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An exhibition curated by Galini Notti at Radio Athènes in collaboration with ACG Art Collection and  Deree – The American College of Greece

When: January 29-March 12, 2023

Opening: Sunday, January 29 | 12:00-16:00
Operating hours: Wednesday, 16:00-20:00 | Saturday, 12:00-16:00, and by appointment

Where: Radio Athènes, Petraki 15, Plaka, Athens, 105 63

Organised by: The Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts in collaboration with Radio Athènes

Supported by: Art History, Graphic Design, and Visual Arts Programs

 

About the event

The Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts at Deree – The American College of Greece in collaboration with Radio Athènes presents the exhibition Nikos Velmos (1890-1930) Drawings curated by Galini Notti at Radio Athènes, in Plaka, Athens. The exhibition presents a selection of Nikos Velmos’s drawings from The American College of Greece Art Collection, which includes 438 drawings donated by the collector Takis Efstathiou. It is the first time that part of Velmos’s drawings is being exhibited 93 years after his death.

About the artist

Nikos Velmos (1890-1930, Athens, Greece), pseudonym of Nikos Voyatzakis, was a self-taught artist with a diverse, critical and socially engaged approach to the arts and politics. He was involved in theater, literature and painting. In 1926 he started publishing the journal Frangelio (The Scourge) in which he criticized the hypocrisy and the establishment of his epoch but also included literary writings of his own along with these of other noteworthy poets and writers. Apart from the main magazine, in 1927 Velmos published a supplement called Filla Technis (Art Papers) of Frangelio. These were monographs on Greek and international artists such as El Greco, Beethoven, Yiannoulis Chalepas or thematic issues as for instance οn self-taught artists. The publication of Frangelio lasted until 1929.

In 1928 Velmos opened an art space on the ground floor of his house, at 21 Nikodimou street in Plaka, which he named Asylon Technis (Art Shelter). In Asylon Technis Velmos organized exhibitions of established artists such as Yiannoulis Chalepas and Dimitris Galanis, educational exhibitions as the one on El Greco with print reproductions and copies by renowned Greek artists, as well as exhibitions of self-taught artists like himself. Yiannis Tsarouchis first exhibited in Asylon Technis. The exhibitions of self-taught artists aimed not only at the recognition of important yet overlooked artists but also opposed the academicism of his era. Asylon Technis and Frangelio were particularly important for the art life of Athens at the time. In addition to the exhibitions in Asylon Technis conversations on artistic and sociopolitical issues were being organized. It became a hub for the most prominent art personalities of this period, such as Stratis Doukas, Fotis Kontoglou, Spyros Papaloukas, Aghinor Asteriadis, Giulio Caimi, and Dimitris Pikionis – the avant-garde of that time which paved the way for the forthcoming generation of the 1930s.

Regarding the painting of Nikos Velmos, many of his drawings are illustrations for Frangelio. He painted the persons close to him, his friends – many of them were his contemporaries – everyday people, the poor and the outcasts whose hardship he could feel. He also painted landscapes, trees, animals, decorative patterns, set designs, theatrical scenes, saints.

The drawings of Nikos Velmos depict their epoch, Greece after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, but they are both historical and contemporary. They express his deep connection with people and life, his subversive ideas and point of view on art. He approached art, politics and life as a whole. He didn’t distinguish between the arts. Art and life were interrelated for him. He wrote, “Art comes from the experience of life”* in a text about the actor, theater director and his teacher Thomas Economou. He relied on self-organization and his friends, he was hands-on, and he created a framework and a network for the recognition of people and works he considered noteworthy but marginal. He didn’t seek to gain renown through his actions but was interested in defending his ideas against all forms of power and standing by the side of the poor and weak. All his life, action and art were a battle fought with different means, for a fairer world.

The current exhibition comprises many persons and places, taverns, graveyards, the house of Rodakis in Aegina, Panormos in Tinos where he went to meet Chalepas, Athens, Mount Athos. It approaches the work of Nikos Velmos as contemporary work. It is presented at Radio Athènes in Plaka, near Nikodimou street, where Asylon Technis used to be, and is being held thanks to the support and trust of the Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts at Deree – The American College of Greece and Radio Athènes.

* Nikos Velmos, “Thomas Economou”, magazine Frangelio, n^o 14, 19 March 1927, p. 3. Reprinted at the magazine Farfoulas, issues 19-20-21, November 2016, p. 55.

 

About the curator

Galini Notti (b. 1980) is a curator who lives and works in Athens, Greece. In 2020, she curated the show Statues that don’t move, don’t speak, don’t laugh in three public squares in Athens. She has also curated one of the “Top Tens” for the project Shadow Libraries: UbuWeb in Athens at Onassis Cultural Centre, the exhibition Survey in the context of Art-Athina 2017, co-curated the show (Im)material Gestures as part of the project PIIGS_An Alternative Geography of Curating at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, curated the exhibition Overseas at The American College of Greece in Athens and the show Fireworks out of Season – Riviera at the Riviera open-air cinema in the Exarcheia neighborhood of Athens.

About the ACG Art Collection

The American College of Greece Art Collection (ACG Art Collection), is an organic part of the educational mission of the College and is the result of diligent support of emerging and established artists – the majority of them of Greek origin – and of donations and bequests. It is an extensive collection of fine and decorative arts which numbers approximately 4,500 artworks of various media and objects from Antiquity to the present. The majority of the works of the collection are on permanent display in the interior and exterior spaces of the college premises. During the annual exhibition, which is held as part of the annual Arts Festival at the ACG Art Gallery, invited artists and curators are encouraged to explore and make use of the collection. The collection is accessible to academic researchers, students, art professionals and the general public, and serves as an educational and research platform.

About Radio Athènes

Radio Athènes, Institute for the Advancement of Contemporary Visual Culture, is a book project, a showroom, an exhibition space and a curatorial practice. Flexible, independent, nomadic, interdisciplinary, Radio Athènes works together with emerging, established and under-recognized artists from around the world to present exhibitions, lectures, screenings and readings in the fields  of contemporary art, literature, philosophy, dance and the applied arts. It is dedicated to new ideas, and experiments with formats that challenge our perception of art. Recent projects include the archiving and contextualization of the work of Bia Davou and Pantelis Xagoraris, Greek artists working in the 1970s, largely unknown outside our geographic coordinates; the creation of www.radioathenes.tv , a site serving up a collective experience to dispersed viewers in collaboration with designer David Reinfurt; and Always Starts with an Encounter: Wols—Eileen Quinlan (co-published with Sequence Press), a book reflecting on two artists from different centuries that have been exploring the material boundaries of the photographic process. Radio Athènes was founded by Helena Papadopoulos in 2015.

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Special thanks to Aristide Antonas and ASFA for lending us one of the display cases from the Vitrines Project (2017) especially designed for Documenta 14; Socratis Loupas for sharing his knowledge on Nikos Velmos; Diamantis Karavolas; Takis Efstathiou; Dr. Katerina Thomas; Effie Halivopoulou; Ioanna Papapavlou; Niki Kladakis; and Dessy Griva.

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photo credit: Nikos Velmos, Pencil with Objects, ca. 1927, Graphite on paper, 9.9 x 14 cm, Courtesy of The American College of Greece Art Collection, Gift of Takis Efstathiou

Join the Cause and Donate!

All donations are going to “ELPIDA Association of Friends of Children with cancer”.

When: Monday, January 30 – Friday, February 3, 2023 | 10:30 – 19:00
Where: Main Corridor

Organized by: Deree Student Association

 

About the event

The aim of the World Cancer Day is to raise awareness and educate and encourage people about early detection, prevention, and treatment. Be part of making someone else’s life a little bit better.

When: Saturday, February 4, 2023 | 18:30

Where: Pierce Theater, The American College of Greece

Organized by: The Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts of The American College of Greece

 

About the event

A concert celebrating the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest musical genius of all times. Mozart’s iconic works will be brought to life in a memorable evening, performed with all the joy and exuberance of talented young musicians.

The Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra-ASON under the direction of Pavlos Sergiou with piano soloist Lydia Iatraki (P’13, D’19) will perform Mozart’s works

• The Marriage of Figaro Overture
• Piano Concerto No. 20, in D minor, K. 466
• Great Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

 

Dr. Tatiana Papageorgiou, renowned pianist and Deree professor, will introduce the concert, sharing insights about the great master and the music that will be performed.

Young musicians and music lovers are invited to communicate with Dr. Tatiana Papageorgiou, pianist, Deree professor ([email protected]) in order to participate as performers or listeners in the upcoming masterclasses that will take place at The American College of Greece, during the 2023 spring semester.

The event is open to the public, free admission. Parking will be available.

 

Bios

Lydia Iatraki
piano soloist

Lydia Iatraki is a young pianist, graduate of Pierce – The American College of Greece (P’13) and Deree – The American College of Greece (D’19).  Lydia earned her BA in Piano Performance from the Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts-Music Department, along with distinctions including the Outstanding Graduating Student Award in Music Performance and the Parallel Studies Award being also a student of Musicology at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens.  Following competitive entrance auditions, Lydia pursued graduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, from where she earned her Master’s degree in piano performance in 2022.  She studied piano with Dr Tatiana Papageorgiou at Deree – The American College of Greece and at Kodály Conservatoire, from where she earned the national Piano Soloist Diploma with the grade ‘Excellent unanimously and First Prize’.  While in Glasgow, she studied in the class of eminent pianist Aaron Shorr.  She has also attended piano masterclasses in Athens with Daniel Blumenthal and Dimitris Toufexis, as well as at the International Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg in the classes of Dina Yoffe, Yafei Chuang and Frank Wibaut.  Lydia has been recipient of important music awards and scholarships including those from the UNESCO Panhellenic Music Competition, the Attica Tradition Foundation, the International Propeller Club and the Royal Conservatoire Scotland School of Music. 

 

Pavlos Sergiou
chief conductor

Musical director, chief conductor and founding member of the Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra (ASON). Pavlos Sergiou studied piano and harmony with the eminent composer Konstantinos Kydoniatis, advanced music theory, counterpoint, fugue and composition with Yannis Ioannidis, and choral music with Panagiotis Skoufis. Later, as a Greek State scholar (IKY) , he studied orchestral conducting in Cologne, Germany, in the class of Volker Wangenheim, graduating in 1988.

Maestro Sergiou has conducted a large number of first performances of works commissioned for the “New Music Theater” class of the famous composer Mauricio Kagel in Cologne. Until 1993, Mr Sergiou held the post of Musical Director at the regional Saxony-Anhalt Theater, conducting numerous performances of operas, operettas, and symphonic music. While working in Germany, he also conducted concerts and opera performances in Corfu.  Upon his return to Greece in 1995, he has maintained his conducting career along with his pedagogical work. He has conducted the Athens State Orchestra (KOA), the orchestras of the Greek National Radio (ERT), the Orchestra of Colors, the Orchestra of Patras, the Athens City Symphony Orchestra, and the Greek Opera (ΕΛΣ).  In addition to his innovative work with the Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra, he has been a founding member of the Athens Chamber Orchestra, having conducted all its concerts and recordings. Since 2000, he has been the Musical Director of the Athens Orfeio Conservatoire. In the same year he was elected at the Music Department of the Philosophical School of the Athens Kapodistrian University, where he continues teaching today holding the rank of Professor.

  

Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra

For the third decade, the Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra – ASON (Αθηναϊκή Συμφωνική Ορχήστρα Νέων – ΑΣΟΝ) trains the young and new musicians and introduces them to the great symphonic repertoire.  A great number of musicians among the members of professional Greek orchestras today “learned the job” behind the ASON music stands.  Permanent conductor Pavlos Sergiou seeks systematically the presence of ASON not only in Athens but also throughout the Greek region.  In its short history, ASON can be proud of the large number of early performances of works often written in not easy idioms; for giving over two hundred fifty (250) concerts throughout the country; for its partnership with some of the most prominent Greek soloists; for providing systematic “forum” to young Greek and foreign conductors and soloists, and for its pedagogic work through concerts (of both: the whole Orchestra and various chamber music groups) in schools.

It should be noted that the most enthusiastic founding member of ASON was Mrs. Nancy Bargerstock, distinguished violinist and professor at that time at Deree – The American College of Greece.

 

Tatiana Papageorgiou
concert pianist and Deree-ACG professor

Dr. Tatiana Papageorgiou is a concert pianist with diverse professional activity as performer, arranger, teacher and musicologist. She has been teaching music theory, piano, twentieth-century music and appreciation courses in film music and Greek music at Deree-The American College of Greece, since 1999.  A graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London, she pursued advanced studies in piano and theory, as a scholar of the British Council, the Greek State Scholarships Foundation and the Royal College of Music.  Her teachers have included the legendary pianists Lev Vlassenko and Yonty Solomon.  Her concert appearances have taken her around the world, including Europe, Australia, North and South America, Africa and China and she has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, the Moscow New Opera, the Beijing Symphony, the Warsaw National Opera Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic of Central Germany and the Athens State Symphony.  Her groundbreaking doctoral research into the symphonic music of Mikis Theodorakis has resulted in the unearthing of unpublished works, in music editorial work, various arrangements, transcriptions and orchestrations of his works, as well as world first performances and a complete recording of his piano and symphonic music in close collaboration with the composer.  Her recent piano arrangements of Theodorakis’ songs, ballets and film scores have been published by Schott International in 2011 and have been praised by the international press.  Her recent projects include performances of Chopin’s music at Herod Atticus Theater, the Athens Megaron Concert Hall and a tour around Greece.

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For any inquiries please contact College Events-Office of Public Affairs, [email protected]