NEW YORK – Greece in USA launched the new cultural venue ‘The Opening Gallery’ in Tribeca (42 Walker Street) that hosted a concert by composer and bassist Petros Klampanis on November 7. The Opening Gallery is currently featuring the group exhibition ‘Collective Brain’ with Greek visual artists Alexandros Georgiou, Yioula Hadjigeorgiou, Peggy Kliafa, Artemis Kotioni, Eleni Mylonas, Vasilis Zarifopoulos, Dimitris Tragkas, and Adonis Volanakis. Proceeds support neurodiversity and the autistic community via the non-profit Luv Michael.

Greece in USA’s new initiative will be presented this week in Athens. The Hellenic American University (Nashua, NH), with the support of the Terra Foundation for American Art (Chicago) and the Hellenic American Union, presents the first International Conference Terra (in) Cognita: Dialogues between Greek Culture & Modern American Art November 10-13. Researchers and artists will meet in Athens to explore the influence of central pillars of Greek culture, such as myth, symbolism and ancient tragedy in contemporary American art.

According to the organizers of the conference, Dr. Ermioni Karahaliu and Dr. Panagiotis Kalozoumis, the aim is to highlight the basic elements that shaped this cultural dialogue within a single conceptual and cultural framework. Particularly important for the work of the Conference is the presence of Dr. Sozita Goudouna, founder of the non-profit organization Greece in USA. In her opening speech, on November 10, Dr. Goudouna will talk about the representation of Greek art in the contemporary American cultural scene and the work of the organization Greece in USA.

GREECE IN USA
The organization is “an innovative cultural platform which aims to promote contemporary Greek artists in the USA, through exhibitions and educational programs to establish a strong “artistic diplomacy.”

GALAN TRIO IN THE U.S.

Greece in USA also presents the Greek music ensemble Galan Trio and its project ‘Kinesis’, a survey on the music of contemporary American composers in an original, multifaceted concert program that will be performed in seven distinguished universities in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois presenting new commissions in collaboration with prominent composition professors.

Kinesis is an undirected movement of a cell, organism, or part, in response to an external stimulus. In Greek, Kinesis means movement, motion. Motion is a fundamental characteristic of all living beings; motion is what all musicians worldwide have desired during the last couple of years of ‘lockdown living.” Motion alludes to continuity and is a promise for the future of ‘Kinesis’ itself.

The first edition of the project featured the work of composers Nikitas Demos, Martin Gendelman, Paul Richards, Scott Robbins, and Yiorgos Vassilandonakis who contributed one original work for piano trio reflecting on the period of the pandemic. The second edition featured the work of Matthew Greenbaum, Todd Groves, John Levey, David Martynuik, Ken Steen, and David Thomas. The November 2022 edition features the work of Alex Lubet, Mary Ellen Haupert, Daniel Powers, Jeffrey Kowalkowksi, Pantelis Bolarakis, Dylan Findley, Navid Bargrizan, and Brooke Joyce.

The Galan Trio concert is part of Greece in USA’s new program ‘Greece Now’ which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. It focuses on Greek artists who experiment with ‘nowness’ and reflect upon the ubiquity and social ramifications of ‘nowness’ in their work.

More information is available online: https://greeceinusa.com/.