Eva Giannakopoulou

EVENT

Saturday 13 May, 21:00

Ichthyolatry, 45’

Venue: MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts

Inspired by the theorist Astrida Neimanis’ book “Bodies of Water” (2017), which introduces for the first time the concept of Hydrofeminism, according to which water, femininities, embodied practices and ecology are interconnected creating “new” future synergies, ICHTHYOLATRY is a hybrid performance with confessional elements about elderly, floods, fluids and menopause. It is based on research conducted in communities linked to rivers, lakes, torrents and groups of women, during the course of research and creative residency programmes carried out in Greece, Portugal and Italy.

The visual artist-director and the creative community jointly developed the dramaturgy and texts through personal confessions and interviews with individuals from the local communities of Piraeus (PCAI), Torres Vedras, Portugal (Artemrede) and Mondaino, Italy (L’arboreto), in such a way that their content is an intellectual co-creation of all participants.

If water is the element from which all organisms originate, how could we possibly return to this original state of existence, removing the boundaries between evolution, genes, history, culture and nature? The answer to this question is what ICHTHYOLATRY attempts to answer, bridging the “gap” between past, present and future, between human and non-human forms of existence, jellyfishes and dogs.

The eccentric creatures of ICHTHYOLATRY – a warrior, a post-human creature, a female phenomenon and a fish – will inhabit the space to take a dive into a dreamy ocean of fluid possibilities. This is a performance that “dives” into an immersive universe of emotional and underwater coalitions.

Are you ready to swim?

ICHTHYOLATRY is a co-production of PCAI (Greece), Artemrede (Portugal – in collaboration with the Municipality of Torres Vedras) and L’Arboreto (Italy) in the framework of the European project Stronger Peripheries: a Southern Coalition, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

*The material of some costumes was created during a creative workshop with the audience attending the open rehearsal during the artist’s artistic residency at Teatro Dimora L’Arboreto (IT).

** The performance contains scenes of nudity and is recommended for those over 16 years old.

Direction and original concept: Eva Giannakopoulou

Performers: Zoe Antypa, Eva Giannakopoulou, Calliope Voulgaroudi (replacing original cast members: Marianita Karakosta, Eva Koliopantou, Maroula Papanastasi, Evgenia Vacalopoulou)

Texts: Eva Giannakopoulou

Lighting design: Nyssos Vasilopoulos

Sound design: Pedro Pascoal

Costumes design: Eva Giannakopoulou, Marianita Karakosta, Eva Koliopantou, Maroula Papanastasi and Evgenia Vacalopoulou

Costumes construction: Eva Giannakopoulou, Marianita Karakosta, Eva Koliopantou, Maroula Papanastasi, Evgenia Vacalopoulou

Μasks design and construction: Stefanos Chandelis

MAP

VENUE

Museum of Byzantine Culture

Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art

MOMus-Museum of Modern Art

MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography

MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts

MOMus-Museum Alex Mylona

Cultural Foundation of the National Bank

Islahane Cultural Venue – Hamidie former school of arts and crafts

Eptapyrgio

Yeni Jami

Glass Box “Sculptures’ Garden” (seefront area)

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

Thessaloniki Concert Hall

Pasha’s Gardens

MAIN EXHIBITION

BEING AS COMMUNION

The central exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennial of Contemporary Art aims to think critically about co-existence and collaborative practices as creative tools for handling the multiple crises that we face. Thinking through being as communion, 28 artists via their respective practices touch on various forms of more than human collaborations, with our spectral past and our challenging present, thinking of how we can co-exist with animate life around us, the land that we stand on, the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. Being as Communion will focus on inclusive practices that explore different forms of care, love and mutuality, whilst also proposing generous forms of support systems. Invited artists and artist collectives will explore the human impact on the eco-systems that we share, whilst suggesting forms of more equitable existence, for humanimal survival, probing to what extent we can learn new ways of being with, rather than dominating the world around us.

Ten key sites and museums of the city of Thessaloniki will host the exhibition’s works, in dialogue with the city’s layered history, allowing for a polyphonic reading of the exhibition in ten equal parts.

04.03 –
21.05.2023

MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Museum of Byzantine Culture, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Hamidie – Islahane Cultural Venue, Eptapyrgio, Yeni Jami, Thessaloniki French Institute, Glass Box “Scultures’ Garden” (seefront area), Thessaloniki Concert Hall (building M2)

Artists: Jumana Emil Abboud, Campus Νovel, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Thanasis Chondros & Alexandra Katsiani, COYOTE, Cevdet Erek, Baruchello Gianfranco, Phoebe Giannisi, Piero Gilardi, Akira Ikezoe, Vasso Katraki, Jumana Manna, Ahmed Morsi, Hira Nabi, Abraham Onoriode Oghobase, Yiannis Papadopoulos, Alexandra Paperno, Angelo Plessas, Iva Radivojević, Kostas Roussakis, Corinne Silva, Panos Sklavenitis, Sky Hopinka, Agnès Varda, Ana Vaz, Vessel (Navine G.Dossos and James Bridle), Paky Vlassopoulou, Bo Zheng

Curator: Maria-Thalia Carras

Assistant curators: Foteini Salvaridi & Manto Psarelli

Exhibition design: Evita Fanou

04.03 –
21.05.2023

Curator: Maria-Thalia Carras

Assistant curators: Foteini Salvaridi & Manto Psarelli

Exhibition design: Evita Fanou

EXHIBITIONS

PROJECTS

MAIN EXHIBITION

04.03 –
21.05.2023

DOWN TO EARTH

09.02 –
30.04.2023

An exhibition collectively put together by curators of MOMus

NATURE TRACERS

21.12.2022 –
21.05.2023

ΜΟΜus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection

MAIN EXHIBITION

04.03 –
21.05.2023

DOWN TO EARTH

09.02 –
30.04.2023

An exhibition collectively put together by curators of MOMus

MAIN EXHIBITION

04.03 –
21.05.2023

DOWN TO EARTH

09.02 –
30.04.2023

An exhibition collectively put together by curators of MOMus

NATURE TRACERS

21.12.2022 –
21.05.2023

ΜΟΜus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection

BIENNALE 8

GEOCULTURA

The exchange of ideas, values and norms, within a context of a multitude of cultural, geographical and political debates and conflicts, is at the core of the concept of 'geoculture' in the political and social sciences. This is the rationale behind the decision of the 8th edition of Thessaloniki's Biennale of Contemporary Art to turn its attention to the terms 'land' (“geo-”) and 'culture', connecting the cultivation of land with culture, understood as a set of resources, texts and practices which are available to people, helping them better understand and more effectively act in the world. It explores issues of memory, history, and managing both the natural and man-made environment, under the conditions of the climate, economic and refugee crises.

The participating artists focus on histories of places and people; they touch upon issues of identity, ethics, equity and sustainability; they suggest improvised ecological technologies; they explore the potential for collective existence and question the systems by which production, consumption and profitability are organized; they put into practice ideas of resource sharing and equitable living, as well as ways of reassessing the commodification of human and non-human life. Through their works, imagination becomes a crucial factor in facilitating the audience to imagine different versions of the future.

Firmly believing that art broadens our understanding of the world, the 8th Biennale seeks not only to raise environmental awareness, but also to multiply future possibilities, with new claims and visions. The 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art aspires to serve as a means of communication with the world, as an act of justice and freedom, of trust and progressive thinking.

The Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art is financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) is organised by MOMus and implemented by MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections.

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EVENT