Polyeco Contemporary Art Initiative dynamically continues to work on its framework of activities and pursue its objectives. Using art as a vehicle, through a series of events, sponsorships and international collaborations, PCAI aspires to realize a new creative context with the ultimate goal of raising awareness and informing the public about environmental issues, while indirectly breaching on the critical issue of waste management, which is not only technical, but also social and environmental.
PCAI collection of contemporary art has been enriched with two new works by artists Kostas Viitis and Natasa Efstathiadi, while four new commissions to artists Anja Kirschner, Saskia OldeWolbers, Loukia Alavanou and Vasilis Karouk are at production stage.
In September, Polyeco Contemporary Art Initiative sponsored the artist Emilia Bouriti. The artist’s performance Eleusis | Space Time Energy, which explores the relationship between the human body and the industrial landscape of Eleusina, was held Sunday, September 6th, 2015 at the Old Olive Oil Factory under the Aeschylia Festival 2015. The project is a fermentation of childhood memories of the rural and industrial Thriasion field area. In the center of the Thriasio field is Eleusina, a place of significant ancient history, which also marks the industrial development of the country over the past century.
The sculptures in our collection promote recycling and reuse, as they are manufactured with recyclable materials collected by Polyeco such as fluorescent light bulbs, batteries etc. The installation Metamorphoses by artist Efi Spyrou, a project created within the framework of Polyeco Contemporary Art Initiative PCAI , which was created using saturated fluorescent lamps, will be exhibited in the group show Plexus opening Thursday, November 19 2015 at the House of Cyprus – Cultural Centre of the Cyprian Embassy. The exhibition is curated by Tina Pandi and Stamatis Schizakis and will be open until January 15, 2016.
KEPLER, our video art work by George Drivas, continues to receive international acclaim, participating in international festivals such as Festival du Nouveau Cinema of Montreal and Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival 2015. KEPLER was created on the occasion of the award of contract to POLYECO by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for management of pesticides in Tbilisi Georgia and was recently presented at our booth in the International Conference on Pesticides held in Zaragoza, Spain, from 03 to 06 November 2015. Specialist scientists from different countries had the opportunity to learn about the PolyecoContemporary Art Initiative. All have expressed their willingness to contribute to this effort thus strengthening the Initiative’s intention to enrich its activities with specialized scientific knowledge, always with the primary goal of raising public awareness.
In November, (18 –21.11.2015), PCAI sponsored the Panorama of Ecological Films organized successfully for the twelfth consecutive year by the Greek Company of Environment and Culture (www.ellet.gr). This is a 4 day event, during which documentaries on the environment from around the world are shown. Awarded films, Greek and foreign, high aesthetics documentaries, short and feature films, carefully selected by a three-member committee will be screened at the Greek Film Archive “Lais” and the building of the Greek Society for Environment and Culture in Plaka between 18-21 of November. In this year’s Panorama 18 films from Greece, Italy, USA, France, Great Britain, Denmark and Colombia have been selected. Among these outstanding documentaries, three stand out for their special filming and themes. “Chasing Ice”, the award-winning documentary by Jeff Orlowski, conclusively demonstrates the reality of climate change by placing 25 time-lapse cameras in parts of the Arctic, which recorded for three years throughout the day, ancient mountains of ice disappearing within seconds. Climate change is visible through the shocking images of the documentary that won an EMMY award last year.
XENOS, by Mahdi Fleiffel is a short film which we have been waiting for anxiously. The documentary follows Palestinian immigrants on their journey to safe and stable Europe. Their journey comes to a halt when they reach Greece in times of crisis. Climate change is one of the major causes of migration and poverty in the developing world. Finally, Trashed staring Jeremy Irons, where he travels around the world discovering the magnitude and consequences of the global waste problem. KEPLER by artist George Drivas was shown on Sunday the 22nd of November during the last day of the festival. After the screening, G. Drivas did a short presentation of the film followed by a conversation with the audients.
The Panorama of Ecological Films also functions as a brainstorming platform for both artists and experts of each field by organizing open panel discussions with the audience. After completing screenings in Athens, Panorama will travel to other parts of Greece, aimed at raising awareness of the general public. So far, Panorama has organized viewings in Skiathos, Skopelos, Sifnos, Skyros, Messinia, Arkadia.
