Development
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Development
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Viviane Koutsomallis Head of Administration and Legal Department
Inspiration, Impartation, Inclusion, Synergies, Development: these are the five lines of action and initiatives being at the core of our annual programming and broader strategic focus for the future.
Inspiration, because everything stems from it. At the nascence of Basil and Elise Goulandris’ vision is a collection of masterpieces, bequeathed to the Foundation that bears their name, which is constantly enriched and renewed. At the same time, significant temporary exhibitions take place, such as the tribute to Nouveau Réalisme which highlighted the explosive and revolutionary spirit of avant-garde artists of the 60s, the exhibition Memories Steeped in Dream, dealing with the techniques of multiples and their leading role in modern and contemporary art and, finally, the retrospective exhibition dedicated to Chronis Botsoglou, through which we travelled across 65 years of a highly productive artistic journey of one of the most important figurative artists of contemporary Greek art.
Impartation, because what is the point without it? Aiming to spread a participatory and not a crystallized knowledge which does not focuses on the academic but on the experiential approach of exhibits, participants -either children or adults- in our interactive guided tours, school programmes and creative workshops have the opportunity to express themselves freely, to exchange views and to develop productive forces.
Inclusion, or in other words a “Museum for All” A place praising the work of people -artists- who most of them suffered marginalization and social exclusion, could not help but redefine its role in relation to social and cultural integration and prioritize the implementation of appropriate actions to that end. The offering of a wide range of actions aimed at the psychosocial empowerment of the elderly and people with mild cognitive impairment, the development of activities for visitors with partial or total vision loss, the facilitation of accessibility to the museum for people with autism spectrum disorder and their families, the highlighting of the positive impact of art on health, welfare and wellbeing of the individual and the organization of events to raise awareness on diversity issues, were significant achievements of 2023 and part of our priorities for the following years.
Synergies, because through them the cultural forces and its social impact is multiplied. The eagerness for developing collaborations at the level of local, domestic and international ecosystem, either with other cultural hubs or with entities operating in other sectors, apart from preventing a tendency for complacency and adherence to stereotypical perceptions, has a positive effect on the cultural, social even financial image of the neighbourhood, the city, and the country itself. In 2023 we created even more liaisons, within the country and abroad, and many more are being established and we are waiting for them to thrive in the future.
Development, without altering the primary nonprofit-making character of the Foundation. The modern era and the revised, enhanced role attributed by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to the museum, place it within a business environment and impose, for sustainability reasons, the adoption of relevant methods of organization, promotion and communication. In this context we place emphasis on other areas of action that assist the financial support and self-efficiency of our museums, such as the high-quality catering and venue hire services provided, the shops and e-shop, the presence on the Internet and in social media, sponsor partnerships, etc.
Before we leave 2023 behind and turn to 2024, we couldn’t help but refer to its most dolorous moment, when the calendar was on the 28th day of February. The tragedy at the Tempe Valley that cost the lives of 57 people reminds us that Culture is not innate but acquired; it is the result of the creative powers and achievements of a society, which we must protect properly in order to ensure that it will not cease to hope, envision and progress.
Nouveau réalisme
Athens Museum - 11.01 - 09.04.2023
The B&E Goulandris Foundation presented in winter 2023 an international exhibition dedicated to Nouveau Réalisme or New Realism: an explosive, revolutionary movement between Dada and Pop Art that radically changed the 20th century art. The exhibition featured more than 50 works by artists-representatives of the movement, such as Arman, François Dufrêne, Raymond Hains, Yves Klein, Martial Raysse, Daniel Spoerri, Jacques Villeglé, Mimmo Rotella, Gérard Deschamps, as well as César, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle and Christo.
This tribute would have never been possible without the support of both private individual owners and institutions who lent us works and responded to our invitation with enthusiasm and generosity, among them the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Marion Meyer, President of the Man Ray International Association who met in person many New Realists, and Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of the Foundation Collection, were the curators of the exhibition. The scenography was created by Andreas Georgiadis and Paraskevi Gerolymatou.
The exhibition was accompanied by a bilingual catalogue (in Greek and English) with rich archive material, published by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation and edited by Mikri Arktos. In the context of the exhibition, various events were organized such as an exclusive preview for our members, guided tours together with Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, the thematic guided tour titled “French Modernism and Post-Modernism” and many creative workshops for children. A special moment was when both curators met each other at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens, in order to analyse different aspects of the movement of New Realism, in a discussion moderated by journalist Margarita Mytilineou.
NUMBER OF VISITORS
16.000
“Thank you for this space. I am leaving with a full heart. What a gift”
“Highly recommended exhibition!!! You made my day!”
“Klein Blue… Amazing”
“Rebellious yet aesthetic, sublime, reviving, enthusiastic”
«Magnifique et inattendu, une très belle exposition d’une grande période pour l’art français»
Chronis Botsoglou -
(up)
Christophoros Doulgeris
(right)
Christophoros Doulgeris
The Uncompromising Sincerity of Empathy
Andros Museum 02.07 - 01.10.2023
In summer 2023, at the Museum of the B&E Goulandris Foundation on Andros, a retrospective exhibition dedicated to Chronis Botsoglou, one of the most important figurative artists of contemporary Greek art took place. More than 100 works were featured, including pencil drawings, pastels, oils, watercolours, bronzes, brasses and plasters, revealing more than 65 years of a highly productive artistic journey.
The generous participation of the artist’s family who passed away in 2022, as well as many collectors, both individuals and institutions, enabled us to gather his pivotal works, as well as many others exhibited for the very first time.
Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of the Foundation collection, was the curator of the exhibition and the design was created by Andreas Georgiadis and Paraskevi Gerolymatou.
The exhibition was accompanied by a bilingual catalogue (in Greek and English), featuring texts by the curator and rich archive material along with a detailed chronology, statements by Botsoglou himself as well as photographs, most of them unpublished, provided by the artist’s family. The catalogue was published by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation and edited by Mikri Arktos.
NUMBER OF VISITORS
12.400
“It was so pretty, and the multiple paintings were very nice”
“Very interesting exhibitions! Thank you from Paris”
“Thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition”
14.900
“It was so pretty, and the multiple paintings were very nice”
“Very interesting exhibitions! Thank you from Paris”
“Thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition”
The Art of the Multiple from the Collection of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Athens Museum - 05.08 - 03.12.2023
From August to the end of 2023, the Museum of the B&E Goulandris Foundation in Athens presented a major tribute to the fundamental role of multiples in modern and contemporary art. To that end, approximately 90 lithographs, engravings and ceramics from the Foundation’s Collection were assembled, bearing the signatures of eight acclaimed 19th and 20th century artists: Aristide Maillol, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Joan Miró and Balthus.
The summarized presentation of these works gave us the opportunity to read their story once more through two perspectives. First, by approaching them as a total of “memories steeped in dream”, according to the so lyrical description by the Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias. Thus, we were able to examine in detail the advantages that the various techniques of multiples offered the artists. Subsequently, looking into each work separately, we followed the route of its creation, placing emphasis on its originality, in relation to the rest of each artist’s production. Visitors were able to discover, among other works, the complete albums “Les Maîtres du dessin” by Aristide Maillol, “12 lithographs” by Lautrec,
Léger’s “Cirque”, Hesiod’s “Theogony”, illustrated (in Greek) by Braque, “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë, as imagined by Balthus. As for Matisse, Picasso and Miró, they once more prove the decisive role they played in the development of 20th century engraving and ceramics. Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of the Foundation Collection, was the curator of the exhibition and the scenography was created by Andreas Georgiadis and Paraskevi Gerolymatou. The exhibition was accompanied by a bilingual catalogue (in Greek and English), that includes texts by the exhibition’s curator Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, a Glossary of engraving terms which is necessary to fully understand the methods that have been used, as well as the resumes of all the valuable collaborators who gave the artists the opportunity to excel in the art of the multiple. The catalogue was published by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation and edited by Mikri Arktos.
During 2023, visitors had the opportunity to get to know, through an excellent and modern design proposal, the permanent collection of the Foundation, exhibited at the Museum in Athens. A set of works selected with diligence, eclecticism and passion by Basil and Elise Goulandris, that manages to gather and reveal to the art lovers the emblematic representatives of modern, post-war and contemporary art.
In the context of the established renewal of the exhibition areas, which aims at highlighting the rich and multifaceted Collection of the Foundation, a part of the second floor was redesigned in order to present to the public sculptures and reliefs by known artists who were life partners as well, such as Ben NicholsonBarbara Hepworth, Jean Tinguely-Niki de Saint Phalle, François-Xavier Lalanne-Claude Lalanne, Fernando Botero-Sofia Vari and Christo-Jeanne Claude.
Furthermore, the digitization and documentation of the Collection was enriched by the production of 13 episodes-documentaries by the Foundation, dedicated to the most iconic works of the Collection. The first series of documentaries presents aspects of the lives of eminent artists, thus revealing the stories behind the conception and creation of the Collection’s most significant works, such as “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” by Edgar Degas, “Olive Picking” by Vincent van Gogh, “Rouen Cathedral in the Morning (Pink Dominant)” by Claude Monet, “Portrait of the Artist Looking Over His Shoulder” by Paul Cézanne, “Still Life with Grapefruits” by Paul Gauguin, “La Patience” by Georges Braque and “Portrait of Yanaihara” by Αlberto Giacometti. Our objective is to enrich this series with new documentaries in the near future, which will give the visitors the opportunity to deepen their knowledge about the emblematic paintings of the Collection.
Believing that museums are one of the most important cultural pillars of a society, the B&E Goulandris Foundation provides for the establishment of multidimensional and interactive educational programmes where educators and pupils live meaningful experiences together in a journey of contact with the world of modern and contemporary art. The programmes, conceived by the Foundation’s skilled staff, are fully adapted to the characteristics and needs of every age group, from nursery to senior high school pupils.
The scheduling of creative workshops for 2023 aimed to open up to more age groups to which they address, thus offering to children and adults, a wide range of opportunities for entertainment and learning, always having as a starting point the works of the Foundation’s Collection.
It was with great joy, that in January 2023, the B&E Goulandris Foundation launched at the Museum in Athens, specially designed programmes for babies and pre-school children. During the workshop “Time for music at the Museum!” and in collaboration with the De Profundis, children from 6 months to 2.5 years old got acquainted with the Museum and its Collection of artworks through music. At the “Blue Stories” workshop, children from 20 months to 3 years old discovered the magical blue world of Yves Klein while the temporary exhibition Nouveau réalisme was on display, whereas at the creative workshop “A story with random shapes!”, 3 and 4-year-old children gave their own interpretation to Max Ernst’s work “While the Earth Sleeps”. This momentum continued with the implementation of new activities for our little friends, with a view to developing their emotional intelligence and motor skills: “My first Museum stroll!” or in other words an interactive stroll, through the senses of sound and touch, in the Museum’s permanent Collection galleries for new parents and babies from 0 up to 20 months old. At the workshops “Painters of Movement!” and “A window and a story!”, children from 20 months old up to 3-4 years old got acquainted with the magic of Jackson Pollock’s painting and explored the work of Aris Koutroulis. During the workshop “A surrealist’s world!”, children made their own planet inspired by Joan Miró and the “Drama Games at the Museum!”, at which participants from 3 to 5 years old, using improvisation, imitation, movement and rhythm, made an imaginary trip to the “Street Market” by Panayiotis Tetsis, an imposing artwork of the Collection, from where colours, smells and sounds emerge. Also, the cycle of creative activities for children aged 5 to 10 was renewed. At the “Games in the air!”, children drew inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky and created their own moving
sculpture, while others learned the technique of upcycling at the workshop “A different take on musical instruments!”. 3D visualizations dominated the workshop “Yves Klein Blue in 3D!” and at “Square motifs!”, children discovered the collagraphy technique.
Subsequently, the “Playing with forms!” workshop followed, where children, inspired by the figurative artists Barbara Hepworth, Jean (Hans) Arps and Giacometti, traced the different dimensions of clay and made their own sculpture. At the “A world made of paper!” workshop, the creations of French artist Jean Dubuffet provided the incentive to experiment with a material that might be simple but has endless possibilities. Paper!
The workshop “A word for my City!” was an interactive introduction to the work of one of the most important sculptors worldwide, known as Chyrssa, where children created their own sculpture in the form of a word/city. At the “Musical Sculptures”, a workshop dedicated to the distinguished Greek artist Takis, children discovered the relationship between sculpture and sound, and at the “Fields and levels” workshop, children searched for the shadows, the shapes and the personal photographs hidden in the work of the artist Robert Rauschenberg titled “City Camp”, using the mixed media technique. The workshop “The magical circus world!” followed where children discovered the magical world of Fernand Léger, the workshop titled “It’s all about colour”, which focuses on the work of Theodoros Stamou and “Characters from another world” that taught children how an eggcup can turn into the perfect canvas.
Creative workshops, especially designed for the summer took place, such as the usual Summer Camp as well as the workshops established on the occasion of the temporary exhibition at the Museum of Andros “Chronis Botsoglou – The Uncompromising Sincerity of Empathy” and in particular the workshops titled “What’s hidden in a suitcase!”, “3D landscapes” and “The artist’s studio”, which offered our young visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the honoured artist and to familiarize themselves with the space of conceiving the ideas and to travel to the places where the painter’s mind and soul travelled.
Thanks to the total return to indoor activities, from which the fear and the anxiety of the health crisis had torn us away, the workshops for teenagers and adults came back richer. The collaboration with the ceramist Elpida Kourtzi stood out as well as the implementation of the pottery workshop titled “From antiquity to contemporary art!” that took place in three parts. From Pollock to Picasso and back to the ancient art of pottery, participants were introduced to the world of Neriage, were taught glazing techniques, including how to use coloured glazes and created their own, unique pottery.
A guided tour through an exhibition may translate a visit into a memorable experience, given that through guided observation visitors explore an exhibit, a theme, even the museum itself as an architectural design, from another perspective, and are initiated into a different form of approach that breaks new ground for them. Accompanied by our keen and highly knowledgeable team of guides, visitors of all ages of the Foundation had the opportunity to take part in educational and entertaining guided tours at the same time, both of the permanent Collection and the temporary exhibitions.
In 2023 the series of thematic guided tours offered to the public was enriched. The guided tour titled “Artist couples in the B&E Goulandris Foundation Collection” focused on the artist couples whose works are part of the Collection, namely Auguste Rodin-Camille Claudel, Ben Nicholson-Barbara Hepworth, Jean Tinguely-Niki de Saint Phalle, François-Xavier Lalanne-Claude Lalanne, Fernando Botero-Sofia
Vari and Christo-Jeanne Claude. The tour titled “Women in the Collection of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation” showed the visitors the different ways that women are depicted in the works of the Foundation’s Collection, as seen through the eyes of distinguished artists such as Chagall, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Degas, Rodin, Picasso, Braque as well as Lichtenstein, Giacometti and Niki de Saint Phalle. During the guided tour “Art and the Environment”, visitors shared the ecological concerns of artists such as Anselm Kiefer, A.R. Penck, Robert Rauschenberg, Lucas Samaras, Alexis Akrithakis and Jannis Kounellis, that highlighted the consequences of human intervention on nature and the importance of upcycling.
The guided tour titled “French Modernism and Postmodernism” including works of the permanent Collection and the temporary exhibition “Nouveau réalisme”, focused on the socio-political circumstances under which the respective artistic movements grew (Impressionism – PostImpressionism – Cubism – Abstraction – New realism) as well as the way they were shaped under the influence of war, the exchange of ideas through travels and colonialism, reaching as far as the coalescence of artists of the New Realism movement.
Also, family guided tours, aiming to strengthen family ties through getting to know with the permanent Collection, continued, and the interactive guided tour for companies, on the occasion of the exhibition “Memories Steeped in Dream” was inaugurated, in which participating employees had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with various printing and engraving techniques and to create their own monotype with oil pastel, helping to relieve the stress of everyday life and to build harmonious relationships within the team.
The Library of the Museum in Athens continues to be a mean of exploration of and access to Art for the public. Its book collection includes over 8.000 items, which correspond to around 6.500 titles, mainly in Greek, English and French. The collection is continually enriched through art book donations by individuals and organizations, but also through acquisitions suggested by the Foundation’s staff.
The Library includes, among others, exhibition catalogues, monographs and reference works on distinguished Greek and international artists, Greek and overseas museum and Art foundation publications, art journals, encyclopaedias, and Art dictionaries. Visitors to the Library can use the reading area subject to making prior arrangements. The Library also hosts educational programmes for children and teens, lectures and activities relating to art and culture. The Library’s Online Catalogue (http://library.goulandris. gr/), available in both Greek and English, is continually enriched with all new acquisitions so that everything that is physically available in the reading room is recorded electronically. Requiring only internet access, visitors can proceed to basic or advanced search in the Online Catalogue.
2023 in numbers
NUMBER OF VISITORS AT THE MUSEUMS OF ATHENS AND ANDROS
3
NUMBER OF VISITORS AT THE MUSEUM OF ATHENS
107.677 95.277
Rise 41.15% in relation to 2022
NUMBER OF VISITORS AT THE MUSEUM OF ANDROS
12.400
Rise
STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN SCHOOL GUIDES
Rise 65.77% in relation to 2022
8.580 152
SCHOOLS (118 PUBLIC + 34 PRIVATE)
1.671
CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN CREATIVE PROGRAMMES
SCHOOLS FROM THE REST OF GREECE 27
LEFKADA, CHALKIDA, THESSALONIKI, ELASSONA, ARGOLIDA, ΤINOS, THEBES, KALAMATA, ALEXANDROUPOLI, KOMOTINI, CHANIA, METSOVO, RHODES, KOS, LASITHI, KARYSTOS
Rise in school visits in relation to
Faithful to its commitment to a space of social tolerance, open to all, the Β&Ε Goulandris Foundation further strengthened the initiatives that contribute to improving the inclusion and accessibility of citizens in museums and culture, in general, and to breaking down any physical and mental barriers as well as stereotypical images
Staying committed to the people in the 3rd Age, entertainment programs for visitors over 65 years old and for persons with mild cognitive impairment, which are offered free of charge to the public, have been developed and enriched with the support of Alpha Bank and the valuable assistance of the civil non-profit company seveneleven and its founders, Notis Paraskevopoulos and Konstantina Maltezou, who through the programme thallo they designed, aim to improve the social and mental state of elderly suffering from dementia. This year’s cycle of the most popular activity “Games for Adults” state of elderly suffering from dementia. This year’s cycle of the most popular activity “Games for Adults” focused on the temporary exhibition “Memories Steeped in Dream”, where participants “riffling the Art” read great authors and matched what they listened to with the exhibition works, confirming, through the convergence between literature and art, the words of Simonides of Ceos, as conveyed to us by Plutarch: “painting is silent poetry and poetry is painting that speaks”. Those unable to travel had the opportunity to take a tour of the temporary exhibition thanks to the online workshop “Narration in Art”, which is part of the successful series of online guided tours titled “Digital Games for Adults”. Moreover, the mobile application Museum Adventure, continued to be available free of charge; an entertaining game in the form of quiz introducing users to iconic works of the Collection, thus strengthening their emotional and mental health through the wonderful world of art. The application was developed by seveneleven in collaboration with the B&Ε Goulandris Foundation and the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. In addition, the possibility of a virtual tour of the Collection through the programme “At the Museum with other… Glasses”, with the assistance of Αegean and the company Κωτσόβολος – Dixons South East
Europe continued to be offered in elderly care homes throughout Greece.
The B&E Goulandris Foundation, always dedicated to strengthening the psychosocial health of the people in the 3rd Age collaborated with the Social Protection Network of Athens - Open Social Net, which supports with its initiatives the vulnerable social groups, aiming for their social inclusion and entertainment, offering the opportunity to a large number of Friendship Clubs of the Municipality of Athens to visit the Museum in Athens, in order for their members to participate to the action “Games for Adults” free of charge.
An important step forward in the matter of accessibility was achieved in 2023 with the completion of the Sensory Accessibility Map of the Museum in Athens which is addressed to persons on the autism spectrum and their families. Thanks to the support of Eurobank and in collaboration with the Non-profit Organisation theHappyAct, the spaces of the Museum were mapped, in order to track the areas with strong environmental stimuli as well as those that can be used for self-discharge. The result, in the form of a virtual tour, will be available on the Foundation’s website from 2024, accompanied by educational material (social stories), so that persons on the autism spectrum and their escorts consult it prior
to the visit at the Museum. The collaboration with theHappyAct also included the training of the Museum’s staff, so that they familiarize themselves with the special characteristics and needs of the persons belonging to this group, as well as the placement of the relevant marking within the Museum premises, which operates as warning for places with strong auditory or visual stimulus that may pose a risk of disorientation for the group in question.
Furthermore, on the occasion of the World Autism Awareness Day, the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens had the honour to host the scientific meeting titled “Growing up with Autism, 25 years of operation of the Special Clinic for Autism Spectrum Disorders” held by the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic of the NKUA School of Medicine. The meeting was organized on the 25th anniversary of operation of this Special Clinic. The presentations were related to the historical overview of the notion of Autism, the diagnosis in the whole spectrum of life, the adaptation and resilience of the family, the intervention through Art in research issues as well.
Always with the aim of contributing to the equal access and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Art experience, in 2023 the B&E Goulandris Foundation participated, together with 9 other
Greek museums, in the action “Meeting Points” designed by the Off Stream project. The action is aimed at adults, with or without disabilities, providing simultaneous interpretation in Greek Sign Language. During the meeting held at the Museum in Athens, the work of the Collection “Caryatid” by Amedeo Modigliani attracted the interest; participants, through a participatory process and multisensory approach methods, collectively composed his creative acoustics. Thus, they had the opportunity to look into the work and learn the method of exhibit description, while at the same time they worked together, creating bonds.
Having regard to the proven therapeutic contribution of Art in mental health, the B&E Goulandris Foundation ensures the development of programs that highlight the beneficial role of artistic creation for the mental health and wellbeing of individuals. This is how, the cycle “Mind and harmony” began in 2023, as a journey of exploration and wellbeing at the Foundation’s Collection, in collaboration with sevenelevenand the De Profundis Ensemble. On this journey, every Saturday, music met theatre, painting and sculpture, on the fourth floor of the permanent Collection, where the works by Greek artists are exhibited, for an original tour of the art of creation, through individual and group activities of reflection and extroversion. The activity was accompanied each time by a different classical string instrument and took place with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), as part of its Global Health Initiative.
To that effect, the series of meetings “Mindfulness at the Museum” was created, in collaboration with art historian, art educator and mindfulness instructor Lydia Petropoulou. Always having as starting point and stimulus the works of the permanent Collection and through the “meditative journey”, participants were able, by focusing on the present, to awaken deeper connections and engage in a holistic approach of an artwork or an art object, while reaping the benefits of mindfulness, such as improving attention and concentration, enhancing memory, reducing anxiety, managing stress and nurturing emotions.
Finally, aiming to focus on the environmental protection and climate change, apart from the thematic guided tour “Art and the Environment” offered to our public by displaying works by Greek and foreign artists of the Collection related to the environment and highlighting the consequences of human intervention on nature and the importance of upcycling, we were delighted to host the first release of the film “A letter from Yene” at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens, after its official Greek premiere. Commissioned by the organization Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI), London’s Serpentine and the MUBI platform as part of the Serpentine’s Back to Earth programme, this environmental film was the result of conversations between its creator Manthia Diawara and the local community of the Senegalese seaside town and unfolds like a letter to the viewer.
In 2023 our aim was to expand synergies with the entire range of entities that shape social and economic life. Culture provides unique opportunities to connect with groups and individuals and through partnerships its social impact is multiplied, at a local, domestic or even international level.
At the local ecosystem level, we wished to strengthen connections with city entities who share our view that culture and arts can make a significant contribution in shaping the physical and social character of a neighbourhood, region and city. By giving different people the opportunity, through art, to meet, inspire and be inspired, the public space is activated, and neighbourhoods revive, residents’ relationships are strengthened, the sustainability of local entrepreneurship is reinforced, and even public safety is improved.
Among our collaborations with important cultural centres in our “neighbourhood”, the synergy with the neighbouring Athens Conservatory and especially with the Directorate of Music Schools of the Conservatory stands out. From the convergence of the visual arts and music, innovative activities resulted such as: the “Sound and Silence” Recitals performed by the new graduates of the Athens Conservatory held at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens, the fruitful conversation between the Head of the Foundation’s Collection, Maria Koutsomallis-Moreau, and the Director of the Conservatory Music Schools, Filippos Tsalachouris, titled “New Realism and Music: convergence or rupture” coordinated by the experienced journalist Margarita Mytilinaou, the Christmas activity for children “Children celebrate at the Athens Conservatory and the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation” πουheld at the Athens Conservatory and the Museum in Athens and the Christmas Concert with the Choir of Little Musicians of the Athens Conservatory which entered the Museum visitors into the festive spirit by singing carols and other favourite Christmas songs at the Foundation’s reception area, in front of the decorated Christmas tree.
Our wish for cultural co-creation at the local level is demonstrated by our long cooperation with the entities and organizations that support cultural
actions by the Municipality of Athens, which upgrade and enrich the daily life of the Athenians, as well as the visitors of Athens. Therefore, thanks to our collaboration with the Culture, Sports and Youth Organisation of the city of Athens (OPANDA), from the forecourt of the Museum in Athens, in the square of St Spyridon, festive jazz compositions were played in the neighbourhood of Pangrati by the Big Band orchestra of the Municipality of Athens, with the performance of a renowned jazz singer Alexandros Affolter, and Christmas songs played by the historic Municipal Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Also, in collaboration with the culture network of the Municipality of Athens named Athens Culture Net, the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens hosted the performance “Tropic Moon” based on the same-name novel by Georges Simenon, in which students from the Senior Drama School Technon Ekato, guided by director Dimitris Kouroumbalis, took over the difficult task of bringing the novel to life, combining narration and representation, masterly conveying to the audience the sensual and dangerous atmosphere of the African mainland, the passions of the people and the exotic wildness of African culture. Always in synergy with Athens Culture Net and Athens 9.84 radio station, the concert “Birds as God’s lure” based on the words of poets was presented, as part of the Poetry Month, performed by Maria Papageorgiou. While, continuing our regular participation in the Athens City Festival of the Municipality of Athens, the award-winning actor Dimitris Katalifos and Dimitris Tsakas’ quartet met at the Amphitheatre for an evening of recitation, song and jazz music entitled “Body and Dreams”, on the occasion of fifteen poems by poet Katalifos, highlighting this lesser-known quality of this great artist. Finally, it was our great pleasure to include our publications in the library of the innovative reading installation Athens Book Space, which was set up by the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens in the renewed Parko Eleftherias and aspires to encourage reading and make the book attractive to all Athenians
Supporting other initiatives in our city, we participated with a cycle of seven concerts in the Piano City Athens action. Piano City® initiated by Andreas Kern, an artist and visionary from Berlin and expanded to other European cities, including Athens where Piano City was organized for the first
time in 2023 filling the capital with piano sounds. In the concerts entitled “Listening to Colours”, held at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens, seven young musicians had the opportunity to showcase their talent and reveal the magic of synaesthesia by “dressing” music with colours. Also, participating in the official program of Athens Pride 2023, the Foundation’s Amphitheatre, in collaboration with the Embassies of Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Greece, hosted the release of the short film “Out and About” by Koen Suidgeest, which follows the daily lives of three families from Kenya, Indonesia and Russia and records the interactions between parents and children from the LGBTI+ community. At the end of the screening, there was a discussion. Finally, we would like to highlight our collaboration with DANAOS, the historical cinema of Ampelokipoi where, a day before it was launched in selected cinemas, the Foundation organized a screening of the 3D documentary by the multi-award-wining director Wim Wenders “Anselm”, exclusively for its Members
In terms of synergy with other areas of activity, but with Culture as a common ground, our collaboration with the Alpha Bank Group stands out. In particular, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of its world-famous Numismatic Collection, Alpha Bank honoured us by choosing the Foundation’s Museum in Athens to house the major retrospective exhibition “The Other Side of the
Coin”. The exhibition, curated by the curator of the Group’s Numismatic Collection, Dr. Dimitra Tsagaris, lasted from May 3 to July 23, 2023 and paid tribute to the memory of the inspirer and creator of this collection, Yannis S. Kostopoulos. In the same spirit and for the third year running, we joined forces with Aegean Airlines for the implementation of the “Aegean Santa Crew” initiative. The Education and Learning Department of the B&E Goulandris Foundation and the team of the thallo program together with more than 140 voluntary workers of AEGEAN, travelled in December, simultaneously, to 8 cities in Greece to visit 17 institutions and structures for child protection and elderly care in order to offer them presents and spend creative time with them making Christmas ornaments inspired by the Foundation’s collection.
A prerequisite for cultural extroversion is the creation of connections with international cultural bodies. In addition to lending works from the Collection to museums abroad with the purpose of their participation in important visual art events, such as the exhibition “Joan Miró. Absolute Reality. Paris, 1920-1945” organized by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and in which the Foundation participated by lending the artist’s iconic work La sauterelle (The Grasshopper) belonging to its Collection, our collaborations with the Greek section of the International Council of Museums (ICOM)
and with the international organization World Art Forum (WAF) are also worth mentioning. In particular, the B&E Goulandris Foundation as an honoured body for 2023 by the Greek Section of ICOM, organized a series of specially designed activities for the International Museum Day titled “Museums, Sustainability and Quality of Life”, while also hosting the 2nd WAF Conference with distinguished speakers and participants from all over the world, who exchanged views on “Strengthening the future of Art Institutions through joint development and global knowledge”.
At the B&E Goulandris Foundation, 2023 was a year rich for our public in various other actions. This year, music and cinema held a special place among our events, however there were also other events or tributes that gave us moments of joy, fun and emotion.
The highly popular series of jazz music concerts continued in 2023, at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens, under the artistic direction of distinguished musician Dimitris Tsakas. The series “Poetry and Jazz” opened with a tribute to 20th century jazz poetry and Japanese haiku by the quartet We Real Cool. This was followed by a trip to Latin American poetry by the Cuban musicians Yoel Soto, Adedeji Adetayo and Carlos Menéndez, together with the poet and prose writer Klety Sotiriadou. Subsequently, for Greek poetry the torch was passed to the composer and performer Katerina Polemi and the composer AlexandrosDrakos Ktistakis who set a poetic anthology of important representatives of Greek poetry to music. The series ended with Dimitris Katalifos and Dimitris Tsakas’ quartet in an evening of recitation, song and music entitled “Body and Dreams”, based on 15 poems by the award-winning actor.
Towards the end of 2023, the series was renewed with the cycle “Visual Journeys: A series of jazz concerts with improvisation and visual projection”, consisting of two concerts dedicated to the bands and artists that explore different aspects of the relationship between jazz improvisations and the image. During the first concert, guitarist Alex Dante and drummer Manolis Giannikios experimented on the music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, mixing classical with modern musical style and transforming the great composer’s music. Then, the Filippou & Lucaciu Duet followed, which was accompanied by visual artist Natalia Manta who explored landscapes of particular compositions of the 21st century and skilfully balanced between jazz, free improvisation and tradition.
Also, in 2023 the B&E Goulandris Foundation launched its collaboration with the international platform Cinebur by hosting at the Amphitheatre of the Museum in Athens the screening of the new 4K version of the film “Hiroshima, My Love”, one of the most famous and innovative classics of the international cinema.
In November 2023, the B&E Goulandris Foundation organized an honorary event for Hélène GlykatziAhrweiler. The Foundation honoured the distinguished historian, Vice President of its Board of Directors, who was the first female Rector of the Sorbonne University throughout its 700-year history. During the event, coordinated by journalist and writer Anna Grimani, extensive references were made to the life and career of H. Ahrweiler. In particular, poet Titos Patrikios referred to her early years, former President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, talked about the historian Hélène Glykatzi-Ahrweiler and her contribution to highlighting Byzantine history worldwide, while the Foundation’s General Director and organizer of the tribute, Kyriakos Koutsomallis, discussed the time H. Ahrweiler spent in Paris and Professor of Psychology and writer Fotini Tsalikoglou analysed her pivotal role in a male-dominated academic community. The event was accompanied musically by pianist Natalia Michailidou
The year ended with the series of events “Christmas at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation!”, a rich and fun program of activities for the whole family organized by the Foundation for the holiday season. During these days, visitors of the Museum in Athens had the opportunity to watch classic Christmas films at the Amphitheatre, participate in creative workshops for children and family guided tours, feel the Christmas magic through storytelling, watch the Bubble Show of Mr. and Mrs. Bubble, attend concerts by the Choir of Young Musicians of the Athens Conservatory and the Big Band of the Municipality of Athens as well as take part in wellbeing activities
To ensure sustainability, the modern era implies the integration of entrepreneurship in museums. In this context, we place great emphasis on other areas of action which contribute to the financial support and self-sufficiency of our museums, such as the high-quality catering and venue hire services provided, the shops and e-shops, our web and social medial presence, our sponsored partnerships, etc.
A variety of unique objects, many using distinct and environmentally friendly materials and production methods, have been created based on works from the Collection and in collaboration with teams of local artists and designers, worthy ambassadors of contemporary Greek design. Avoiding the stereotypes of the “souvenir” and using the works of the B&E Goulandris Foundation Collection as a starting point, the products exude modern and refined aesthetics and a feel-good mood. The wide range includes objects for the home and office, jewellery and accessories, corporate gifts, seasonal items, books and catalogues and a wide selection of numbered works available exclusively at the Foundation. Our younger visitors also have a special place in our shops; they can extend the experience of their visit to the museum to home and school by choosing the souvenirs they will take away with them from among the many creative games and books, but also the imaginative and joyful stationary available.
Thousands of visitors visited the Β&Ε Goulandris Foundation shops in Athens and Andros but also the e-shop (B&E Goulandris Shop) in 2023, in order to make their purchases. Many companies also chose items from our shops as presents for their employees and partners or to add a “fresh” artistic aesthetic to their offices and facilities.
The B&E Members Programme aims to create a network of friends of the Museums of the B&E Goulandris Foundation who through their membership can support the operation of the museums while enjoying a series of special benefits including, among others, the possibility to visit avant-première temporary exhibitions in Athens and Andros, free access to the Museum’s exhibition spaces, participation in events organized exclusively for Members and special discounts including for the creative workshops for children, teens and adults, the B&E shops and the B&E Café-Restaurant in Athens.
In 2023, the Foundation added to its website a specially designed page for Members (https:// goulandris.gr/el/member-content), where they have the possibility of exclusive access to content, such as a virtual tour of the Museum in Athens with detailed audio descriptions and 3D models of selected works, themed guided tours, archive of all Members’ activities and events as well as exclusive access to the Foundation’s art documentary series dedicated to 13 iconic works of the permanent Collection.
The Β&Ε Goulandris Foundation offers the possibility for high aesthetic venue hire in the Museum in Athens but also on Andros, for the organization of corporate and social events. The impressive hall of Modern and Contemporary Greek Art for hosting a private dinner, the state-of-the-art Amphitheatre which can host conferences and artistic performances, the roof-top of the neoclassical building with its uninterrupted view of the Parthenon and the Saronic Gulf, an ideal setting for cocktail receptions, the café-restaurant with its green garden that makes you forget you are in the centre of the city, are some of the options available for events. In 2023, the Museum in Athens attracted a host of events by important public bodies and private companies such as the World Health Organization, INTRASOFT, GSK, NOVARTIS, MENARINI, BARILLA, BMW BANK, TITAN and VISA.
In 2023 the successful collaboration between the Β&Ε Goulandris Foundation and “Dipnosofistirion” continued. The group, which has a successful 25-year history, with a philosophy that focuses on refined quality and aesthetic, on the Greekness of flavours and high-quality service, undertook the exclusive provision of catering services to the venues available for event hosting at the Museum in Athens as well as the operation of the café-restaurant.
At the B&E Café Restaurant, visitors can enjoy coffee, breakfast, brunch and lunch, selecting from a rich menu created by distinguished executive chef and “Dipnosofistirion” partner, Dimitris Skarmoutsos, with an emphasis on fresh and wholesome local products which reflect seasonality and can cover the requirements not only of the café-restaurant but also of the numerous events which take place in the Museum’s areas available for hire.
In 2023, at a cocktail party hosted by the B&E Café Restaurant, the exclusive collaboration of Dipnosofistirion with the vegan bakery Holy Llama was announced, with many of the dishes that resulted from this partnership having enriched the B&E Café Restaurant menu.
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The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation was founded in 1979. It is a non-profit organization whose main mission is the operation of its museums on Andros and in Athens and the promotion of the visual arts at a domestic and international level.
Its founders and inspirers of this mission were the late Basil and Elise Goulandris who were notable for their unquenching passion for and love of the arts. They envisioned a lively cultural organization integrated into the broader context of international events in the field of the visual arts.
Through the Foundation that bears their name, they bequeathed Andros, Basil’s birthplace, with two innovative museums, the Old and the New Wing of the Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art which exhibits works by Greek and foreign artists, and every summer since 1986, hosts temporary exhibitions of distinguished Greek and foreign artists.
Basil and Elise Goulandris’ vision was the establishment of another museum in Athens in order to provide the opportunity for a wider audience to access and become familiar with the Art they both so loved. The Foundation’s Museum in Athens, inaugurated in October 2019, was designed to house the Foundation’s Collection which includes rare works by important artists of the European avant-garde such as Cézanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Degas, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Picasso, Braque, Léger, Kandinsky, Miró, Giacometti, Balthus, as well as works by distinguished Greek artists such as Parthenis, Bouzianis, Vassiliou, HadjikyriakosGhikas, Tsarouchis, Moralis, Tetsis, Takis, Chryssa, Stamos and others.
President
Fleurette P. Karadontis
Vice-President
Hélène Glykatzi-Ahrweiler
Secretary Kyriakos Koutsomallis
Members
Dimitra Filippou
Olga Mentzafou-Polyzou
Peter J. Goulandris
Administration Dr. Kyriakos Koutsomallis General Director
Viviane Koutsomallis-Kaniaris Head of Administration Legal Department
Kelly Skaftourou Financial Service, Head
Konstantinos Gordios Financial Service, Officer
Alexandra Papakostopoulou Secretary
Collection & Cultural Development
Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau Head
Alexandra Papakostopoulou Archive - Exhibitions’ Organisational Support
Filippia Cheilitsi Librarian
Leonidas Issaris
Kyriakos Bakalis Artworks’ Storage Facilities - Conservation
Education & Learning
Katerina Georgopoulou Head
Ioulia Marousi
Ioanna Koutsouki Creative Workshops - School Visits
Harissa Chelioti Bookings - Educational Programmes
Thodoris Roussopoulos
Mariana Bairaktari Trainees
Communications & Outreach
Katerina Voussoura Head
Yannis-Paris Ketipidis
Digital Media Coordinator
Panagiotis Tsironis
Graphic Designer
Business Development
Katerina Markadaki Head
Harry Masouras Rentals Management
Dimitris Feidanoglou Trainee
Shops - e-shop
Gina Marnelakis
Vassa Polena Heads
Leonidas Issaris E-shop Coordinator
Georgia Fraggista Athens’ Shop
Visitors Experience
Maria Chatzimanolidaki Head
Konstantinos Kormas Guided Tours Management
Christoforos Botsis
Pavlos Gkougiannos
Michalis Klaoudatos
Dimitra Lianou
Anita Liatsi Visitors Experience Staff
Information Technology
Yannis-Dimitris Prokopis Head
John Stavrakas Officer
Technical Department
Kyriakos Bakalis Head
Vladimir Madan Electrician
Lefteris Malamos Assistant
Giannis Oshafi General Duties
Security
Sotiris Piperas Head
Maria Vassileiou
Chryssa Georgala
Haris Kapsalis
Michalis Palaiologos
Dimitris Papakostopoulos
Antonis Paspaliaris
Nikolaos Roussos Guards
Maintenance & Cleaning
Marinos Lousides Head
Violetta Oshafi Coordinator
Alma Agoli
Marioga Gianissi
Riki Pangkilinan Cleaning
Museum of Contemporary Art, Andros
Michael Salonikis Visitors Experience
Anna Sideris Cleaning