APRIL FOOLS

EuroPride 2024 and the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki invite you to the solo art exhibition “April Fools” by Georgia Lale, from June 20 to June 28, 2024, at the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki Gallery.

Georgia Lale’s artwork addresses the phenomena of femicide and gender-based violence in Greece, and the systematic neglect and failure of state structures to protect its citizens. Lale’s work “Pink Flag,” created by the artist who lives and works in New York, became a symbol against femicides after it was censored by the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the exhibition “The Guilt of the Neighborhood” at the Greek Consulate General in New York.

The sculpture “April Fools” is a tribute to Kyriaki Griva, 28 years old, who was murdered on April 1, 2024, in front of the Agioi Anargyroi police station by her ex-partner. Kyriaki vainly sought help from the police, as the station failed to protect her. The artwork is made from sheets donated to the artist by women and femininities living in Greece, to be used for creating pieces that denounce gender-based violence and advocate for a welfare state capable of protecting all its citizens regardless of their gender and sexual identity.

The only condition for collecting the sheets was that they had been used by women and femininities to rest and dream of a world of equality and justice, where they would not be afraid to claim the lives they desire. The exhibition is organized by the Goethe-Institut as part of EuroPride 2024 and the Pride Parade in Thessaloniki, curated by Alexandros Kapetanos.

Curator Alexandros Kapetanos writes about Georgia Lale’s work:

“Lale’s works engage the social field in art, highlighting increasingly pressing social concerns and attitudes, revealing issues, pathologies, and behaviors of oppression, abuse, and patriarchy that have timelessly existed in every society. The fusion of the artistic with the social field comes through the weaving processes followed by the artist, sometimes inspired by tradition, sometimes using symbols, and sometimes transforming them through adaptive practices and reconstructions that invite the viewer to reflect, reconsider their position in the social fabric, and activate their behavioral reflexes. The imprint left on the soft and familiar feeling of the fabric is called to activate our memory on traumas and experiences, both personal and societal.”

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Text curation: Georgia Lale, Alexandros Kapetanos
Exhibition curation: Alexandros Kapetanos
Poster design: Georgia Lale, Thessaloniki Pride

INFORMATION

Opening: Thursday, June 20, 2024, 20:00
Duration: June 20-28, 2024 (excluding the holiday on June 24)
Hours: Monday – Friday 10:00 – 21:00
Saturday 11:00 – 13:00
Location: Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki
66 Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, 54642 Thessaloniki

Free Admission
Wheelchair accessible

CONTACT

Sotiris Stampoulis
Culture and Educational Cooperation Department
Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki
T: +30 2310 889 613
E: [email protected]