Ira Papadopoulou
Director of Cultural Affairs of the Hellenic American Union
Hellenic American Union:
A cross-cultural meeting point
The Hellenic American Union is a
not-for-profit educational and cultural organization founded in 1957 by
prominent educational, political and business leaders with the mission
of fostering cross-cultural understanding. Since its founding the
Hellenic American Union has used its program of cultural events to
present currents in arts, both in Greece and abroad and to provide a
creative forum for established but also young artists from Europe and
the United States. With a rich program of cultural events
-ranging from
exhibitions of contemporary art, screenings and theatre or music
performances to lectures, book presentations and cultural seminars- the
Hellenic American Union has succeeded in becoming one of the most
prominent institutions on the Athens cultural scene.
Culture embodies the intellectual and aesthetic wealth of nations and
can be found in fields such as the arts, science, philosophy, politics,
and the environment. The Hellenic American Union presents events
pertaining to all these fields, fostering cross-cultural bonds and
promoting inclusiveness. The choice of cultural events is part of a more
general policy to link the two main areas in which our institution is
active: education and culture. We are proud not only to present widely
acclaimed events and figures of international calibre, but also to
appeal to a young people's audience, especially school and university
students. All our events and cultural activities are not productions on
tour, but are conceived and realized by our Cultural Affairs Division in
accordance with the preferences and interests of our public.
In recent decades the Hellenic American Union galleries have hosted
exhibitions by renowned visual artists such as Terry Atkinson, Joseph
Beuys, Candice Breitz, Bruce Davidson, Peter Greenaway, the Guerrilla
Girls, and Joseph Kosuth. In our auditorium we have also featured many
eminent Greek and foreign figures in the arts and sciences such as
Andreas Manolikakis, Tod Papageorge, Jerome Rothenberg, David Sedaris,
Norman Solomon and Richard Wolin.
Continuing this long tradition of offering cultural events to a broad
range of audiences, our programming for the upcoming biennium includes a
number of important in-house productions as well as events organized in
cooperation with Greek and foreign institutions. We are pleased to
announce two upcoming exhibitions scheduled for the end of 2009. The
first presents works by the young English artist and nominee for the
2006 Turner Prize, Mark Titchner. The exhibition The Age of Happiness
features light boxes, video and sculpture installations. The second
presents the work of American photographer Leon Levinstein who gained
acclaim for his unique style of street photography that was shockingly
direct and at the same time elegant. Other events scheduled for the near
future include an exhibition that focuses on migration and in particular
expatriates who return to their homeland, as well as exhibitions on the
history of our neighboring Balkan countries.
In addition to these exhibitions we have also scheduled concerts of
classical, jazz, folk and contemporary music as well as lectures on the
history of music, continuing our very successful collaboration with the
Greek Composers' Union and the Hellenic American University. Finally, in
our effort to present high profile lectures, we are proud to be hosting
the internationally renowned author Alain de Botton.
In designing our cultural program we seek to offer a variety of events
that will appeal to a diverse public, meet the expectations of a
demanding audience and serve our mission of making the arts accessible
to all. We believe we are succeeding in this mission. The Hellenic
American Union is a cross-cultural meeting point for all those who love
art and those who create art.
