ARCAthens presents Dawn DeDeaux
ARCAthens is delighted to present pioneering artist Dawn DeDeaux in a special public presentation on Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m., in Athens. Shortly after presenting her work at the 61st Venice Art Biennale, the internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist from New Orleans arrived in Greece for the first time, invited by ARCAthens, to introduce her influential work to the Athenian audience at Cotsen Hall of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.
Throughout her long-standing career, DeDeaux’s work has posed urgent questions and often focuses on issues that are more relevant today than ever, including climate catastrophe, environmental collapse, displacement, and the future of planetary survival. Her multidisciplinary artistic practice spans large-scale installations, photography, video, sculpture, and performance. In addition to her recent participation in this year’s Venice Biennale exhibition Minor Keys, curated by Koyo Kouoh, her work has been presented at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hammer Museum, Ballroom Marfa, MassMOCA and the New Orleans Museum of Art, among many others.
Over the years, Dawn DeDeaux has developed a strong presence within the ARCAthens community through her longstanding engagement with the organization’s programs in New Orleans. To date, she has hosted four ARCAthens programs at Camp Abundance, New Orleans—an exceptional artist residency and special event compound for artists, scholars, and creatives—offering participants valuable insight into the city’s artistic, cultural, and environmental landscape.
As part of her talk at Cotsen Hall, DeDeaux will join a conversation with former ARCAthens Fellows, reflecting the ongoing and ever-strengthening cultural exchange between New Orleans and Athens fostered through the organization’s programs. The conversation will feature ARCAthens Fellows Maro Michalakakos, Vicky Tsirou, and Dionisis Christofilogiannis, together with Seth Boonchai, Program Manager of the New Orleans program. DeDeaux’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session and a reception.
Dawn DeDeaux states: “My collaboration with ARCAthens has revealed to me how the power of artistic exchange between cities with deep memory, such as Athens and New Orleans, can create meaningful bridges. My first visit to Athens is not only an important moment of connecting my work with the Athenian public and with the city’s ancient and contemporary history, but also the culmination of a long-standing dialogue with exceptional Greek artists and curators.”
Aristides Logothetis, Executive Director of ARCAthens, notes that: “It is a great pleasure to welcome the artist Dawn DeDeaux to Athens. The relationship between ARCAthens and Dawn is rooted in New Orleans, where she has hosted four of our programs at Camp Abundance. The event at Cotsen Hall represents a moment of reconnection, expressing in the most direct way the deeper cultural exchange between Athens and New Orleans.”
More about Dawn DeDeaux
Dawn DeDeaux is a nationally exhibiting artist born and based in New Orleans whose work explores the cultural, environmental, and social conditions shaping contemporary and future life. Drawing from cataclysmic events such as Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon “Οil Spill”, Louisiana’s vanishing coastline, and broader planetary crises, DeDeaux has been at the forefront of envisioning a post-Anthropocene world through immersive installations, video, photography, performance, and sculpture. Her work has been exhibited at the 61st Venice Art Biennale and institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Hammer Museum, Ballroom Marfa, and the New Orleans Museum of Art, which hosted her 2022 retrospective The Space Between Worlds. The exhibition was accompanied by the monograph Dawn DeDeaux: The Space Between Worlds, published by Hatje Cantz. Her ongoing MotherShip Series was recently presented over a two-year period at MASS MoCA and at the Transart Foundation for Art and Anthropology. DeDeaux has also been an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Alongside her studio practice, DeDeaux is an educator, lecturer, and collaborator with scientific and environmental organizations focused on climate change, coastal erosion, and public health. She has taught and presented at institutions including Princeton University, the School of Visual Arts / New York, the University of North Carolina, and Tulane University. She is a founder of the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center, the artist residency Camp Abundance, and served on the Board of Directors of Prospect New Orleans. www.dawndedeaux.net/
Date: Thursday 25 June 2026
Arrival time: 6: 30 pm
Starting time: 7:00 pm
Participants: Dawn DeDeaux, ARCAthens Fellows and alumni: Maro Michalakakos, Vicky Tsirou, and Dionisis Christofilogiannis, and NOLA program manager Seth Boonchai.
Venue: Cotsen Hall, American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 9 Anapiron Polemou Str., Kolonaki, Athens 106 76.