The title of the action “The islands of Greece: archipelago of love and freedom” is a tribute to Byron and Papadiamantis. The former, in his poem of the same name, which he included in his Don Juan (1819-1824), called on the Greeks to launch the Revolution of Independence to which he was to donate his fame, fortune and life. The latter – the author of The Merchants of Nations – translated Byron’s poem, emphasising that it was a militant message of freedom and independence from any oppressor. In their work, both of them highlighted the islands of Greece as the scene where the drama of freedom, love and death is perpetually played out.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Monday 5 May 

18.00: Opening

Greetings: by the Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the City of Athens Antonis Vogiatzis and by the writer, director and visual artist Giagos Andreadis, who will also present the event.

Video screening (Papacharalambous /Rigopoulou)

The composer, performer and lyricist Stamatis Hadjiefstathiou presents and performs on the piano the poem The Isles of Greece by Byron set to music.

Reading of the translation of the poem by Yiagos Andreadis. Accompanied on the piano by Stamatis Hadjiefstathiou.

Opening of the exhibition of paintings and photographs by Yiagos Andreadis, Maria Mavrou and Pepi Rigopoulou. Curator. Yorgos Mastrogiannis

Wednesday 7 May 

18.00-18.30

With the words, with the seeds, with the stone, with the soil / Memories of women of Sifnos (an ongoing performance by the architect/artist Eleni Tzirtzilaki and the communicator Archontoula Varvaki in the exhibition space). Coordinated by art historian Pepi Rigopoulou.

Thursday 8 May

18.00-19.30

Discussion on the ” trimming ” of the wooden boats. Participants: the art historian Fay Tzanetoulakou (who organized in collaboration with Horizon of Events the exhibition The Ships We Were Hurting), the architect Kostas Damianidis, the director/writer Nikos Karakostas, the journalist Lena Kyriakidis.

20.30-21.30 

Farewell: performance/lecture by art historian/ director of the MIR Festival Christiana Galanopoulou. Production: MIR AMKE Partners: Eleanna Yasemi, Ioanna Karagiannopoulou, Vassilis Liakos, Antonis Nikiforos, Tasos, Palaioroutas . “Following the Sleeping Beauty of Halepa on the secret paths of her sleep, Christiana Galanopoulou invites us to a journey through artworks of different eras, texts, places, archaeological sites, moments of contemporary reality and stories of people(. In this performance-lecture that began her journey in Chimolos “the tracing of the iconographic element of the sleeping young woman gives way to a discourse on farewell, culture, life (…)”

Friday 9 May

18.00-19.00 

Screening of three short documentaries from the Archipelago Network’s activities on the Maritime Arts of the Cyclades. Discussion with the founder of the Network and co-founder of the Syros International Documentary Festival, Jacob Moe. Moderated by Lena Kyriakidi

The Cyclades are the cradle of a multitude of maritime arts and professions, which have flourished in Greece from ancient times until today. This screening traces the footprint of three interconnected practices – carpentry, fishing and navigation – through three short documentaries directed by Jacob Moe. The films focus on the woodworker Thanasis Vlamis from Syros, the captain Ioannis Karras from Santorini and the historian Yannis Vassiliopoulos from Paros, shedding light on different aspects of the Aegean maritime heritage.

20.30-21.30  

Farewell : Performance-lecture (replay)

Saturday 10 May

12.00-14.00

Painting workshop for children on the islands of Greece by the artist Angie Karatzas.

Sunday 11 May

Visiting the exhibition

Monday 12 May

18.00-19.30

The islands of the Aegean in the theatrical and cinematographic work of Dimos Avedeliodis. The director discusses with film theorist and writer Dimitris Papacharalambous and Yiagos Andreadis.

About the Exhibition

The exhibition entitled “The Aegean Islands: archipelago of love and freedom” consists of the paintings of Yagos Andreadis, inspired by the beauty and struggles of the Aegean and Cyprus. These are paintings from Papadiamantis’ Skiathos, from the islands of the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, from the ships that

liberated us in 1821 and from those that showed us how to “cut” them in our time. Also, from the photographs of the director Maria Mavrou that show moments of Kasos in 2024, 200 years after the disaster. .

Finally, from details of the stone, sand, lichens, sea and land plants on the paths of Sifnos, photographed with a mobile phone during the pandemic by Pepi Rigopoulou. These images, which she frames by the dozen, depending on the path, become the stimulus for a painterly transformation into flowers of stone and salt.