Here at peri-Tēchnes we are pleased to announce the opening of the very first virtual exhibition curated by Tiffany M. Apostolou under the auspices of Hellenic American Project, Queens College CUNY.

The exhibition features works by nine women artists of the Greek diaspora and opened mid May. The artists selected offer a view of a wide artistic production spanning different points of life and career. In addition, on the occasion of honoring mothers in May, the works selected all work around a broader theme of motherhood. The exhibition aims to bring to mind all those who revealed the true meaning of “love” and “family,” who encouraged dreaming and goal-reaching, and who taught the value of letting your past inform your present.

The exhibition can be viewed at this link. The curator together with Professor Nicholas Alexiou, director of the Hellenic American Project, put together a digital publication to accompany the show that can be read here.

From the initial press release:
Life-Giving Art: 9 Women Artists of the Diaspora is an exhibition organized on the occasion of the month of May and the celebration of motherhood in all its forms. The exhibition also comes as a response to the special circumstances imposed by this year’s unique global health challenge.
This exhibition brings together nine women artists of the Hellenic diaspora, from all walks of life. The works exhibited reflect qualities and experiences from life as part of the diaspora as well as the experience of motherhood as a broader concept that includes all those women who supported dreams, visions, and goals, who encouraged reaching higher, who shaped connections with our roots, and who embodied the true meaning of “love” and “family.”

Each work comes in dialogue with the other and all collectively aim to elicit a sense of connectedness within the viewers. References to the past mingle with the present in playful yet evocative ways in the paintings of Nicole Economides and the sculptures of Morfy Gikas. Despo Magoni and Sophia Vari urge the viewers to reconnect with their creativity and reach for their dreams as their works intertwine vivid imagination with the scientific reality of daily life. The paintings of Despina Konstantinides and the multi-media textile works by Eozen Agopian challenge the traditional notions of landscape and time as different perspectives, colors, and materials are layered on a single surface serving, perhaps, as another metaphor for the layering in one’s personality that occurs with the passing of time and with experience. Aphrodite Navab calls the viewer to consider the notions of love and family as they transcend cultural boundaries and unite the world, while the works of Eleni Giannopoulou and Helen Daferera serve as connectors to memory be it as broad as one’s homeland, as small as one’s home, and as intimate as the confines of one’s family.

We hope this exhibition imbues you all with hope, and the nostalgic feeling of reminiscing those deep, honest, and soulful connections that make life meaningful, especially during times like these.

In the following weeks, more events are to be held where visitors will be able to meet with some of the artists, the director, and the curator. Visit again for new announcements!

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