THE ΤΕΛΟΣ SOCIETY speaks to Sozita Goudouna, Founding Director of Greece In USA
Greece in USA is a non-profit organization with a global reach that promotes knowledge of contemporary and ancient Greek Culture while fostering international cultural cooperation, experimentation and social engagement. The organization's extensive programming includes commissioned artists' and curators' projects, residencies, educational and ecological initiatives and the commitment to cultivating a sensible culture of innovation and thought leadership.
We are dedicated to offering innovative and unique programs in education and the arts, all exploring the evolving diversity and richness of Greek and Cypriot cultures. The non- profit organization seeks to generate new thinking about the arts and promote cross- cultural dialogue through partnerships and new platforms of creation.
The organization promotes international exchange of practice and knowledge in the arts - visual and sound art, dance, architecture, theatre - research on the methods used in curatorial and performing practices and investigation of points of intersection between the arts, science and the public sphere by means of interventions, collective actions, educational programs and publications.
Greece in USA aims to collaborate and build long-lasting partnerships with leading institutions and individuals who actively engage with Greece and its culture and to convey a comprehensive and distinctive representation of Greece and Cyprus by producing cultural and educational programs that encourage intercultural dialogue and enable cultural involvement.
Our principal goals are:
To shape and envision the image of contemporary Greece in the United States beyond existing stereotypes
To recalibrate the assumed center of Greek national narratives to include those who have often been denied historical recognition.
To transform the way Greek histories are told and produce projects that reflect the vast, rich complexity of Greek culture.
To support Greek inspired cultural practices by welcoming and nurturing new ideas and influential perspectives
To commission, produce and present contemporary Greek and Cypriot culture that grapple with many of the pressing social and political issues of our time
To foster Greek scholarship and cultural research within the American educational system
To develop a transatlantic network for the exchange of culture and ideas
To strengthen the development of structures in cultural policy & leadership, and foster worldwide mobility.
Greece in USA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered in the State of New York, tax-exempt ID no. 85-0828531. Contributions to Greece in USA are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Greece in USA's launch is under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture.
Arts & Culture Research Lab Observatorium
THE ΤΕΛΟΣ SOCIETY speaks to Caroline May, Founder of KAKTOS Project
Georgia Kotretsos: What differentiates Kaktos Project from any other recently debuted initiative in Athens is its focus on urban landscapes. May you please discuss actions, projects and initiatives Kaktos Project has taken towards tackling this very rich terrain?
Caroline May: What makes Kaktos Project distinct from other art initiatives is that we place emphasis on the relation between art and society. The space is currently located in in Victoria Square, at the centre of Athens, one of the most multicultural areas and amongst one of the most contested neighborhoods. However, regardless of where the space is based, the idea is to open up a discussion of these issues and Athens today.
We initiated our program in February 2020 with a solo exhibition of American artist Michael Ashkin (b.1955), Chair of the Department of Art at Cornell University, NY, and whose work has been included amongst others in Documenta11 and the Whitney Biennial. In Athens, we exhibited an installation of 400 photographs, and although all were shot in California, they made perfect sense in the changing landscape of Athens, the financial, political and immigration crisis, as well as the area in which the space is located. The title of the show ‘were it not for’ took its title from one of Ashkin’s poems which we exhibited along with the photographs. The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue with a text by the late Bernard Yenelouis, and funded by MACART, Athens.
Workshops with the local school was unfortunately halted due to COVID19 as well as all the activities planned for fall 2020. We plan to realise some of them in a different format.
GK: Speaking to you about Kaktos Project what spoke to my heart was your genuine interest in showcasing an authentic, less polished-take of our lives, practices and landscapes today - as they’ve been affected and marked by the recession of the last decade without lamenting over the past. In addition another crisis has approached, packing on the layers – what may be your greater concerns at this stage about KAKTOS and the local art scene at large?
CM: Funding is a major concern, both for Kaktos and the Greek art scene in general. How to engage with local communities is another big concern, especially in these testing times when other issues (health and safety, unemployment, job losses due to COVID) are becoming more urgent.
GK: Kaktos Project is an experimental platform, one that advocates for dialogue and collaboration. Most of the featured organizations and spaces in the Educational Heurism series on TTS advocate for the very same ideas. How is KAKTOS PROJECT planning to build bridges between organizations, artists and audiences in Greece and abroad?
CM: Kaktos Project participated in Platforms Project 2020, a Greek initiative for nonprofits, which encourages sales and collaborations. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with other like-minded spaces both in Athens and abroad. We are currently working on a collaborative project between non-profits in Athens and Denmark.
For our exhibition program this year, Kaktos had invited both local artists and from abroad, to do research and/or residency, work with the local community, all of which would culminate in an exhibition or performance; due to the pandemic, these have to take a different shape and we are looking into how we can adapt and expand our activities offsite and online.
Kaktos Project is an independent, not-for-profit, artist-run space founded by artist Caroline May in 2020 with the aim to alert the changing urban landscape of Athens and the forces of gentrification and empower community.