Action Field Kodra 2011
Contemporary Art in Kalamaria
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| Sinioroglou Yiannis, to sons and daughters, installation, 210 X 300 cm, 2009, Κόδρα Fresh |
“Action Field Kodra”, even from its first steps, was already oriented towards new creators and experimental artistic activity. The eleven years of its action have been a key factor for the consolidation of contemporary art in Greece and has hosted the most important Greek artists, theorists and curators.
Since 2011, the project “Action Field Kodra” is funded under the Operational Programme Macedonia-Thrace 2007-2013 and is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund). That support has given the organization the opportunity to plan its activities over time and thus respond with greater readiness to the cultural request that difficult sociopolitical circumstances address to cultural politics.
Therefore, the program of “Action Field Kodra” is opening towards two directions: it takes under consideration that contemporary art is located in the very point of convergence of many different forms of expression. Visual creation does not only involve the traditional categories of painting or sculpting, but it includes theatre, music, dance and literature. Moreover, it incorporates actions that are not primarily forms of artistic expression, like actions of social activism, environmental intervention etc. “Action Field Kodra” organizes co-productions with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Dimitria, inaugurating a meaningful alliance policy and an introduction of contemporary art in other forms of expression to the general public.
Moreover, “Action Field Kodra”, considering that the theoretical and historical documentation of contemporary art constitutes a substantial deficit of public discourse, integrates to its planning theoretical conferences and exhibitions of historic documentation. Additionally, it creates a digital library of Greek or translated texts attempting to fill some of the many gaps of Greek bibliography in matters of contemporary art and theory.
“Action Field Kodra” operates on the basis of pluralism and cooperation. The many voices that make this year's exhibition program create through proximity, distances, intimacies, ruptures, explosions, silences a spontaneous, internal consistency. Pluralism and cooperation are the basic demands one can present to art. Its opening to the social realm.
“Action Field Kodra” is organized by the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Education, Athletics, Culture and Youth of the Municipality of Kalamaria. The main exhibition takes place at the premises of the old barracks Kodra in Kalamaria beach.
Kodra Program 2011
More specifically, “Action Field Kodra” is introducing in its 2011 program new artistic and research directions, trying to detect the field of contemporary art practice.
- It is organizing an annual international conference of theoretical reflection. In these unclear times, the reflection on the role of art and artistic subjects is a necessary condition of cultural practice. Curator of the conference for 2011 is Philosophy professor and chairman of the department of Political Science of the School of Law, Economics and Political Science of Aristotle Univeristy of Thessaloniki, Gerasimos Vokos. The conference theme is 'Αrt-Αesthetics-Politics' and will be held on 3 September 2011, in the municipal theater Melina Mercouri, in the Municipality of Kalamaria. In the seminar, presenting their suggestions will be the following theorists of art and academics: Anna Dezeuze, Augustine Zenakos, Oliver Marchart, Nikolas Sevastakis, Yannis Stavrakakis and Dimitris Tziovas, and it will be moderated by Kostis Stafylakis.
- It is developing partnerships in the inter-communal level with other cultural institutions of Thessaloniki. Partnerships between cultural institutions of Thessaloniki do not only express a policy proposal of the municipal authorities but are a social and cultural need. So, from 2011, “Action Field Kodra” is launching a functional and structural cooperation with the Dimitria, with co-artistic projects and joint actions.
- Also, it is spreading to public space of the city with projects and events that come outside limits of the main exhibition hall of the camp Kodra. This opening has a double character: first, to mark the common cultural front forehead between the municipalities of metropolitan Thessaloniki and, secondly, to emphasize the character of social cohesion that every cultural event must have, especially in the current context.
- It creates special topics around social issues. For 2011, "Action Field Kodra", in consultation with the Foreign Ministry and the Municipality of Thessaloniki will organize a series of events around the issue of trafficking. This section will include the Traffic Cinema and also a booth which will be set up during the exhibition on the sea front of Thessaloniki, which will include informative material on the issue of trafficking, as well as a photography exhibition.
- Finally, “Action Field Kodra”, believing that history is essential to understanding contemporary culture and a calling for immediate liquidity of the times, launches a series of exhibits of historical orientation. These exhibits will not have academic or museum character. They will attempt to investigate the formation conditions of modern Greek culture, often with an unexpected or playful way. For 2011, the exhibition curated by Theophilos Tramboulis will focus on groups and squattings of the 1980’s in Greece. These new directions of Action Field Kodra enrich and renew the main exhibition program of the event which this year has an elective character. The main program of the exhibition “Action Field Kodra” for 2011 includes the following exhibits:
1. Kodra fresh
: The annual exhibition of "Action Field Kodra" with works by students and recent graduates of the Art School in Greece. Curator of the exhibition is the art historian Nikos Mykoniatis.
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| Symeonidou Maria, Untitled, 2011, Installation, dimensions variable |
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| Nadia Kalara & Martin Alexander Carlé, "Antidoron", sculpture and audio installation, 200 x 100 x 75 cm, 2011 |
3. Force would vanish from the relations of men: An exhibition curated by Palestinian-American artist Edward Salem.
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| DeGuilio Dana, The Cry Collapses to Form, 2010, digital video |
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Kiriakos Tsiftsopoulos, Nothing to hide, 2011, installation, dimension variable |
5. The Performance Showreel: a series of video performances and actions in the city, many of which are presented for the first time in Greece, performed by Greek and foreign artists. It is curated by the artist and lecturer of the School of Visual and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia Angeliki Avgitidou.
6.
Soundcity
ΙΙ:
Evi
Baniotopoulou curates a 'dialogue' between two sound installations on
the experience of the city through the medium of sound: Resonance
Chamber
(2011), a result of a collaboration between diF (Konrad Bayer / Ish
Shehrawat) and artists from Thessaloniki following Sound Stories, the
audio / visual workshop delivered by Bayer at last year's Action
Field Kodra and Urban Portrait (2008) by the Thessalonian artist Dani
Joss.
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| Soundcity ΙΙ (Konrad Bayer and Ish Shehrawat) Resonance Chamber Sound Stories Workshop |
7. Binary Art Group: the known group of artists from Cyprus will present the social art movements «Urban hero» and «Reflections».
8. Kodra outdoors: exhibition of outdoor works at camp Kodra curated by art historian Nikos Mykoniatis.
9. International conference and exhibition about the relationship of artistic prints and photography curated by professor and chair of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Thessaloniki, Xenis Sachinis.
10. Engraving professor Xenis Sachinis is curating the exhibit Memory-Print-Recreation, along with other engravers, in the basement of the building of Government House.
11. The new institution: by mid 1980’s, and while in Greece starts to dominate a new, expanded middle class, a generation of artists, most of them still in school, decide to seek a new kind of reason and way of creation. With occupations in order to solve the problem of schools infrastructure, political commitment beyond political parties, forms in direct contact with the international environment. It is the time that sets the conditions for the birth of the field of contemporary art in Greece. This generation, which is in many cases pushing the limits of accepted social and political behavior 30 years later, has also set the conditions for the birth of the new institution. The exhibition records the actions of OKT, of team karatransvagkardia, the occupation of Photiniou, the imposing mansion of September 3d , the principle of the Ground Team of Dimitris Papaioannou, attempting to highlight the dynamics of the time.
12. Poster Exhibition of visual arts groups, that are currently active in Greece, in accordance with the international practice conference, either in the form of archival documentation, either as an independent work of art. These groups are as primary artistic as they are theoretically orientated or move to adjacent areas in the arts (i.e. performance, architecture). The exhibition will be curated by Maria Kenanidou and Theophilos Tramboulis.
13. Presentation of the sanatorio project of visual artists Maria Andromache Chatzinikolaou and Nikos Podias, an artistic design with the subject of wear held in the old sanitarium of doctor G. Karamanis in Hania Pelion, involving 20 artists.
14.Virtual Kodra: a project that explores the sense of space, place and time in a purely digital environment curated by Dimitris Michalaros and Babis Venetopoulos.
Dimitris Michalaros & Babis Benetopoulos, Virtual Kodra
(2011), cyber interactive installation, variable dimensions
15. In Between: a project by Panos Famelis at the sea area between Kalamaria and Thessaloniki, which will end up in a sculptural installation that will remain in the public space of Thessaloniki during the festival of Dimitria.
Parallel Program
Kodra Trafficking
“Action Field Kodra” in collaboration with NGOs Arsis and A21 presents two projects on the theme of trafficking in the public space of the municipalities of Kalamaria and Thessaloniki.
3-14/09
Two info kiosques situated at the waterfront of Thessaloniki will include information material as well as a photography exhibition by Chrysa Nikoleri, Natasa Papadopoulou and Foteini Papahatzi.
3,7,9/09
Public screenings on the theme of trafficking. Collaboration with THESS INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Kodra Sound
5/9 Baroque music & video art.
Concert with musical pieces of Vivaldi performed by Simos Papanas, violin, Nikolas Spanos, vocals and the band Memorandum Ensemble in collaboration with video artworks by Alexandros Mistriotis.
11/9 dissonArt ensemble & Rootlessroot
Live concert with the contemporary electronic music band dissonArt and parallel performance by the dance group Rootlessroot.
Action
Field Kodra, from this year on, is starting a cooperation with
Anatolia
College of Thessaloniki, under
internship programs of the College. At the same time, it is
collaborating with Pinewood-American
International School of Thessaloniki,
integrating students from the International Baccalaureate program to
the groups of volunteers of the festival.
Increased emphasis is given on supporting students of Greek universities for voluntary work in the fields of their research or during their dissertations.
Useful information:
Conference “Art- Aesthetic- Politics”, September 3th, 11:00am,
Municipal Theater Melina Merkouri, Kalamaria.
Official opening of the exhibitions: September 3th, 8:30pm,
Former Military camp Macedonomahou Kodra, Kalamaria.
PRESS PREVIEW: August 29th, 11:30-15:00, in situ
Duration: 3-14 September 2011
Tel: 2313 314 573
Website: http://www.actionfieldkodra.gr/
Email: actionfieldkodra@kalamaria.gr, actionfieldkodra.gr@gmail.com
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Municipality of Kalamaria Deputy Mayor’s Office for Education, Athletics, Culture & Youth. |
