On the 21st and 22nd of May 2022, PostScriptum organised the local event “Cultivating Mindful Communities” in Kythnos island, presenting the ECHO II project to local artists and communities, and exhibiting the artworks created in the ECHO II art residencies in dialogue with the local tradition of Xerolithia (the art of drystone walling).

About the event

The event took place at the Primary School of Chora. PostScriptum selected this venue not only because of its educational character, but also because the school has hosted several cultural and educational activities in the past, and therefore could bring the local community together and facilitate local awareness of the ECHO II action. Moreover, the school building is a typical example of the Cycladic architecture. Its plain construction and minimalistic design was ideal for hosting the ECHO II artworks’ exhibition along with the photography exhibition dedicated to the art of drystone walling, a local tradition of Kythnos island (see “Parallel events” below).

The main purpose of this event was to enhance artistic exchanges further, present the diversity of traditions and forms of art, and encourage the local communities to act as ambassadors of ECHO II by organising similar actions creatively intertwined with the local values and traditions. For this reason, the event opened with a series of speeches, starting from a welcome note from Mr. Kostas Konstantinidis (founder of PostScriptum) and Mina Karatza (project manager of ECHO II on behalf of PostScriptum). A welcome message from the Mayor of Kythnos, Mr. Stamatis Garderis followed, as well as a greeting speech by Chara-Helene Mitsotakis, President of Kythniale Cultural Initiative. Kythniale initiative aims to embrace the outputs of ECHO II by disseminating its objectives, and particularly the importance of traditions fully aligned to the values of safeguarding cultural inheritance. At the same time, Kythniale aims to implement similar actions that will be creatively intertwined with the local society of the island. Mr. Manolis Kozadinos, a local drystone builder, gave an insightful speech about the local tradition of the island, and the former Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Greece, Dr. Katerina Koskina (art historian-museologist), elaborated on the “DryStone Walling in Transition: Related Techniques in Contemporary Art”.

In parallel, two exhibitions were hosted during the event, a screening of a documentary, as well as a digital window where all the ECHO II artworks were screened during the course of the event. The curator offered an exhibition guided walkthrough with the intervention of the artist-in-residence in Sofia, Ennios Eros Giogos who spoke also about his inspirations, challenges and the residency experience.

Parallel events

ECHO II Exhibition

The ECHO II exhibition was a selection of 20 artworks that were created from the ECHO II artists-in residence. The selected artworks were exhibited as digital reproduction prints or videos of the original artworks, and were placed in that way in order to create a dialogue with the DryStone Walls (Xerolithia) photographic works. The exhibition aimed to highlight the importance of tradition, with contemporary means of expression, not only as a “witness” of the past, but also as a “mechanism” of inspiration and re-establishment of its value within the local community in order to revisit it, re-embrace and reclaim it.

DryStone Walls (Xerolithia) Photography Exhibition

Six photographers (5 locals and 1 guest) were invited for a photo excursion on the island in early May (6-8 May 2022). Their photographic works were inspired from the drystone of Kythnos, and a photo exhibition took place at the event. The photo exhibition aimed to connect contemporary artistic creation with the local tradition that is the drystone enhancing cultural production, while promoting further the link between artistic creation and local traditions.

The local community supported the event by coming to the school where it took place. During the event, the photographers discussed a possible future collaboration for an exhibition in the near future in Kythnos. A selection of the digital reproductions of the ECHO II prints, as well as a selection of the photographic works were donated to the School as a gesture of gratitude for the provision of the space and the authorisation to use the school courtyard as an exhibition space.

Moreover, in parallel to the physical event, a 360 virtual tour of the exhibition was produced, representing the physical spaces, and was implemented with high resolution photography using matterport technology. The application allows the virtual visitor to freely navigate the space through high fidelity panoramas. This exhibition is particularly interesting since the event’s duration was limited, but its virtual representation offers the possibility to the user to revisit it online.