Panel #4 ARTS AND ARTIFACTS
Guest speakers:
Saprofyta
Nadja Argyropoulou
Boulouki
Panagiotis Kostoulas
Coordination: Sophia Vyzoviti
Response: Zissis Kotionis
CV
Saprofyta (Saprophytes) is a collective artistic project that, since 2009, focuses on finding, processing and assembling pre-existing material which is in a state of conceptual decay or disparagement. The by-products of this activity are intended to form visual pastiches or/and new narrative frameworks, to multiply misreadings and recombinations by means of speculative fabulation. In this sense Saprofyta always move from and within areas of degrowth, and participate in a continuous organic feed-back processing the cultural production and its materials. Saprofyta has participated in the organization of exhibitions and projects of contemporary art, architecture, cultural communication, audiovisual documentation of art and artefacts, in Greece and abroad. The collective has participated in research projects, created new bibliographic collections and relevant archives as well as works of moving image and publications. Its founding members are, independent curator and art theorist Nadja Argyropoulou, and architect Yorgos Tzirtzilakis. People from various disciplines and of various interests participate in the projects initiated by Saprofyta.
Nadja Argyropoulou is an independent curator and art theorist. She has worked with a large number of public and private cultural and educational Institutions, Universities, art organizations and grass roots initiatives in Greece and abroad. She has written and edited texts for several art publications. She has curated many transdisciplinary events and exhibitions. She researches alternative networks of autonomous eco-activism, forms of queer anarchism, eccentric alliances of art and science. She is a founding member of the artistic/investigative collective Saprofyta, AICA (International Association of Art Critics) and IKT (International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art).
BOULOUKI is an interdisciplinary research collaborative, whose work is focused on the study of traditional building techniques and materials. In Greek Boulouki means “gaggle”, travelling group, a name evoking the tradition of travelling companies of stone masons and craftsmen. Its aim is to trace and document the living carriers of such traditional knowledge; to study and to further disseminate it through workshops and actual building projects which are organized in collaboration with local communities. Based upon these thematic axes, the group’s course of action includes conducting research, organizing workshops, conferences and cultural events; promoting projects in collaboration with local communities and their stakeholders.
Panos Kostoulas is an architect. He has graduated from University of Patras and completed his post-graduate studies in Materials Science and Technology at the NTUA, focusing on historic mortars. Since 2012, he has worked as an architect, both as an employee and collaborator with several architectural firms in India and Greece and also as a part-time lecturer in Ooty McGan’s School of Architecture in Tamil Nadu, India. He has participated and organised workshops related to natural and traditional building techniques in Greece and abroad. Panos is a co-founder of Boulouki.