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Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death: Live event and viewing of the exhibition by Arthur Jafa, followed by open discussion with 7 Afro-Greeks, Municipal Theatre of Piraeus
12/09/2022 Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, Greece
One of the most prominent American artists, internationally renowned for his works and winner of the Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice Biennale, presents in Greece the work Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death. The exhibition was an initiative of Greece in USA and the international Greek curator Sozita Goudouna in collaboration with the administration of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus.
At the initiative of the Døcumatism group and Menelaos Karamagiolis, who are filming the artistic and collective project the AfroGreeks, 7 of its Afro-Greek protagonists, were invited to see the work of the famous African-American artist Arthur Jafa, and were guided by the curator of the project, Sozita Gountouna.
The tour provoked a productive conversation with the curator where the Afro-Greek participants of the project dynamically expressed their opinions, their concerns and others expressed a critical approach to the art piece, and also tried to create a connection with the current reality of the African Diaspora in Greece. The work, which was a video installation, became an occasion to develop a conversation about racism, appropriation, the power of art to create bridges between cultures, but also its use to transmit or reproduce stereotypes. The meeting ended with a guided tour at the Rodeo Gallery in Piraeus, focused on the works of Thanasis Totsikas and Koula Savvidou, leading to a concert featuring Totsikas’ work.
