The aim of the conference is to explore the parameters of contemporary art through the lens of its history and theory, as a distinct phenomenon that emerged predominantly in the so-called Western world in the early 1960s and has since acquired a “planetary” dimension. The focus lies on contemporary art as a critical cultural category that develops its own specific critical vocabulary, rather than merely a cultural trend associated with processes of social modernization.
The conference will follow two main directions. On one hand, it will focus on issues related to the international working, economic, and institutional environment within which contemporary art shapes its artistic practice and theoretical apparatus. On the other hand, it will attempt to examine how professionals engaged in contemporary art—mainly historians, theorists, and curators—who are generally based in Greece, form their own navigational experiences and define their position within this complex, novel, and often contradictory international environment.
Scientific and Organizing Committee:
- Nikos Daskalothanassis, Athens School of Fine Arts
- Panos Kouros, University of Patras
PROGRAMME
Saturday, May 24, 2025
10:00 Welcome Address by Panagiotis Roilos, George Seferis Professor of Modern Greek Studies and of Comparative Literature, Harvard University, President of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi
The international Context of Contemporary Art
Labour / Economy / Market / Institutions
Chair: Yannis Stavrakakis
10:20
Angela Dimitrakaki, The University of Edinburgh
From the ‘Politics of Representation’ to ‘Performative Practices’: Art Labour’s Adaptive Course through Contemporary Capitalism
10:40
Sotiris Bahtsetzis, University of Thessaly
Topo-economies and the Art of Immanence: How the Politics of the Anthropocene Shape the Practices and Theoretical Discourse of Contemporary Art
11:00
Elpida Karaba, University of Thessaly
The Specter of Impact and the Power of Resonance: Art, Material and Immaterial Production under the Global Touristic Condition
11:20 Discussion
12:00 Coffee Break
The Critical Tools of Contemporary Art
Chair: Areti Adamopoulou
12:30
Vanessa Theodoropoulou, TALM, École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Angers
Impact, Instrumentality, Subversion. Comments on the Radicality of Contemporary Art
12:50
Angeliki Roussou, The University of Edinburgh
Instituent Praxis and Contemporary Art: Examining the ‘Right to Opacity’
13:10
Panos Kouros, University of Patras
Is Desistance Better than Resistance? Critical Practices Between Radical Withdrawal and Institutional Engagement
13:30 Discussion
Contemporary Art: History and Theory
Chair: Angela Dimitrakaki
17:30
Yannis Stavrakakis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Art and Politics: Linkages of a Performative Choreography
17:50
Anna Maria Kanta, University of Ioannina
Contemporary Art and the Dilemma of its Mediation: The Example of Anna Oppermann
18:10
Nikos Daskalothanasis, Athens School of Fine Arts
NFTs: Contemporary Art as Cynical Practice
18:30 Discussion
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Greece and Contemporary Art
Chair: Elpida Karaba
11:00
Xenia Kalpaktsoglou, Laboratory for Urban Commons (Neo Cosmos)
Perpetual Negotiation and its Conditionings: Resilience and Self-Regulation, Flexibility and Precarity, Self-Definition and Normalisation
11:20
Areti Adamopoulou, University of Ioannina
Art Installations in Greece: From Marginality to Dominance — From Critical Practice to the Globalized Art Market?
11:40
Christoforos Marinos, City of Athens Culture, Sports and Youth Organization
The Savage Wild Forest and the House of Safety: The Greek Curator as Allegorist
12:00
Eirini Gerogianni, Athens School of Fine Arts
Contemporary Art in Greece: The Role of Private Institutions and Public Museums
12:20 Discussion
13:00 Roundtable Discussion
