IN THE SUMMER, in Greece, art travels to the islands. And the list of summer art exhibitions on the islands is only getting longer. One new addition this year is the island of Chios, where a unique art exhibition is being hosted in a picturesque medieval village. DEO, is the first contemporary art organisation in Chios, and it has kicked off its artistic programme for the summer of 2024, in collaboration with the community of the medieval settlement of Vessa, in the southwest of Chios. This year’s DEO edition consists of a large-scale public art exhibition, entitled ‘My Dreams Were Dashed Against Your Walls’, and a public programme running throughout the summer till September 8. Eight international artists are participating with commissions and existing works in an open-air exhibition which unfolds in the alleyways of Vessa, transforming a stroll through the village into an experience of contemporary art.

The exhibition ‘My Dreams Were Dashed Against Your Walls’ explores the space between movement and inertia, silence and noise, the “inside” and the “outside”, listening to areas where time itself stands still. The artists juxtapose their different artistic voices with echoes of the medieval architecture and atmosphere of Vessa, presenting a multimedia poetic narrative in a labyrinthine form. Drawing parallels between the stillness of the village and the numbness that often accompanies unresolved trauma, they walk side by side with the visitor along paths of healing.

Reflecting the pathologies of the global, Vessa stands as a reference point to the resilient spirit of communities around the world and their dreams to forge new paths. The exhibition My Dreams Were Dashed Against Your Walls is a peripatetic journey that asks us to look within ourselves and at the world we inhabit.

The parallel programme of events includes trekking, a literary workshop, a concert, guided tours and educational activities.

Participating artists: Ahmet Doğu İpek, Andreas Lolis, Francis Offman, Malvina Panagiotidi, Georgia Sagri, Socratis Socratous, Hale Tenger, Antrea Tzourovits

Curated by: Akis Kokkinos

Major Donors: Stamos J. Fafalios, Theodore Fatsis & Maria Apodiacos, Yiannis Skoufalos & Maria Kalomenidou

Patrons: Constantine & Christina Logothetis, Pancreta Bank

Supporters: Litsa Colakis, Irene Panagopoulos

Institutional support: Pylon Art & Culture, with the support of NEON Organization for Culture and Development, SAHA Association, Libra Philanthropies and DEO Young Patrons.

DEO x Pylon Collaboration: Starting this year, DEO implements a collaboration with Pylon Art & Culture, a non-profit organisation for contemporary art from Cyprus. Reflecting the cultural links between the two countries, Pylon supports Cypriot artists by presenting their work in the DEO programme and jointly organises talks to promote intercultural dialogue. For 2024, the two organisations have selected the artist Socratis Socratous to participate in the commissioned art programme.

• For more info on the DEO exhibition ‘My Dreams Were Dashed Against Your Walls’, and its parallel events, you may click here. Contact information: evitaky@deoprojects.com cc akis@deoprojects.com; Tel: +30 6977357600

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