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:
ï‚· To shape and envision the image of contemporary Greece in the United States beyond existing stereotypes
ï‚· To recalibrate the assumed center of Greek national narratives to include those who have often been denied historical recognition.
ï‚· To transform the way Greek histories are told and produce projects that reflect the vast, rich complexity of Greek culture.
ï‚· To support Greek inspired cultural practices by welcoming and nurturing new ideas and influential perspectives
ï‚· To commission, produce and present contemporary Greek and Cypriot culture that grapple with many of the pressing social and political issues of our time
ï‚· To foster Greek scholarship and cultural research within the American educational system
ï‚· To develop a transatlantic network for the exchange of culture and ideas
ï‚· 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.
THE ΤΕΛΟΣ SOCIETY speaks to Efi Spyrou, Founding Director of RUN ON ART
RUN ON ART was born in Athens to produce new relationships between us, through the revelation that an entire community of creatives exists within us, which can show us a different perspective, another facet to life, another way of being.
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RUN ON ART initiative is committed to empowering contemporary art, reactivating interdisciplinary synergies and bringing local art communities voices closer to international audiences, simply and directly.
Georgia Kotretsos: Short documentary series entered the educational realm in the 1980s along with the introduction of videocassette mobile recorders, such as camcorders by JVC (VHS) and SONY. The videophile generation rapidly grew – as video offered an affordable alternative to film. A plethora of series have been produced since then as technology advanced to digital media and became more accessible through various outlets. RUN ON ART operates within a tradition – by featuring specifically Greek Cypriot artists – who may have not been the subject of similar series before. What are the objectives of the initiative and where can one access the documentaries produced?
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Efi Spyrou: The light is close by…sometimes when I walk around Athens and the sun hides behind the buildings – and there are many grey, forgotten, abandoned buildings in the city – all it takes is a small shift for me to find again, in front of my eyes, the light, and to feel that I am here, that life is ahead and that everything is reversible. This small shift is what “RUN ON ART” aspires to bring forward. It will help us listen to the voices of people who can, through their life and work, relieve us from the barrage of tragic events which overwhelm us daily. Artists can give a different perspective to things and broaden our horizons, our way of thinking.
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With an exceptional creative team, we created the first video-spot interviews, which welcome ten Greek Cypriot artists. The camera of “RUN ON ART” attempts to record each artist’s personal history, in a simple, approachable manner, so that anyone-no age limit- can be inspired. Emma Louise Charalambous was responsible for photography, SHFilms Cyprus LTD performed filming and editing, Zeyn Mroueh created the music and Myrto Koromatzou undertook subtitling. Ι was responsible for directing. Through this project, Alexandros Yiorgatzis speaks of man’s internal light and strength, Anastasia Mina talks of covering and revealing the individual as well as of collective memory, Dimitris Ikonomou is interested in the transformation of everyday objects to valuable pieces of art, Eleni Panayidou is concerned with the games played by memory through the poetic nature of paper, Eleni Phyla conveys the hues of life and escape, Lefteris Tapas speaks of patience and finesse in life and art, Pashias in the social body through action, Marina Yerali works on the poetics of books, Marianna Konstanti is interested in the underground humor that we find in everyday things, and Christos Michaelides is concerned with light through persistence. Our first production premiere screening was @Cyprus Short Film Day, at The Mayfair Hotel last year and more screenings in short film festivals will follow. This month we will be hosted in CYPRUS@60 online festival so everyone can have access to our short films.
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GK: RUN ON ART is telling on the creative process – the life in the studio of ten visual artists. What are some of the lessons this exercise is bringing to light about the selected artists’ creative journeys that otherwise would have been kept in the dark?
ES: Artists, quietly and often working from the sidelines, struggle every day in order to reveal the dimension of another time and another place than the ones we follow. Hectic rhythms are replaced by a personal moment, where thoughts produce experience. A landfill of information and credit and debit transactions is replaced by a place filled with imagination, freedom, creation, poetry.
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GK: What is the next stage of RUN ON ART? How has this project been supported and received thus far?
EF: We are running two exciting projects for next year. A special publication called “COOKING LOVE IN CORONA ERA” in collaboration with more than 30 artists, designers, and art lovers. More on this to come soon…
We are also working with 5 Greek women performers for a secret film project that will come into light also soon with major sponsor the Ministry of Culture, Greece and co-organizer MOMus_museums.
