International Association of Art Critics Greek Section Celebrates 75 Years

On Friday, October 11, 2024, one of the historical Associations dedicated to the analysis, research, and promotion of contemporary art in Greece, International Association of Art Critics Greek Section Celebrates (AICA Hellas), will hold at the former Public Tobacco Factory, 218 Lenorman Street, Athens, as part of Platforms Projects 2024, the one-day conference.

“With an eye on history and the future.”

With the aim of highlighting the work that has been done under its initiative, marking 75 years since its establishment. On one hand, it reflects its contribution to the social sphere of institutions for the promotion and dissemination of contemporary Greek artistic talent, and on the other hand, its contribution to the academic field through publications that shape critical thinking, combined with the expansion and multiplication of knowledge areas, as well as the development and dissemination of new technologies.

The Presentations will be conducted in Greek language.

It is worth noting that the International Association of Art Critics Greek Section (AICA Hellas), was founded at the initiative of Odysseas Elytis, Marinos Kalligas, Manos Hatzidakis, Toni Spiteris, Dimitris Evangelidis, and with the initial collaboration of Evangelos Papanoutsos, Christos Karouzos, Panagiotis Michalis, George Mourelos, Manolis Andronikos, Dimitris Fatouros, Pantelis Prevelakis, and I.M. Panagiotopoulos. The association is the official Greek representative in the International AICA, which is affiliated with UNESCO and gathers approximately 50 national representations.

The three sections of the one-day conference are as follows:

First section: “Functional Characteristics of Art Criticism in Greece, Then and Now”

Directed by the President of AICA Hellas, Emmanuel Mavrommatis, and includes historically recognized Greek art critics who contributed to the formation of critical thought in Greece, as well as younger historians who either revise prevailing views or adapt them to new technologies. In this section, the first significant institutional event of the association is also presented: the establishment of the international conference of AICA Hellas in Delphi in the 1980s, focusing on “Contemporary Art and the Greek World.”

Second section: “Research and Critical Speech: Thoughts and Perspectives Inspired by AICA Hellas’s Magazine Critique+Art”.

The section is directed by the Special Secretary of AICA, Dr. Charis Kanellopoulou, and features the authors of AICA Hellas’s publications, including academics and art critics from the published volumes, who analyze and redefine new approaches to the visual arts, oriented towards the broader fields of social sciences and epistemology.

The section is directed by the Treasurer of AICA Hellas, Efi Michalarou, and presents the next two significant institutional events of AICA Hellas: the exhibition “Athens by Art” and the biennial exhibition “Theorems”. In the same section, two other curatorial museum organazings are also presented.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

12:00 – 12:15

Presentation by Artemis Potamianou, Member of the Board of Directors of AICA Hellas, artist, curator, Director of Platforms Project.

12:15 – 15:30

First section: “Functional Characteristics of Art Criticism in Greece, Then and Now”, Directed by the President of AICA Hellas, Emmanuel Mavrommatis, President of AICA Hellas, Emeritus Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Lecturers:

– Efi Andreadi, art historian and critic, member of the Advisory Board of the Friends of Music Society, and curator at the Athens Concert Hall since 1991
– Eleni Varopoulou, theater and art critic, translator
– Dr. Dora Rogan, art historian and critic
– Maria Maragkou, art historian, curator, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete
– Athina Schina, art historian and critic, curator
– Faye Zanetoulakou, Ph.D. in art history, Lecturer at the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, University of West Attica. Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly
– Konstantinos Proimos, Ph.D., New School for Social Research, Assistant Professor of History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture, Department of Architecture, University of Patras, art critic, curator
– Anna Hatzigiannaki, art historian and critic
– Dr. Eva Kekou, art historian and curator
– Mary Michailidou, Honorary General Director of the Ministry of Culture, former Director of the National Gallery
– Denys Zacharopoulos, art historian and critic

16:00 – 17:00

Second section: “Research and Critical Speech: Thoughts and Perspectives Inspired by AICA Hellas’s Magazine Critique+Art”. The section is directed by the Special Secretary of AICA, Dr. Charis Kanellopoulou, art historian and curator

Lecturers:

– Areti Adamopoulou, Professor of Art History, University of Ioannina
– Louiza Avgita, Assistant Professor of Art History, Department of Visual and Applied Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
– Eirini Gerogianni, Assistant Professor of Modern Art History, Department of Theory and History of Art, Athens School of Fine Arts
– Christoforos Marinos, Art Historian and Curator

17:30 – 19:00

Third section: “Organization and Curation of Exhibitions: Thoughts and Perspectives Inspired by the Exhibition “Athens by Art” (Efi Strouza), the “Theorems” Initiative (Emmanuel Mavrommatis), and Other Curatorial Activities”. The section is directed by the Treasurer of AICA Hellas, Efi Michalarou, Journalist, Art Critic, and Curator.

Lecturers:

-Kostas Varotsos, Sculptor, Professor at the Department of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Athens by Art and Efi Strouza)
-Emmanuel Mavrommatis, Emeritus Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Theorimata 1 / 2018)
-Bia Papadopoulou, Art Historian and Curator (Theorimata 2 / 2020)
-Elli Leventaki, Art Historian and Curator (Theorimata 3 / 2023)
-Athina Schina, Art Historian and Critic, Curator, former Artistic Director of the Museum of Modern Greek Art of the Municipality of Rhodes
-Dr. Dionysia Giakoumi, Art Historian, Curator at the G. Gounaropoulos Museum

– The President of AICA Hellas summarizes the main ideas and conclusions of the Conference.

End of the Conference.

Info: former Public Tobacco Factory, Lenorman 218, Athens, Greece, Duration: 11/10/2024, Day & Hours: 12:00-19:00, free entrance

* For security reasons, entry to the former Public Tobacco Factory will be allowed upon presentation of an ID.