On Sunday, August 10, 2025, at 8:00 p.m., the opening of the photography exhibition “Nelly’s. Santorini between the wars” will take place at the Kastelana Photography Center in Kasteli, Pyrgos, Santorini.

The exhibition presents a selection of photographs taken by the distinguished photographer Nelly’s on the Cycladic island before the great destructive earthquake of 1956. It is organized by the Benaki Museum and the Kastelana Photography Center, curated by Aliki Tsirgialou (Head of the Benaki Museum Photography Archives) and Tonia Nousia (Architect, Museologist). The exhibition will run until October 20, 2025.

A few words about the photographer and her relationship with Santorini

In the summer of 1956, a major earthquake in the Amorgos region struck the island of Santorini, causing the loss of dozens of lives and significant damage to the built environment. Its pre-earthquake form owes much to the extensive documentation of the interwar Greek photographer Elli Souyoultsoglou-Seraiadiri (1899-1998). Known as Nelly’s, she visited Thira for the first time in the summer of 1928, at the urging of her sister Maros Souyoultsoglou and her Santorini husband Spyridon Al. Malaspina. Starting from the medieval settlement of Pyrgos, where her family lived at the time, Nelly toured the island with her camera in hand.

The rugged volcanic landscape and unique architecture of the island piqued her interest. The dark shades of lava and the deep blue of the sea harmoniously balance the tones of white and black with the dazzling Aegean light reflecting on the surface of the houses. The curves traced by the shadows of the buildings, the arches in the picturesque streets, the domes of the churches, and the very morphology of the terrain play a leading role in her compositions. The human presence is so discreet that the settlements appear deserted. The few elderly women and children who appear in her photographs have been placed scenically to serve her iconographic writing. Almost a century later, the images (in contemporary digital prints) return to their place of creation and interact with an island space that is now different.

Ellie Souyoultsoglou-Seraiadiri donated her photographic work to the Benaki Museum in 1984. Three years later, collector Dimitris Tsitouras edited the album Nelly’s. Santorini 1925-1930 (published by the Theraic Studies Archive) and revealed for the first time to the public the photographs taken by the distinguished photographer on the Cycladic island during the pre-earthquake period.

At the opening of the exhibition, the following speakers will talk about the photographer and her work:
Aliki Tsirigialou, Head of the Benaki Museum Photographic Archives and curator of the exhibition
Dimosthenis Agrafiotis, poet, media artist, and professor emeritus of sociology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Dimitris Tsitouras, lawyer and collector
Natasha Markidou, Assistant Professor, Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts, University of West Attica

The discussion will be moderated by the exhibition’s co-curator, Tonia Nousia, Architect and Museologist.

Exhibition opening hours
The exhibition will be open daily from 10:00 to 21:00 from August 10 to October 20, 2025. Admission will be free for visitors.

As part of the exhibition, events and discussions on Nelly’s work and the role of photography in the study of cultural heritage will be held in August and September, as well as workshops for children and adults.