ArtBOX, and coordinated by ArtBOX, Forum includes annual events, conferences, meetings, exhibitions and networking activities, as well as the Forum Artists-in-Residence program (F.A.R., 2005-2008).

In 2009-2010, Forum collaborates with the project Atlantis. Hidden Histories - New Identities, organised by Heinrich Boell Foundation Brandenburg. 

2000 - 2010
Organized by:
ArtBOX, Thessaloniki, Greece
Apollonia, Strasbourg, France
Founding Directors:
Dimitris Konstantinidis (Apollonia)
Christos Savvidis (ArtBOX)
Coordination: ArtBOX
Advisory Committee:
Efie Strousa, Denys Zacharopoulos

ATLANTIS @ Venice
Hidden Histories – New Indentities
[workshop] [exhibitions]

The project “ATLANTIS – Hidden Histories – New Indentities” is a journey along the old borders of the former European systems. The project starts in 2009 in Sacrow (Potsdam, Germany), then it moves to Bratislava and Vienna and crosses the Slovakian-Austrian border; it then continues on in Greece and finishes in Bulgaria.
In collaboration with invited curators and artists, as well as with partner institutions, a series of exhibitions and specially produced art works were realized, in order to explore the issues of Democracy, migration and identity through contemporary artistic practices.
A series of workshops, closed meetings and public discussions are realized, with the participation of artists, curators, thinkers and institutions representatives. These discussions are used as resource material for the exhibitions and enhance the creation of an ongoing platform for the exploration of the issues that the project aims to engage with: Democracy, migration and identity.

Democracy in the Making

When the Heinrich Boell Foundation invited us to participate as partners in the project “Atlantis. Hidden Histories-New Identities. European art 20 years after the Iron Curtain”, we were thrilled with the prospect of conceiving and realizing a series of events around this extremely wide, and therefore challenging, topic that had interested us in the past, in previous projects. The project aimed to explore a series of politically charged notions –namely democracy, migration and identity– through contemporary artistic practices. This overwhelmingly huge topic opened up an extremely wide array of ideas for different projects. The gravity of these notions for the contemporary globalized world, that is indeed –one way or the other– the focus of the work of many contemporary artists, lead us to design a series of projects, rather than a standard, one-off exhibition, in order to be able to view the topic through a variety of practices and perspectives and to reach out to a large number of varied audiences: artists and art professionals, institutions, general public, students from the arts field and other sectors, as well as to a large geographical area; ultimately, our aim has been to create a platform of exchanges and collaborations that would have the possibility to exist also in the future, after the completion of the Atlantis project. In order to achieve this goal, the project was designed in collaboration with various partner institutions that offered their valuable experience and support and used a lot of material (discussions, texts, existing exhibitions) as reference material for the exploration of basic concepts.
In February 2009, the project was kicked-off with the conference “Democracy, Migration and Identity in Europe today”, in which world-known, established sociologist Saskia Sassen (who back in 2001 introduced the term “global city”) participated as a keynote speaker, alongside Natalia Ribas-Mateos, sociologist, Iara Boubnova, curator, Nikos Xydakis, art critic and chief editor of the nationally circulated newspaper “Kathimerini”, as well as artists and art theorists from Greece and Bulgaria. The conference looked into different aspects of Democracy and its perspectives today, globalization and its influences on the reality of contemporary art, setting the framework within which the series of events in Greece was going to be developed. 
Later on that year, young artist Aristotelis Deligiannidis, in conversation with curator Thalea Stefanidou, was invited to create a work inspired by the theme of the “Atlantis” project. The artist created a free-standing Plexiglas construction in the form of a cross. This direct reference to religion as well as to crossroads –real and psychological– and to one’s possibility to decide for oneself, was indirectly negated through the use of transparent material, on which the artist directed his painterly action through mechanical, laborious gestures, as if directing all his energy towards the conquest and organization of space, reminiscent of the immigrants’ need to find his place in a new land. Repetitive movements, overwriting and graffiti-like patterns highlight an aesthetic attitude towards the permanent and the ephemeral, remembrance and oblivion. A first edition of the work “Layers” was shown in the 12th edition of OPEN – International Exhibition of Sculpture and Installation in Venice. A second edition of the work was prepared in order to be shown in Kavala as a parallel event of the meeting with Greek & Bulgarian artists in Demember 2009 held in the frame of “Atlantis”.
In July, artists Andreas Savva and Yioula Hatzigeorgiou, in collaboration with art critic Maria Marangou, presented in the frame of the 14th International Meeting on Ancient Drama-3rd Meeting of Young Artists in Delphi a common project titled “The Roads After”, which included a jointly designed performance and an exhibition of new, especially produced works. Through this multifarious project, the two artists engaged with the issue of migration on various levels: the psychological and practical preparations before one immigrates, the voyage to an unknown land, the psychological and practical process of integration into a new society and the nostalgia for the abandoned homeland. Following the exhibition in Delphi, artist Yioula Hatzigeorgiou collaborated with other artists to create a series of videos that used poetry, images and sound, in order to comment on the possibility of a universal polyglot language that would go beyond politics.
These works were presented in Thessaloniki during September 2009 as a parallel event to the discussion “Democracy in the making”, a public discussion which dealt with issues of Democracy, arts and periphery, featuring talks by Mohamed Abouelnaga (Artistic Director of the Alexandria Biennial), Igor Makarevich & Elena Elagina (artists) and Haim Sokol (artist).
In September 2009 the series of events “Moscow-Thessaloniki 2009 – Works from the Stella Art Foundation Collection”, which we organized in collaboration with the Stella Art Foundation and the 2nd Thessaloniki Biennale, even though not funded by the Atlantis program, were organized to coincide with the Atlantis events, since they presented the opportunity to look into the matter deeper, in a both historical and art historical way, through the practices of artists who experienced the fall of communism and the transgression into a contemporary, capitalist state. The exhibition “Subjective visions” (curated by Thalea Stefanidou, including works by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Elena Elagina & Igor Makarevich, Joseph Kosuth, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andrey Monastyrsky) and Haim Sokol’s monument dedicated “To all who ever lived here” offered valuable insights into issues of history and (historically constructed) identity.
Two workshops, in Thessaloniki and Athens, were realized in the beginning of November, curated by Stephanie Bertrand (curator, Thessaloniki) and Effie Halivopoulou (artist, Athens). The participants were selected through an open call process, based on the relevance of their work with the project’s theme. Stephanie Bertrand designed a workshop which included theoretical discussions around the themes of democracy, identity and migration. The participating artists discussed the themes with guest speakers (theorists, architects, established artists) using as a source material texts by art theorists, sociologists and thinkers. Effie Halivopoulou designed a practice-based workshop, oriented towards issues of democracy in contemporary artistic practices. The participating young artists presented their work under the light of its relevance to the discussed themes.
In December, a third workshop was realized in the Institute Mohamed Ali in Kavala, with the participation of curator Iara Boubnova and artists from Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria. The participants were invited to discuss issues of working in situ and presenting work in spaces of historical monuments charged with their historical past.
In order to further explore the relationship of Greek artists with the concept of walls, boundaries, limits, we invited selected artists to treat a white sheet of paper as a wall. The project “My Wall” (presented in the parallel program of the 6th Panhellenic Architecture Exhibition in Patras, November-December 2009) presented a series of works of the same format, all printed in A3 size, where artists explored their own boundaries; boundaries that could either protect or obstruct. The works were installed so as to form a horizontal frieze –reminiscent of a film strip– on a wall which ran alongside the main exhibition space, creating a procession –long march– during which qualities such as repetition, pause, void and concealment acted as references to one’s relationship with the political and the discursive. Young artist Theodoros Zafiropoulos was invited to present an interactive installation – comment on the concept of boundary between man and the lived environment, architecture, art. The works were installed in collaboration with the curators of the architecture exhibition, in order to create a fruitful dialogue between visual art and architecture.
Finally, in January 2010 the exhibition “Breaking Walls-Building Networks”, which focused on artists from Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, was realized at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki. This exhibition became the final event within the project “Atlantis” in Greece and in a way enclosed all the conclusions and experiences that emerged through the overall project. Curators Iara Boubnova, Lydia Chatziiakovou, Christos Savvidis and Thalea Stefanidou invited artists whose work deals with issues of identity-related boundaries (political, historical, social, biological) and their overcoming, so that the exhibition presented a selection of works that explore the political, social and philosophical stake of frontiers and borders through contemporary artistic practices. Through a collective installation, the curatorial team attempted to make use of multiple levels of reception of the works, in order to showcase a tectonic reconciliatory synthesis, beyond restraints and exclusions.
The series of events of “Atlantis” in Greece were designed as a comment on democracy’s multiplicity and capacity for dispersion and infiltration. The various types of events that took place had multiplicity at their core, establishing a flexible system that aims to disperse in various spaces, physically and ideologically.

Lydia Chatziiakovou, Christos Savvidis 
ArtBOX

ATLANTIS @ VENICE
Salita San Samuele, Venice, Italy
June - July 2009

Organised by:
Heinrich Boell Brandenburg Foundation
as a parallel event to the Venice Biennale

Venice, June-July 2009
Kick-off meeting, Berlin, November 2008

Press

2009-03-04_kathimerini.pdf
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2009-03-03_eleftherotypia.pdf
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2009-02-08_kathimerini.pdf
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Workshops, Public Discussions, Closed Meetings

A series of workshops, closed meetings and public discussions were realised, with the participation of artists, curators, thinkers, and institution representatives. These discussions were used as resource material for the exhibitions and enhanced the creation of an ongoing platform for the exploration of the issues that the project aimed to engage with: democracy, migration, and identity.

DEMOCRACY, MIGRATION AND IDENTITY IN EUROPE TODAY
ATLANTIS PROJECT @ THESSALONIKI
[conference]

A discussion on the occasion of the 20 years anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, on the perspective of Democracy today, globalisation and their influence on the reality of contemporary art.

Thessaloniki, Greece
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art
27-28 February 2009

Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Natalia Ribas-Mateos, Prof. Saskia Sassen, Nikos Y. Xydakis
Speakers:
Iara Boubnova, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Areti Leopoulou, Kostis Stafylakis, Maria Tsantsanoglou, Augustine Zenakos

Organised by:
ArtBOX &
Heinrich Boell Brandenburg Foundation

In the framework of the project “ATLANTIS - Hidden Stories - New Identities. European Art 20 years after the Iron Curtain”

"WHAT IS REAL DEMOCRACY and more"
Short statements on camera by Iara Boubnova, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Kostis Stafylakis, Augustine Zenakos, Nikos Y. Xydakis.

Democracy in the Making
[panel discussion]

Thessaloniki, Greece
Warehouse C – Port of Thessaloniki (2nd Thessaloniki Biennale Venue)
19 September 2009

Speakers:
Mohamed Abouelnaga, Stephanie Bertrand, Lydia Chatziiakovou, Effie Halivopoulou, Igor Makarevich, Elena Elagina, Maria Marangou, Areti Leopoulou, Christos Savvidis, Haim Sokol, Thalea Stefanidou, Under Construction, Alexander Rytov

Parallel Project:
Presentation of works by: Makis Faros, Yioula Hatzigeorgiou, Mihalis Papadopoulos & Ioakeim Mylonas, Andreas Savva

In the framework of the project “ATLANTIS - Hidden Stories - New Identities. European Art 20 years after the Iron Curtain”  

Democracy, Migration, Identity and Contemporary Artistic Practices
[workshop]

Τhe Thessaloniki workshop "Democracy in the Making" was a three-day closed seminar, held on October 30-31 and November 1, 2009, at the State Museum in Moni Lazariston. It gathered sixteen participants (artists and curators) and was organized as a series of discussions around selected texts, individual contributions and guest lectures, including a presentation by Professor Aris Stylianou on radical democracy, and by architects Eirini Oreopoulou, Orestis Pangalos and Vaso Makrygianni on 20th century migrational movements in Thessaloniki, and on case studies dealing with the production of space and its impact on the representation of various social groups.

Inscribed within the framework of Atlantis, the workshop was initially based on the two-day conference "Democracy, Migration and Identity in Europe today", which unfolded at the Macedonian Museum eight months prior. It set aside some of Atlantis’ more immediate concerns, namely to trace the historical formation of new identities as a result of Europe’s reintegration after the Berlin wall, to explore some of the broader questions raised by the project from the perspective of an artistic practice. As such, the workshop aimed to engage with the wide-ranging yet fundamental question: how, as art practitioners –artists, curators, architects– might we begin to engage with the notions of democracy, migration and identity through our work and what claims might be associated with such work?

State Museum of Contemporary Art
Thessaloniki, Greece
30 October - 01 November 2009

Participants:
Chris Aggelou, Yiannis Arvanitis, Lena Athanasopoulou, Rania Bellou, Giorgos Divaris, Christina Karaoglani, Vangelis Kolotsios, Rachel Moore, Haris Pallas, Theodoros Prodromidis, Giorgos Tsalamanis, Chryse Tsiota, Michalis Theodosiadis, Babis Venetopoulos

Guest Speakers:
Vasso Makrigianni, Eirini Oraiopoulou, Orestis Pangalos, Aris Stylianou

Curator:
Stephanie Bertrand

In the framework of the project “ATLANTIS - Hidden Stories - New Identities. European Art 20 years after the Iron Curtain”

Democracy and Contemporary Artistic Practices
[workshop]

The workshop "Democracy in the Making: Contemporary Art Practices," the first Visual Arts Program workshop, was held at The Center for the Arts Auditorium at DEREE in 2009. It was combined with a visit to the exhibition "The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn" at the ACG Gallery on the DEREE campus and a presentation of the works by the gallery curator, Megakles Rogakos.

The workshop comprised a number of presentations and discussions around the work of Visual Arts Program faculty member and artist Jennifer Nelson and six other participating emerging artists: Martin Donnef, Christos Giannopoulos, Anna Karatza, Spyros Nakas, Nikos Sepetzoglou and Maria Trialoni. The six artists were chosen by a committee, itself selected by ArtBOX in Thessaloniki, Greece. The committee members reviewed 68 portfolios before settling on the final six artists.

Forty-one participants attended the six-and-a-half hour workshop. They received a package of readings carefully chosen for their relevance to the ideas embedded in the works under discussion. The texts guided the discussions and developed thoughts around the works. The students’ involvement with the ideas introduced at the workshop lasted for two months. Their obligations were: a) to write reports on the works of the artists; and b) to visit the artists’ studios and/or become studio assistants for a day. Following this interaction, two of the guest artists offered to visit DEREE again to make an additional presentation that would focus on techniques and themes that the students were particularly interested in.

Effie Halivopoulou 
Artist, Coordinator - Visual Arts Program DEREE - The American College of Greece

Deree – The American College of Greece
Athens, Greece
6 November 2009

Participants:
Martin Donef, Christos Giannopoulos, Anna Karatza, Spyros Nakas, Nikos Sepetzoglou, Maria Trialoni

Guest Speaker:
Jennifer Nelson

Curator:
Effie Halivopoulou

Organised by:
ArtBOX & Visual Arts Program at Deree

In the framework of the project “ATLANTIS - Hidden Stories - New Identities. European Art 20 years after the Iron Curtain”

Workshop with Greek & Bulgarian artists
[workshop] [atlantis project]

The participants were invited to discuss issues of working in situ and presenting work in spaces of historical monuments charged with their historical past. The workshop also functioned as a working session for the preparation of the exhibition "Breaking Walls - Building Networks" that took place in January 2010 and concluded the Atlantis project events. 

Institute Mohammed Ali
Kavala, Greece
2-3 December 2009

Participants:
Iara Boubnova, Mariela Gemisheva,
Yorgo Manis, Kalin Serapionov,
Krassimir Terziev

Coordination:
ArtBOX

Organised by Forum European Cultural Exchanges in the framework of the project Atlantis

ACTIVITIES

Gazet'art #5 
[publication]

The fifth issue of Forum's parasitic, nomadic magazine, featured a survey of art venues off the beaten track and was hosted in Mouvement.

Hosting magazine:
Mouvement, France, p.52 (English/French headings)
January 2009

Editorial chief:
Dimitri Konstantinidis

General coordinators:
Milana Christitch, Justine Dupraz

Texts/interviews:
Pierre Courtin, Razvan Ion, Valentina Kiseleva / Anna Chistoserdova, Artur Klinov, Dimitri Konstantinidis, Cédric Loire, Vladiya Mihaylova, Moataz Nasreldin

SOTIRI,  international competition for young photographers
[international photography competition]

‘Sotiri’ is an international competition for young photographers, organized by the Cultural Center Lindart in Tirana, in partnership with the Municipality of Korca under the auspice of the Mayor Mr. Niko Peleshi.
The prize is named after local photographer Kristaq Sotiri (1883-1970), trained at the studio of the USA photographer Steckel. There, he learned not only the basic techniques of photographic portraiture, but was also acquainted with the style of pictorialism, which was quite in fashion at the time. According to François Cheval, director of the Museum Nicéphor Niépce in France, Sotiri was a master in capturing the proper instant and in creating intelligent compositions of events and portraits of people of his city... These portraits gave Sotiri the opportunity to apply pictorialism, which makes the collection of his images a rare thing within the Albanian photography tradition.
Since 2008, young artists from all over the world are invited to Korça to show their best works in an exhibition and participate in the panel discussion. The Sotiri Prize aims to support new developments in the field of photography, both in Albania and internationally, as well as to promote the values of the Sotiri collection, as part of the Albanian photography heritage.

Tirana, Albania
2009

Organized by:
the Cultural Center Lindart in Tirana

Cretivity, Mobility, Dialogue
Preparatory Meeting for the Anna Lindh Forum 2010
[networking] [conference]

In the framework of the "Anna Lindh Forum 2010", the Anna Lindh Euro‐Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures (ALF) will organize a Preparatory Meeting entitled "Creativity, Mobility and Dialogue". The Meeting is organized in cooperation with the Hellenic Foundation for Culture (ALF Head of Network in Greece) and the FAM Network (Panmediterranean Women's Creators Network) and will take place in Rhodes, Greece, from the 1st to the 4th of October 2009. 

The outcomes of the five working groups will serve as recommendations for topics to be addressed during the "Anna Lindh Forum 2010".
Immaculada Roca I Cortes from the European Commission  will inform about “the European Commission strategy on Culture for the Euro-Med region”.
One specific session will be dedicated to Best Practices/Exchange of project ideas in order to facilitate networking between the participants.

“Arts & Education”                                                                                                                  
This working session will focus on artistic research, carried out during residences and in collaboration with Art Universities.
Moderator: Anke Mueffelmann, DE
Experts: Juergen Bock, Escola Maumaus, PT - Christos Savvidis, ArtBox, GR - Mona Knio, Arab Theatre Training Centre, LB - Peter Purg, EMUNI, Slovenia - Jasmina Zaloznik, Maska, Slovenia - Abir Bukhari, AllArtNow, Syria -  Mirene Arsanios, 98weeks, LB.

“Media”         
A working session about the role of the internet, e-newsletters, on-line platforms and blogs in facilitating access to culture.
Moderator: Giovanna Tanzarella, Fondation R. Seydoux, FR
Experts: Nathalie Galesne, Babelmed, IT - Chadwane Bensalmia, Les Abbatoires, MA - Lina Khatib, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK - Sara Zavarise, ZaLab, IT -  Kurt Danner, IMZ, AT - Maja Genc Calogera, Center for Synergy of Digital and Visual Arts, HR.

“Mobility”     
This working session will focus on mobility funds and other resources to support mobility of artists and cultural operators in the Euro-Med region.
Moderator:  Mary Ann DeVlieg, IETM, BE
Experts: Ferdinand Richard, FRC, FR - Serene Huleileh, Arab Education Forum, JO - Laetitia Manach, BC, FR -  Khadija El Bennaoui, AMA/YATF, BE - Mais Irqsusi, Safar, JO - Ece Pazarbasi, CUMA, TR -  Bertan Selim, Pro Helvetia, BH - Mohammed Siam, Artkhana, EG

“Networks”       
A working session about cultural networks and platforms in the Euro-Med region.
Moderator: Nevenka Koprivsek, Bunker, SLO
Experts: Gerarda Ventura, Meridie, IT -   Esra Aysun, CUMA, TR -  Rui Silveira, DBM, PT -  Giulia Profeta, ADCEI, FR - Amir Abdi, Interkulti, HU - Emina Visnic, Clubture, HR - Hania Mroue, Metropolis Art Cinema, LB - Delphine Leccas, Association IN, SY.

“Translation"     
A working session about the importance of and challenges in translation in the intercultural dialogue.
Moderator: Ghislaine Glasson-Deschaumes, Transeuropéennes, FR
Experts: Maria Angels Roque, IEMed, ES - Alexandra Buechler, Literature without Frontiers, UK - Mary Ellen Kerans, Mediterranean Editors and Translators, ES - Sebnem Bahadir, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, DE - Mona Saleh, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, EG - Yana Genova, Next Page Foundation, BG - Shereen Kreydiye, Asala, LB

Rodos Palace Convention Centre
Rhodes, Greece
1-4 October 2009

Experts:
Juergen Bock, PT - Christos Savvidis, GR - Mona Knio, LB - Peter Purg, SI - Jasmina Zaloznik, SI Abir Bukhari, SY Mirene Arsanios, LB - Nathalie Galesne, IT - Chadwane Bensalmia, MA - Lina Khatib, UK - Sara Zavarise, IT - Kurt Danner, AT - Maja Genc Calogera, HR - Ferdinand Richard,FR - Serene Huleileh, JO - Laetitia Manach, FR - Khadija El Bennaoui, BE - Mais Irqsusi, JO - Ece Pazarbasi, TR - Bertan Selim, BH - Mohammed Siam, EG - Gerarda Ventura, IT - Esra Aysun, TR - Rui Silveira, PT - Giulia Profeta, FR - Amir Abdi, HU - Emina Visnic, HR - Hania Mroue, LB - Delphine Leccas, SY - Maria Angels Roque, ES - Alexandra Buechler, UK - Mary Ellen Kerans, ES - Sebnem Bahadir, DE - Mona Saleh, EG - Yana Genova, BG - Shereen Kreydiye, LB

Moderators:
Anke Mueffelmann, DE - Giovanna Tanzarella, FR - Mary Ann DeVlieg, BE - Nevenka Koprivsek, SLO - Ghislaine Glasson-Deschaumes, FR

Organised by:
Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures

Administrator:
Renata Papsch, ALF