Greece featured country on Cultural days of the European Central Bank October 25, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Arts, Culture, European Union, Greece, Hellenic Light, Mikis Theodorakis
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Greece is the country featured on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Cultural Days of the European Central Bank (ECB), opened today and held until 13 November 2007.
The event is organised in co-operation with the Bank of Greece under the patronage of Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, and Nicholas C. Garganas, Governor of the Bank of Greece.
The programme brings a synthesis of Greece’s antique and contemporary culture to the City of Frankfurt, and includes concerts, dance performances, theatre, films, readings, photography exhibition and special events aimed at children. Some highlights from the programme include >
- Grand opening concert “Axion Esti”, oratorio by Mikis Theodorakis, Orchestra of Contemporary Music of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation and Choir, narrated by Christian Nickel.
- Musical theatre by Stamatis Kraounakis and the musical theatre group Speira Speira with Kostas Makedonas.
- Ancient Greek drama “Prometheus Bound” performed by the National Theatre of Greece.
- Closing concert performed by the Orchestra of Colours and Maria Farantouri.
The aim of the Cultural Days of the ECB is to give the residents of Frankfurt, the Rhine-Main region and international guests the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the cultural traditions of countries of the European Union, reflecting the cultural diversity at the European Central Bank.
The complete programme is available on the ECB’s website > www.ecb.europa.eu/culturaldays
A week of Greek cinema in Sofia, Bulgaria October 18, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Europe, Movies Life, Movies Life Greek.Tags: Greece, Greek Cinema, Greek Films, Movies
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Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria organises a week of Greek cinema from October 22 to 26 2007.
Eight, specially selected films of famous Greek directors, will be screened during the week in the Sofia’s Dom na Kinoto. The entrance will be free.
The initiative aims at bringing together Bulgarian and Greek nations by showing the magic of Greek cinema, which is not very popular in Bulgaria. Never on Sunday, A Touch of Spice, Sweet Bunch, In Good Company, The Suspended Step of the Stork, The Cherry Orchard, Fading Light and To the Inn are the films to be screened. The event will be held under the aegis of Bulgarian Culture Minister Stefan Danailov.
Organisers plan to turn the Greek cinema week into an annual event. The organiser, Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria, is a private, non-profit NGO which provides its members with a network of contacts and assists in information exchange.
Benaki Museum artworks travel to Lisbon October 12, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Museums, Hellenic Light Americas, Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Arts, Athens, Exhibitions, Greece, Museums
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Rare artefacts from the Benaki Museum collection will be on display at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon through to 6 January 2008.
“The Greeks: Art Treasures from the Benaki Museum, Athens” features 157 items that highlight Hellenism’s continuation throughout eight millenia, from the Prehistoric and Hellenistic times to the Roman and Byzantine years. The same exhibition, with a few variations, will travel to Canada in 2008 and Chile in 2009.
In exchange for the Benaki works, the Gulbenkian Museum will send Islamic art masterpieces to Athens in 2009. Within the framework of the two Museums’ collaboration, Greek icons from the prestigious Velimezis Collection travelled to Portugal in 1999, while the Gulbenkian was represented in 2002 at the Benaki’s international show Glass of the Sultans.
An Greek artist’s fascination with an ancient myth on display in Paris October 10, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Exhibitions Greece, Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Arts, Culture, Exhibitions, Greece, Greek Mythology, Hellenic Light
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‘Gaia’ > a work by Vana Xenou, is on display at the Paris Palais Royal.
The myth of Demeter and Persephone and the Eleusinian Mysteries has been an ongoing subject of interest and research for artist Vana Xenou. For more than a decade, the painter has delved into the symbolism of the myth and has used it as a source of inspiration for some of her strongest and most ambitious artistic projects.
“Arrivee-Passage”, a sprawling installation that opens on October 18 at the gardens of the Palais Royal in Paris, is Xenou’s latest venture, a project that expresses her fascination with the ancient Greek myth. Running to December 25, the exhibition, held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture and curated by Solange Auzias de Turenne, an organizer of large, international exhibitions, includes 10 monumental installations of a total of 45 large sculptures.
As with other of her projects, Xenou’s Paris project employs a historical site for the display of her work. She brings references to antiquity into a building of French 17th and 18th century architecture, thus initiating a dialogue between two different cultures and historical periods.
Xenou’s work suggests that the myth of Demeter, like other Greek myths and archetypes, transcends time and cultural differences and harbors deep symbolisms that are still relevant.Another installation by the artist on the myth of Demeter was held in Paris seven years ago, at the Saint Louis Church of the Salpetriere Hospital. In 2004 and within the context of the Aeschylean festival, an exhibition with the same title as the Paris project was held at a venue of industrial architecture in Elefsina, the birthplace of the famed Eleusinian Mysteries of antiquity.
Vana Xenou has also produced impressive artist’s books with the themes of Demeter and Persephone. Drawings as well as a number of her one-of-a-kind artist’s books will be presented in the exhibition halls of the French Ministry of Culture, which is housed at the Palais Royal. The French Ministry is one of the exhibition’s organizers.
Jardin Du Palais Royal, Place du Palais Royal, Paris. Métro: Palais Royal Musée du Louvre
Related Links > http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Palais.Royal/
Treasures from the Benaki Museum at Lisboa’s Gulbenkian October 6, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Museums, Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Arts, Athens, Culture, Greece, Hellenic Light, Museums
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A selection from the permanent collection of the Benaki Museum is presented in “The Greeks: Art Treasures from the Benaki Museum, Athens” a survey exhibition on Greek history and civilization which has been organized by the Benaki and is hosted at Lisbon’s reputable Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.
The exhibition, which opened recently, includes 157 objects and follows the course of Greek civilization and history from prehistoric times to the country’s independence in the early 19th century.
It reflects the Museum’s extroverted policy of loaning its collections internationally and its effort toward encouraging cultural exchanges with Museums worldwide. After Lisbon, the exhibition will travel to Canada and, in 2009, to Chile. A similar exhibition was organized by the Benaki in Sydney two years ago.
Works from the Benaki Museum collection have traveled to Lisbon before. In 1999, the Velimezis Collection was presented at the Mosteiro des Jeronimos. The Benaki has collaborated with the Gulbenkian Museum in the recent past: The “Glass of the Sultans” exhibition that was hosted at the Islamic art branch of the Benaki Museum included holdings from the rare collection of Islamic art owned by the Portuguese Museum. A large exhibition on this well-known collection is scheduled for 2009 at the Benaki Museum.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Av. de Berna 45A, 1067-001 Lisboa, tel 21 7823000, fax 21 7823032. Metro: S. Sebastião or Praça de Espanha stations, Buses: 16, 726, 56, 718, 742.
Related Links > http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/mainb.asp?size=sup&lang=pt
International conference on Philhellenism held in Geneva October 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Greece, Greek Diaspora
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A conference on the issue of “Perspectives on Philhellenism” was held in Geneva with the aim of promoting the development of the spirit of Philhellenism in Europe and its decisive role in promoting and supporting Hellenism.
The permanent Greek delegation at the UN, the active Society of Swiss Philhellenes “Jean-Gabriel Eynard” and the Greek consulate general in Geneva jointly organized this cultural event.
The main speakers were Paul Schubert, Professor of Language and Greek Literature at the University of Geneva, historians Michelle Bouvier-Bron and Stella Ghervas, and George Prevelakis, Professor of Geopolitics at the University of Sorbonne.
International Melina Mercouri Prize awarded October 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Light Europe.Tags: Arts, Culture, Greece, News, UNESCO
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International Melina Mercouri Prize awarded to Russian Federation’s Borodino Battlefield
At a ceremony held today at UNESCO Headquarters Mrs Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture, gave the award for the International Melina Mercouri Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece) to the Borodino Battlefield (Russian Federation).
This prize, named after Melina Mercouri, former Greek Minister of Culture, is financed by the Government of Greece and consists of a cheque for an amount of US $20,000 for the management of a cultural landscape. A special mention was also awarded to the Grand Bassin (Ganga Talao) (Mauritius).
Full details of the laureates and the prize can be found at > http://whc.unesco.org/en/melinamercouriprize/
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