Exhibition

Exhibition
“Shield and symbol: from the ancient veil to the Hijab”

Monday 4th until Thursday 14th May 2009, Alekton Exhibition Hall, daily 6:00- 10:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday 6:00- 10:00 pm
Friday 15th and Saturday 16th May 2009, Athinais Cultural Centre, 10 am- 11pm.

Over the centuries, women’s head coverings have indicated their social and economic status, their religion, their faith or their place of residence. Depending on their form, various coverings (calyptras) have been used as a symbol of chastity, mourning, faith, loyalty, modesty, economic prestige, elegance, tradition or cultural identity. Today, headdresses have either a protection function or serve as a religious symbol, as is the case with Islam. The exhibition attempts to highlight, through the eyes of the artists, two main issues: on the one hand the continuity over time, the universality, the symbolisms and the messages that pervade head coverings through the ages in Europe and in the Hellenic culture; and on the other hand the controversy and conflict that permeate the perceptions of hijab both in western societies and in Islamic countries.

Artists taking part in the exhibition (in alphabetic order):
• Io Angeli
• Velissarios Voutsas
• Vassilis Vrettos
• Irene Gonou
• Sotiris Danezis
• Savvas Dimos
• Apostolis Zolotakis
• Iris Zoric
• Evi Kazakou
• Konstantina Katrakazou
• Nefeli Kontarini
• Harris Kondosphyris
• Kalliroi Marouda
• Panos Mitsopoulos
• Maria Deverikou
• Akis Peirounidis
• Theophano Saramanti
• Maria Schina
• Eleni Tzantzalos
Curator of the Exhibition: Louisa Karapidaki, Art Historian

For more information, please see the invitation for Athinais and Alekton,  the Exhibition Guide and the Poster.

Alekton Photos:

Athinais Photos: