International month of photography in Athens October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Events Greece, Arts Exhibitions Greece.comments closed
The 13th International Month of Photography in Athens is celebrating its 20th birthday, bringing to the galleries, museums, foundations, cultural centres and foreign institutes of Athens forty-seven solo and group exhibitions. The photographers are Greek and foreign, of different generations and backgrounds, and present to the city photographs wildly diverging in their approaches.
Every year the International Month of Photography in Athens creates a programme that runs around various drifts: a thematic approach that is usually divided into sub-themes within which the main core of the year’s exhibitions fit; a retrospective of an established Greek photographer if not more; a series of carte-blanche exhibitions; group exhibitions of young photographers just out of school, one of which is the “Young Greek Photographers” which has been running since 1987 as well as other group exhibitions. Last but not least, the Month of Photography is accompanied by parallel events such as meetings, discussions, seminars, workshops, etc.
This year’s Month of Photography is about people, about those who photograph and about those who are photographed, and how they are “immortalised” on the photographic print. Part of it is a study on this familiar and easily recognisable landscape called the face, which is however so hard to define. A study approached through the deconstruction of the “portrait” in order to recompose it, by magnifying in order to decipher shapes.
The main themes “On Faces” is divided into three sub-themes, or rather approaches:
1. The photographer’s ethics: How does the photographer see the social events he/she depicts? Photography, which began as an objective depiction of reality, has had to deal with the falling apart of this myth of objectivity and of the accepted truth, something that has brought about serious questions as to how photographers position themselves ethically before what they see, and as to their use of photography itself.
2. Allegory in photography: By this we mean to show photographic work that is staged, that is carefully composed and where the place of things has been purposefully chosen. In this manner symbols and faces, light and shadows, objects which seem to belong elsewhere somehow begin to talk about a new reality as seen by the artist. A reality that is struggling to be taken as such, a thought that is on the lookout for new companions.
3. Ambiguity in the photographic portrait: Traditional depictions of faces have been replaced by new approaches, approaches that give us an end result somewhat distant from the familiar human form. “Ambiguity” travels between what is and what appears to be, just like we human beings travel between the visible and the invisible.
Bill against antiquities smuggling October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Archaeology Greece.comments closed
A draft bill designed to enhance protection of Greece’ ancient treasures and make it easier to arrest antiquities smugglers is expected to be ready within six months, Culture Minister George Voulgarakis revealed on Tuesday, the Athens News Agency reports.
He also announced that a meeting later the same day between culture ministry officials and representatives of the Getty Museum to begin the second round of talks for the return of two ancient Greek artifacts that Greece believes were smuggled out of the country illegally.
In the meantime, the culture ministry was continuing contacts with the Italian culture ministry to exchange information and tactics regarding ways to combat antiquities smugglers.
Culinary Sanctuaries in Crete October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Food Greece, Greek Food Culture, Shows & Conferences.comments closed
Within the Thematic Panels at the 3rd Annual Summit, Destinations2006, a presentation of an agrotourism cooking school developed at Crete, in Greece, is going to be one of the features among the array of worldwide concrete cases of good practices on sustainable tourism.
Not only the activity, named Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries (CCS), has created work profit to the local people, but also it has overcome the island problem of water shortage, since its agricultural techniques is based on a water-conserving system.
The presentation of this case will take place on the next 30th November during the morning, at building number 41(classroom 2) , at Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), at the Brazilian southern city of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul.
“Intimate cultural immersion experiences” that is how Nikki Rose, a Greek-American chef and one of the founders of the CCS, defines its programs of cooking seminars. A decade ago, Nikki and Kostas Bouyouris, an agronomist and co-founder of the Mediterranean Association for Soil Health (“MedASH”) started to work with an unusual cooking school where the lessons are taught at the island residents’ kitchens and at other sites such as vegetable plots.
Their project consists in a networking of small-scale farmers, cookers, agronomists, botanists, ecolodge owners, adventure sports specialists, archaeologists and other professionals from Crete’s local communities. This group works altogether to promote a sustainable tourism activity in the island while, simultaneously, spreading the local cultural heritage of organic farming linked with the Mediterranean cuisine through the seminars.
Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries runs eight programs that vary according to the seasons. In the springtime, there’s lamb on the spit, snails and horta (wild green). Summer is for beekeeping and winemaking. During the winter, olive oil becomes the island main production.
Firstly, the students are shown how the food is grown and produced. Then, it’s time to learn how to prepare it. In effect, local chefs teach them how to eat the way they do: letting the true flavors shine on their own without much flash. As Nikki explains “there’s nothing like fresh mizithra cheese and olive oil straight from the spigot on a crunchy piece of homemade dakos bread with a sprinkling of wild oregano.”
The programs cover the whole picture of Crete: culture, natural beauty, food and gardening. Classes are taught by local experts who have a proven track record in culinary-cultural preservation projects and sustainable tourism action programs. Among the students, they have all sorts of people, but there are specific courses to chefs and health professionals, such as doctors.
For more information > http://www.cookingincrete.com/
For more information on e 3rd Annual Summit, Destinations2006 visit > http://www.desti-nations.net/
Sydney University Greek Society’s 50th anniversary October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Oceania.comments closed
Sydney University Greek Society celebrates 50th anniversary
A big event was held at Sydney University Mc Laurin Hall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sydney University Greek Society in the presence of some of the founders, headed by the first president and present professor, Manolis Aronis, who laid the foundations for the setting up of the Society. Most moving moments was the cutting of the anniversary cake by both the present president, Grigoris Detsikas and Manolis Aronis, the past and the present together looking forward to the future.
In his speech the President of the Society, Grigoris Detsikas underlined the significant and multi-dimensional contribution, social, cultural, economic and certainly political of the Sydney University Greek Society for the promotion of Hellenism in the broader area of the university.
Sydney University vice-dean, Gavin Brown congratulated the society for its contribution and stressed that its role from now on is to secure that Ancient and Modern Greek Studies take the significant place they should have in modern Australia.
Ruling party deputy, Bronwin Bishop, representing John Howard government spoke highly of the Greek community in Australia who embodied in the Australian community and adopted Australian values, being an excellent example for the other immigrant communities. To confirm her claim, she referred to omogeneia members who with their activities have excelled in Australia.
The President of New South Wales Hellenic Orthodox Community, Haris Danalis in his address stressed that today’s students should follow the example of the oldest generation students and lead the struggle for multiculturalism, social justice and assistance to new immigrants in the country.
Many speakers took the stand with last speaker the Director of the Modern Greek Studies department, Brasidas Karalis who referred to the history of the department from 1974 and on, headed by Dr. Alfred Vincent and professor Michalis Jeffrey became the most significant center of Greek studies in New South Wales and played a most significant role in the preservation and spreading of the Greek language and culture in Australia.
Greek Film Festival continues with great success October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Oceania, Movies Life.comments closed
Greek Film Festival continues with great success in Australia
An article entitled “States of Origin” in the newspaper “The Australian” refers to the 14th Greek Film Festival in Sydney, underlining that this cultural event was well receive by the Greek-Australian community.
The article includes statements of the New South Wales Hellenic Community President, Haris Danalis who underlined that 70% of viewers have close bonds with Greece and most of them watch the movies of nostalgia.
Eleni Goritsa, the Festival coordinator, referring to the opening film “Sirens in the Aegean”, comedy directed by Nikos Perakis, said that Greek humour is very caustic and tart because of the richness of the language. For example there are five words for love, all five with different meanings.
“The Sirens in the Aegean” is a comedy, screened on the island of Kos, and satirizes the tension in Greek-Turkish relations. Certainly the language is very naughty as the plot centers on the loose tongued soldiers of a Greek Army post, also involving the passengers of a Turkish boat with beautiful women, a television crew and illegal immigrants.
Mr. Danalis, 53, who lives in Australia, said that some women were shocked by the naughty language but asked whether the new generation of Greek women in Greece would be annoyed he said “absolutely no” because they are exposed to these hearings used by their children.
Greek Film Festival in Adelaide October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Oceania, Movies Life.comments closed
The 5th annual Greek Film Festival in Adelaide opened on Friday.
For the first time this year, it is included in the “Odyssia Festival”, organized by South Australia Hellenic Orthodox Community in cooperation with the Palace Nova Cinema.
The opening ceremony was held at the Palace Nova East End Cinema by South Australia Culture Undersecretary, John Hill. In his speech he stressed that he was highly moved to be among his Greek friends to celebrate this big event.
“The Sirens in the Aegean” was the film which also opened the Adelaide Festival. A reception followed attended by many official guests and fans of the festival, while tenor Tasos Bougetsis impressed with his performance.
Saturday’s program includes the movies “Modern Cinderella”, “Black Bee” and “The heart of a beast” and Sunday’s “The Amvrakikos Dolphins”, “Loufa kai parallagi” and “The blinking light”.
Inauguration of Greek high rise buildings in Australia October 4, 2006
Posted by grhomeboy in Greek Diaspora, Hellenic Light Oceania.comments closed
Inauguration of Greek high rise buildings in Golden Coast, Australia
Australian Queensland State Premier, Peter Beattie, inaugurated the first high rise building of a huge building complex in the Golden Coast, constructed by Peter Raptis, Honorary Greek Ambassador.
In the presence of 400 guests, the Premier of Queensland thanked Peter Raptis, who came to Australia when he was a child, and has offered so much to Australia.
This high rise building is the first of three buildings, with 40 floors each, of the Southport complex. When completed the complex will have 700 luxurious apartments, 350 offices and 75 shops while its total cost is estimated to about 700 million Australian dollars. The Southport complex is one of the many impressive buildings in the Golden Coast, the most tourist region in the country, constructed by Peter Raptis.
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