18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival –
Images of the 21st Century
11-20 March, 2016
“IMAGES OF OUR OTHER SELF”,
“OCCUPY, RESIST, PRODUCE”
EXHIBITIONS OPENING
Images of the 21st Century
11-20 March, 2016
“IMAGES OF OUR OTHER SELF”,
“OCCUPY, RESIST, PRODUCE”
EXHIBITIONS OPENING
As part of the 18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the opening of the photography exhibition “Images of Our Other Self” and the video installation “Occupy, Resist, Produce” were successfully held on Saturday March 12th, 2016, at the Center of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki (Warehouse B1, Thessaloniki Port). The exhibition “Images of Our Other Self” is organized by the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the “shedia” street paper and the State Museum of Contemporary Art - Center of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, whereas the 3-channel video installation “Occupy, Resist, Produce” is organized by the State Museum of Contemporary Art - Center of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, with the support of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
The director of the State Museum of Contemporary Art Syrago Tsiara expressed her contentment over this collaboration between the SMCA and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival for another year. “We are very pleased that the Festival has established its roots in the city. Of course, this is not our first collaboration with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. It’s a tradition, which I think is beneficial for both institutions. Moreover, it takes place in the spirit of collaboration among the city’s cultural institutions. That is why we need to see these photographs and videos not only in the spirit of a visual art exhibition, but also in the spirit of the documentary genre itself, which has to do with recording the current reality in different ways. Theodore Markoglou is responsible for curating and coordinating “Occupy, Resist, Produce”, on behalf of the Contemporary Art Centre” said Ms. Tsiara, who also expressed the hope that such collaborations with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival will carry on in the future.
On behalf of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Thanos Stavropoulos noted that this year the Festival, in its 18th edition, ”comes of age through such collaborations, it is growing and becoming stronger. It is a great pleasure for us to work with the State Museum of Contemporary Art - Contemporary Art Center, for yet another year, under such excellent circumstances, and despite the economic difficulties. I am also delighted that we have a new friend, the street paper ”shedia”. Thanks to this collaboration, it has been made possible for these three institutions to host this important exhibition here today. I want to thank everyone who helped. It was an amazing experience”.
Afterwards, Ms. Emilia Douka, Communications & Social Project Manager of “shedia”, referred to the special artists whose photos comprise the exhibition “Images of Our Other Self”, as well as in the work of the street paper itself. After thanking all the institutions involved and their staff for their hospitality and the collaboration, she talked about the mission of “shedia” and the profile of the artists involved, stressing, inter alia, that: “The photographers whose work is hosted in this exhibition are the accredited vendors of the paper’s distribution network in Athens and Thessaloniki. They are fellowmen who experience many hardships as a result of the country’s current economic and social crisis and they are able to gain a minimum income from selling the street paper, as 50% of the sale goes directly to the vendor. On the realization of how beneficial this motivation is for these people, we have created a spectrum of other activities, such as theatrical games and literature readings, as well as theater, jewelry and photography workshops”. Ms. Douka added: “The photo exhibition helped these people to express themselves through the art of photography, to capture snapshots of the city they live in and everything that makes them happy or sad, as well as what they dream or hope for. What we see in this exhibition is a social record of contemporary Greece. We are also very happy because today we are joined by some of the artists themselves”.
On his behalf, Theodore Markoglou, art historian and curator of “Occupy, Resist, Produce” by Oliver Ressler and Dario Azzellini, addressed a short welcome speech and referred to the project. “This project focuses on factories occupied by the workers, after their closure for various reasons. We are honored to have among us some of the VIOME workers, one of the three factories presented in the installation. The other two factories are in Italy”, he noted, and went on to thank the team, who made the installation possible, as well as the rest of the project’s collaborators.
The presentation was closed by the artist Oliver Ressler himself, who thanked all the contributors for making this exhibition possible and expressed his contentment over the fact that the project was brought to Thessaloniki where the VIOME factory is located, as one of the three factories that are included in the 97’ video-installation. As he added, “I am very pleased that we are joined here today by some of the VIOME workers. It is amazing bringing together different groups of people, who usually do not have such a close relationship. And I think that this is exactly what we were able to achieve in this project”.
The exhibition “Images of Our Other Self” comprises photographs documents by the vendors of “shedia” street paper, while the video-installation “Occupy Resist Produce” consists of three films shot in occupied factories in Milan, Rome and Thessaloniki.
The exhibitions will run daily until March 26th, except Mondays. Opening times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:00 to 18:00, Friday: 10:00 to 22:00. The photographic works of the exhibition “Images of Our Other Self” are available for sale in the form of postcards and posters at the Contemporary Art Centre shop.
