Artists in Ioannina

The unknown or anonymous artists

Graffiti work in Ioannina @hf 30.1.2014

The artists of the street express of being against both the city and the system.One slogan says "not one day in the military". It seems that they are caught in-between what is a noticable estrangement from the city due to over consumerism and what may be a sign of a loss of common language with which to communicate with the other. Upon entering the city, what can be seen on walls is the dominance of many tags or merely scribbled signs.

In the end all signs are vindicated by the wind and rain for a powerful nature coming in from the mountains rules the city. People of Ioannina are aware nature is greater whatever they can manage to control and to shape themselves. That brings about another art due to having to live with nature which cannot be controlled completely, if ever possible. On 31.1.2014 that became explicit when gale winds whipped up the lake and water swapped over so that the fire department had to close the shore road passing underneath the castle. It is a sign when forces are stronger and it is wiser to seek shelter in some safe niche.

Known artists

An Interreg program between Greece and Italy (2007 - 2013) had the following objectives: the registration of those people professionally involved in the arts in the cross Intervention area, promotion of authors and their works, strengthening cooperation between them (through exchange of best practices and know-how) and enlargement their business through the use of ICT.

Contemporary Art in the Cross-border Regions of Greece and Italy

"The Public Benefit Enterprise of Culture, Environment, Youth, and Athletics of the Municipality of Ioannina, with the participation of municipalities of Igoumenitsa and Parga, Ionian University and the non-governmental body AGENCY FOR THE EURO MEDITERRANEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE, implements, as Lead Partner, the project entitled «Contemporary Art in the Cross-border Regions of Greece and Italy», in Transnational European Territorial Cooperation Programme "Greece - Italy 2007-2013". Main objective of the project is the recording of personnel engaged in the arts in cross-border intervention areas, the promotion of authors and their works , the strengthening of their collaboration and business expansion.

Respecting the unique cultural heritage and sensing the intense artistic mobility observed in our days, the Bodies involved in the implementation of the Project provide, through the portal www.adrion-art.eu, a means of promotion and networking for artists active in the area of Ioannina, Igoumenitsa, Parga and Lecce, enabling them to display their work in the most modern way, exploiting the potential of new technologies and the internet. In addition, through the targeted networking and evaluating the good prospects in the field of arts, artists are given the ability to enhance their business activities, expanding their opening to new markets."

For the project, see http://www.adrion-art.eu/index.php/en/

For a declaration of the group, see http://www.giannena-e.gr/

While the aim was to bring out contemporary art, the participants in Ioannina understood this much more to preserve the traditional / popular art e.g. Greek shadow theatre.

One observer of the local art scene in Ioannina thinks that

"The problem with this kind of 'artistic statement' is that criticism of current developments (mimicry of consumerism) is answered by a return to traditional forms of expressions and a wish for a more complete knowledge of history. This leaves the dynamic link between past, present and future short changed. The statement of the group mirrors all the complexes the people have (with reason) when they live outside of Athens."

Individual artists