Exhibition

We Apologize by Adrian Paci

20 Oct 2021 – 12 Nov 2021

Regular hours

Monday
12:00 – 20:00
Tuesday
12:00 – 20:00
Wednesday
12:00 – 20:00
Thursday
12:00 – 20:00
Friday
12:00 – 20:00
Saturday
12:00 – 20:00
Sunday
12:00 – 20:00

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Victoria Square

Athens
Attiki, Greece

Event map

The artist Adrian Paci creates the installation We Apologize followed by the invitation of the organizations Counterpoints Arts and Victoria Square Project, will be hosted at Victoria Square from 20th October to 12th November 2021.

About

From 20th October to 12th November 2021, Victoria Square, Athens will host “We Apologize” - a new, in situ art installation by visual artist Adrian Paci. The work is the product of many months of research in collaboration with old and new residents from the Victoria Square neighbourhood, following an invitation by the Counterpoints Arts and Victoria Square Project organizations, curated by Niovi Zarampouka-Chatzimanou, director of VSP and Almir Koldzic, director of Counterpoints Arts.

Victoria Square is one of the most contested and politically charged public spaces in Greece. It is a meeting point for many different communities that make up the neighborhood and is often associated with the debates around migration and refugees. “We apologize” does not take a specific stance on these debates, but instead it challenges us to rethink, look at each other, and find better ways to live together. It is addressed to all of us, regardless of our stance and our different needs, imposing no conclusions of its own on the public space, but rather acting as food for thought —as is generally the case with the works of Adrian Paci.

A public programme consisting of all-ages workshops, debates, tours and other activities on the issues posed by the work will take place alongside the installation. The program schedule is realized in collaboration with and the support of Goethe Institut Athen. 

**Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience that may arise from the presence of the installation in Victoria Square. We understand that even a small shift from our everyday itinerary and routine may be annoying, and we acknowledge the difficulty in coexisting with what is “new,” “other,” or “unknown” — qualities that may indeed challenge the things we take as given in our everyday lives. 

 

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The installation “We Apologize” is part of the “Across Borders” European programme with the support of the Athens Culture Net of the City of Athens. It forms part of VSP’s long-standing presence in the broader Victoria district as well as of the research and curatorial question “Who is the contemporary Athenean?”. Major Donor of VSP and the research and curatorial question is Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). The program is implemented in cooperation with Kulturstiftung Allianz. 

 

Opening

The opening of the installation will take place in Victoria Square, on 20th October 2021, at 20:00.

 

Adrian Paci 

Adrian Paci (born in 1969 in Shkoder, Albania) studied painting at the Academy of Art of Tirana. In 1997 he moved to Milan where he lives and works. Throughout his career he held numerous solo shows in various international institutions such as: Kunsthalle, Krems (2020); Galleria Nazionale delle Arti, Tirana (2019); Museo Novecento, Florence (2017); MAC, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (2014); Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea – PAC, Milan (2014); Jeu de Paume, Paris (2013); Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich (2010); Bloomberg Space, London (2010); The Center for Contemporary Art – CCA, Tel Aviv (2009); MoMA PS1, New York (2006) and Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (2005).

Amongst the various group shows, Adrian Paci’s work has also been featured in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2014); in the 48th and the 51st edition of the International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (respectively in 1999 and 2005); in the 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006); in the 15th Quadriennale di Roma, where he won first prize (2008); in the Biennale de Lyon (2009); and in the 4th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (2013).

His works are in numerous public and private collections including Metropolitan Museum, New York, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, MAXXI, Rome, Fundacio Caixa, Barcelona, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, UBS Art Collection, London, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, New York Public Library, New York, Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, New York, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle.

Adrian Paci teaches painting and visual art at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti NABA, Milan. He has been a teaching art classes at Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo, 2002-2006, IUAV, Venice 2003-2015 and has been giving lectures and workshops in many Universities, Art Academies and Institutions in different countries

Victoria Square Project is an evolving social sculpture. A contemporary artwork, while at the same time a physical space of reference for the neighborhood, VSP acquires its meaning and value in the context of urban development and neighborhood planning around its particular urban area. Currently it operates as a contemporary art space focused on the empowerment and inspiration of the residents of Victoria. Who is the contemporary Athenian? is the question posed, as an attempt to identify concretely the elements that define an inclusive Athenian society today beyond labels like “immigrant”, refugee, first or second generation, Greek etc, but under the common ground of the neighbours and co-citizens. Our aim is to have a concrete contribution in identifying this collective identity and putting in the public sphere more actively the questions of belonging, democracy, the crisis, fascism, while empowering our community with a special focus on the youth, and become a reference for community engaged art projects in Greece.  

Counterpoints Arts is a leading organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change. Our mission is to support and produce the arts by and about migrants and refugees, seeking to ensure that their contributions are recognized and welcomed within British arts, history and culture. Central to our mission is our belief that arts can inspire social change and enhance inclusion & cultural integration of refugees & migrants. We work across all art forms and collaborate with a range of people and partners, including artists, arts/cultural and educational organizations and civil society activists. We are based in Hoxton, London working nationally and internationally.

What to expect? Toggle

CuratorsToggle

Niovi Zarampouka-Chatzimanou

Almir Koldzic

Exhibiting artistsToggle

Adrian Paci

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