A journey of young artists inspired by explorations in the urban and mountainous environment of northern Greece begins on June 25th.
The suburban train line that connects Thessaloniki with the cities of Macedonia is transformed into a medium of culture and the dissemination of ideas, connecting 14 young people from Thessaloniki, Veria, Florina, and Prespa.
The idea of THES-PRES is based on the experiential realization of the Thessaloniki-Prespa route, with tours of points of cultural interest, aiming to familiarize participants with contemporary artistic practices by creating a walking diary of impressions using modern digital recording means. Fourteen young people will get to know each other and express themselves artistically, inspired by the images and shared experiences they will gain from their tours in Thessaloniki, Veria, Florina, and Prespa. Their companions and guides on this journey are two visual artists/instructors from the Department of Visual and Applied Arts at the University of Western Macedonia (TEET), Cynthia Gerothanasiou and Rania Schoretsaniti, and museologist Stella Syllaiou, an instructor at the Department of Visual and Applied Arts at Aristotle University. Also contributing to the design is Yannis Ziogas, painter and Associate Professor at TEET/UWM.
The group of young people will explore each station from a different perspective:
Station 1: Thessaloniki as a place of Contemporary Culture/Historical Memory. Emphasizing the peculiarities of the urban landscape, the young people will visit points of cultural interest, ‘receive’ them, and connect them with both the history and the contemporary lifestyle of the city. Indicative points of visit: State Museum of Contemporary Art, Macedonian Museum, Walls, Islahane, Jewish Museum.
Station 2: Veria as a place of Experiential Exploration of an Open-Air Museum. The young people will tour the city and visit significant points of cultural interest. Indicative points of visit: Archaeological Museum of Veria, Byzantine Museum of Veria, Public Central Library, Traditional Settlement of Barbouta.
Station 3: Florina as the City of Visual Arts. The young people will tour the city, which for a few days will be transformed into an open-air art museum. The group will be guided through the final year projects of the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts of the University of Western Macedonia (TEET), which will be installed at various points in the city.
Final destination: Prespa as a Place of Walking Art. The culmination of the journey takes place in Prespa, where the participants will meet and discuss with artists from around the world, participants of the International Meeting/Conference ‘Walking Practices / Walking Art / Walking Bodies’. The young people of Prespa will have the opportunity to invite their fellow travelers on an artistic journey through their personal paths, those of daily life or memory.
THES-PRES is organized within the framework of the POLIPRESPA program, which is implemented with a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), in collaboration with the University of Western Macedonia-Department of Visual and Applied Arts, Florina. THES-PRES will take place from June 25 to July 3, serving as a parallel educational process to the International Meeting/Conference ‘Walking Practices / Walking Art / Walking Bodies’ held in Prespa from July 1-7.
The recordings and all the work resulting from the journey of the young people will be part of the exhibition that will showcase the overall activities of the International Meeting/Conference at the Byzantine Collection of Agios Germanos, Prespa. Exhibition opening: July 6, 20:00. Exhibition duration: July 7 to July 21.
