The research project “Research Dissemination for Art in a Technological Society” (“TECHNO-LOGIA”) in collaboration with the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall, organized on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, an event on the occasion of the ongoing exhibition of the artist Maria Papanikolaou, Free From What.

The guests had the opportunity to tour the artist’s exhibition, which presents “minimalist in situ interventions, sculptural and audiovisual installations and projections, in a subtly dialogical interplay between them, creating a low-voiced contemplative universe” as well as the “lecture-performance ‘Motivation,’” which constitutes a pending and ongoing creation, which is constantly measured in each of the artist’s encounters with the public.”

This was followed by an interesting discussion on art, in which the Principal Investigator of the Project, Associate Professor of the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), Kostas Ioannidis, the artist Maria Papanikolaou and the curator of the exhibition, Anna Kafetsi, participated. During the discussion, interesting questions were raised about the role of art in our time, while the artist Maria Papanikolaou answered questions about her exhibition. At the end of the Event, there was also a constructive exchange of opinions between the speakers and the audience.

Elina Pantou, member of the Department of Research Projects of HFRI, addressed the Event. She referred to the “TECHNO-LOGIA” Hub, which was evaluated with a high score and pointed out that “in the 6 years of HFRI. we are proud that through its activities the Foundation has funded and continues to fund Projects in the Scientific Area of Humanities and Arts, especially at a time when the degradation and devaluation of the latter is often observed or attempted,” while at the end of her speech, paraphrasing the words of Mrs. Kafetsi for the Centre for Contemporary Art of the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall, she expressed her hope that “this project ‘will provide a way out of the closed space’ in which academic research on the relationship between Art and Technology remains trapped and that it will be ‘another gateway to the world.’”

The exhibition Free From What will run until Sunday, October 29, 2023, in the Alternative Space of the Service Yard of the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall. As part of this exhibition, the artist will meet and offer her last guided tour to the public on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 18:00-20:00 (free admission), while she will present the lecture-performance “Motivation” in the Project Room of the Service Yard of the Megaro, the Athens Music Hall on Sunday, October 29 at 16:00-20:00.

The research Project “Research Dissemination for Art in a Technological Society” is implemented by the Department of Art Theory and History of ASFA and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and is supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) within the framework of the 3rd Call of the Action “Science and Society” entitled “Research, Innovation and Dissemination Hubs.” It is worth noting that this flagship Action aimed, among other things, at disseminating and promoting the research projects produced or in progress by the country’s research institutions to the broader society, young scientists, and/or remote geographical areas through innovative, original approaches.

Below are photographs from the exhibition.