Children's Art Exhibition: Opening Today at GCC

The Academy of Hellenic Paideia is proud to present The Children's Art Exhibition as part of the first Hellenic Art Festival TIMARETE. The exhibition comprises a selection of artworks created by the students of the Drawing and Painting class offered by the Academy, as well as a group of artworks by the students of the 8th Elementary School of Kordelio, Thessaloniki.

As a class, Drawing and Painting is open to both children and adults of diverse backgrounds who want to hone their talents, explore new skills or nurture their creativity. Ms. Antonia Papatzanaki, the instructor, teaches the fundamentals of freehand drawing and painting through traditional and experimental studio art methods, and a historic journey through the world of art. The children thus learn the basics of fine art in an environment intending to stimulate both their analytical intelligence and imagination.

The exhibition unveils the vivid imagination of children and the expression of their creativity through art in various media; acrylic on canvas, aquarelle on paper, fabric constructions, and collages. In this exhibition we can see how children can interact with art materials and create a world of their own.

All the participating artworks were donated by the students and will be auctioned to enhance the Festival ends. All the proceeds from the sale of the students’ works of the 8th Elementary School of Kordelio of Thessaloniki will be donated to support students of this school who are undernourished, given current conditions in Greece.

The exhibition is curated by the distinguished artist Ms. Antonia Papatzanaki, who was invited by the Academy of Hellenic Paideia to teach the Drawing and Painting class.

Born in Greece, Antonia Papatzanaki is a renowned international artist. Papatzanaki was educated in Athens School of Fine Arts (G. Nikolaidi’s Workshop), in the Vienna Hochschule für Angenwandte Kunst (W. Bertoni’s Workshop), and Pratt Institute in New York, where she acquired her Master’s degree in fine arts. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards: the Katonah Museum of Art, NY; Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Foundation for Hellenic Culture; Gerondelis Foundation, Lynn, MA; the Hellenic State Scholarship Foundation; and the F.V.S. zu Hamburg Foundation; and has gained first prizes from PanHellenic and International Competitions for public art work installations.

Her public light installation Agora was exhibited at Battery Park during 2000-2001 as part of the Temporary Public Art Program of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Her sculpture Lighthouse is permanently installed at “Kato Patisia” Square Metro Station, Athens, Greece. Papatzanaki has had fifteen solo exhibitions, including Refractions, Ekfrasi - Υianna Grammatopoulou, Athens 2013; Robust Mater and Image, Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete; Rethymnon 2010; Antonia Papatzanaki, Recent Works, Tsatsis Projects / Artforum, Thessaloniki 2008; Visions of Light, 112 Gallery; Chashama, New York 2007; and Squared Light, Titanium–Yiayiannos Gallery, Athens 2005.

Papatzanaki has also participated in more than fifty group exhibitions in Europe, Asia, and the United States, including Whispers, Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete; Rethymnon, 2016; History-Irony Vorres Museum, Paiania, Athens, 2015; Harmony, 22nd Seoul International Art Festival; Chosunilbo Musuem, S. Korea, 2014; New: Illusion or Reality, 4η Biennial, Tashkent, 2007; Artistic Fragments, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York 2005. Works by her are in the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, the Vorres Museum, in the Copelouzos family Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete, the American College of Greece, and in numerous private collections, while several outdoor public works are permanently installed throughout Greece. Critical essays analyze - Papatzanaki’s work in six solo exhibition catalogues, several group show catalogues, and two art books. More than one hundred articles and reviews of Papatzanaki’s works have been published in art periodicals, newspapers, and magazines in Greece and in New York. http://dp.iset.gr/en/artist/view.html?id=1621&tab=artworks&start=24&limit=8