Art-Athina 2013 was a comprehensive and well-organised show in terms of both structure and content. The outstanding art galleries from Greece and abroad were joined in harmony by cultural institutions, art publishers and media to present a full picture of the contemporary art scene. A number of noteworthy parallel activities reinforced the international character of the event with the participation of a large number of artists —over 800, this year— with a marked predominance of the younger generation. Finally, educational activities and historical retrospectives underlined the social role of Art-Athina.
The art galleries, always the core of this art fair, once again were dynamically present, despite the adverse circumstances, to support this drive for hope and optimism! Greek and foreign galleries presented works of a high level and managed to attract the public’s interest in all areas, always in line with the current juncture.
This year’s Greek and foreign visitors had a unique opportunity to enjoy a parallel group exhibition, Οpen Form, curated by Marina Fokidis and joined by well-established foreign galleries. Art-Athina 2013 paid tribute to the younger artists from its main programme in “Paradise Lost”; curated by Artemis Potamianou,
this group show captured a snapshot of the current artistic production in Greece and abroad, the preoccupations of visual artists and the variety of media and succeeded in establishing a constructive debate!
Some important collaborations and international exchanges were achieved as part of the Platform Project @ Art-Athina by Artemis Potamianou. Subscribed beyond every expectation, the event involved over 550 artists from 45 art groups, collectives and non-profit art spaces in 17 countries.
The lectures by the international guests of Marina Fokidis were fully attended by the public. Visitors also followed with interest the Symposia, in which international curators and art critics talked about modern-day Biennials and the concept of contemporary institutions. Also presented was the Berlin Biennale 2014.
The Platform Project included several interesting lectures as well as presentations of the International Biennale of Architecture, Thessaloniki and the 4th Biennale of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki.
The educational programme of Art-Athina 2013, developed in collaboration with Very Young Contemporary Art -VYCA and headed by Harriet Mitrakou-Gyparaki, met with great success and enthusiastic response.
The KIDS LAB, an interactive art space within Art-Athina, welcomed a large number of young visitors who keenly participated in creative games of learning and artistic experimentation so as to discover new skills and ways of expression and activate their artistic perception. Many of the participating artists in Art-Athina 2013 worked jointly in creating an artwork which was won at the end of the event by one of the young visitors who took part in the educational activities!
On the last day of this year’s event, Manos Stefanidis presented a tribute to the historical Desmos Gallery in an atmosphere full of emotion; he was joined by Manolis Mavrommatis and Dimitris Alithinos in a look back in history which involved lectures, images and documentary evidence. The event was honoured by the presence of Ms Epi Protonotariou-Pavlidou, co-founder of Desmos with the late Manos Pavlidis. The Hellenic Art Galleries Association presented Ms Protonotariou with a commemorative plaque in recognition of the history and the contribution of “Desmos” in the development of the Greek avant-garde.
Since its inception, Art-Athina has had moral and material support from the Ministry of Culture. It is a priority 2 project —"Sustainable Development and Quality of Life"— of the NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework) for the years 2013, 2014. Art-Athina operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the City of Athens.
True to its social mission, this year’s admission fees Art-Athina were reduced compared to the previous events, with special prices for students, unemployed persons and other categories and free admission for members of the Art Chamber of Greece, members of AICA Hellas and journalists. Also admitted free and given guided tours were many groups of students and members of Museums.
A special survey was carried out during Art-Athina, with a questionnaire to gauge the public’s view of the event. The data are now under processing and the findings, which will be published shortly, will be taken into account for the next event. http://www.art-athina.gr
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