Up until a few decades ago the humanities were conceived around canons of Western history, culture and thought spanning from ancient Greek antiquity to the present day. Eurocentrism structured disciplinary narratives and academic programs, and assigned importance and value to the humanities since the latter legitimized a hierarchical organization of the world around nations, cultures, races, religions, genders, centers/peripheries and so on. As geopolitics change and the dominance of the West is confronted with its impact on human and non-human ecosystems around the globe, a more symbiotic approach to diverse cultures, identities, beliefs and narratives in the plural is gaining ground in academia.

Amidst this rapidly shifting social, political, conceptual and epistemological framework, we want to revisit the workings of art and its histories seeing them as a timely, relevant field which has a part to play ‘in the cultural and social study of the Greek world in the 21st century.’ How do processes of globalization in tandem with the specific historical and geopolitical position of Greece affect the production, display and theorization of art and artistic practices? In turn, how can we use art’s products and histories to talk about Greece in the 21st century? And in what ways do fields such as anthropology, cultural analysis or economy intersect with contemporary art and art theory?

Speakers:

Angela Dimitrakaki (University of Edinburgh & novelist)
Elpida Karaba (independent curator & theorist)
George Mantzios (University of Toronto)
Carl Mauzy (King’s College London)
Janna-Mirl Redmann (University of Geneva & independent art educator)

Convened and chaired by:
Eva Fotiadi (St Joost School of Art & Design) and Anthi Argyriou (University of Amsterdam)