Culture Minister Lina Mendoni inaugurated the exhibition “Open Horizons” at the Old Customs House in Nafplio, which was restored by the Ministry of Culture. As was the case in 2025, when the monument was opened to the public, the Ministry of Culture commissioned the National Gallery—Alexandros Soutsos Museum to organize an exhibition, which will be on view at the venue through October 4. At the same time, the Greek National Opera, present as it was last year, organized the opening musical event, thematically linked to the exhibition. The exhibition “Open Horizons” focuses on the historical phenomenon of diaspora identity among five artists of Greek descent who were active in the United States, presenting twelve works from the National Gallery’s collection, some of which are on public display for the first time.

George Constant

The exhibition “Open Horizons,” curated and under the artistic direction of National Gallery Alexandros Soutsos Museum General Director Syrago Tsiara, features works by George Constant (Giorgos Konstantinopoulos), Michalis Lekakis, Theodoros Chios, Theodoros Stamou, and Athina Tacha. The exhibition highlights the artistic journeys of artists from the Greek diaspora who, whether as first-generation immigrants or as children of immigrants, developed their own visual language and contributed to the evolution of 20th-century American art. Their works highlight a creative reworking of Greek cultural memory, references to mythology and the Greek landscape, as well as a dialogue with the major movements of international modernism.

Theodoros Stamos

The event opened with a musical performance by Zacharias Karounis and a four-piece ensemble of traditional instruments, who, under the artistic direction of the Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera, George Koumentakis, presented a selection of songs from Asia Minor, Macedonia, and the Peloponnese, as well as transcriptions from the 19th-century autograph manuscript of Georgios Pilelis-Ioannitis.