NOLA/NYCBX Research Fellowship Spring 2023
Residency Begins: Saturday, April 1st 2023 – Wednesday, May 31st 2023
Danai Giannoglou (b. 1992 in Athens/GR) is a curator, writer and editor currently living and working independently between Athens and Amsterdam. Danai is the co-founder and curator of Enterprise Projects, a project space in Athens that has been functioning independently and periodically since September 2015, as well as the editor of Enterprise Projects Journal, a publishing initiative by Enterprise Projects in the form of a bilingual online publication of newly commissioned theoretical and research essays.
Between 2020 and 2022 she held the position of Assistant Curator at de Appel in Amsterdam. Previous to that she was the Exhibitions Archive Coordinator at the Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens (2018-2019). She has contributed texts to catalogues, artist’s books and magazines, edited publications and curated exhibitions and programmes for various institutions and organizations in Greece and abroad (Piet Zwart Institute, The Breeder, B&M Theocharakis Foundation, Hotel Maria Kapel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, de Appel, Enterprise Projects, Galerie Michel Journiac).
Giannoglou studied Theory and History of Art at the Athens School of Fine Arts, as well as Cultural Management and Curating at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris. She was a participant of the de Appel Curatorial Programme 2019/2020 in Amsterdam, as well as a resident at Rupert in Lithuania in 2016 and at the 8th Gwangju Biennale International Curator Course in South Korea in 2018. Danai Giannoglou is a recipient of the Onassis AiR Emergency Fellowship 19/20 as well as the 2 nd SNF Artist Fellowship Program (Curating).
‘’As a curator and writer my practice focuses on the need to create space and time for relationships to emerge between artists, artworks and audiences, as well as the development of artistic and institutional tools in order to read and approach current social and political issues. In this multidisciplinary process I look for interlocutors, collaborators, partners and I become them myself, letting different roles and identities fade into one another. I am particularly drawn to thoughts, objects and words that touch upon matters of language and translation in conjunction with the experience of homeness and belonging.”
Maro Michalakakos was born in Athens, where she lives and works. Her work, enigmatic and multidimensional (sculptural installations, paintings, drawings, relief on velvet and performance), featuring strong social and cultural references, is often “interwoven” with personal and family memories and characterized by a rare refined rawness. She creates installations that treat space as a
philosophical whole instead of merely a setting, and chooses figures and themes that are always characterized by intensity. Her artistic universe borders on the realm of dreams, with a superficial serenity deliberately situated in the liminal space between reality and imagination. She has participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Europe, USA and Turkey, and has repeatedly collaborated with major theater directors and companies for the creation of set installations (National Theatre of Greece, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Onassis Culture, Poria Theater). Works of hers are featured in several collections, including: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tate Britain, FNAC – Paris, Istanbul Modern (Istanbul Museum of Modern Art), and many private collections.
“I am exploring the relationship between life and death; the way in which awareness of the inevitability of the end, of individual finiteness but also of the collective cycle of life, resonates in the perception and ultimately, in the quality of life. The perception we have of our finiteness changes with age. My work evolves in this same rhythm.
I use scalpels to shave velvet. I can see the end. I’m forced to stop by the weft of the fabric. I paint birds. Birds have the power to fly and scratch without guilt. Are these powers the conditions of freedom? The connection between scalpels and talons is evident.”
Program Summary
Inaugural Fellows, Danai Giannoglou (Curatorial Fellow) and Maro Michalakakos (Visual Art Fellow), were immersed in the vibrant cultural fusion of New Orleans and New York City, where the rich heritage of two distinctive American cities offered a unique opportunity to actively connect with two communities known for their art and diversity through public presentations, bespoke studio visits to local artists, enriching cultural and educational excursions, as well as meaningful interactions with professionals from esteemed institutions.
New Orleans (April) – Our base was the legendary Camp Abundance and our Fellows were able to connect with the larger New Orleans community.
New York City (May) – Our base was the ARCAthens HQ in The Bronx where our Fellows were ideally situated to explore all boroughs while focusing on connecting and engaging with the local Bronx art community.
- Live-work accommodations (Camp Abundance in New Orleans and ARCAthens Headquarters in the Bronx)
- Airfare expenses from Athens to New Orleans, New Orleans to New York, and New York to Athens.
- The ARCAthens Fellowship ($2,000)
- $150 Honorarium per week for eight weeks
- Introductions and outreach to the cultural communities in New Orleans and New York.
- Invitations to applicable cultural events.
- Opportunities for weekly dinners with the Executive Director, Board members, Advisory Council members, and/or people in the community.
ARCAthens and New Orleans Museum of Art
Present
A Talk with Danai Giannoglou and Maro Michalakakos (4-26-2023)
