Talk: Iliana Fokianaki, AFTER PRECARITY. MEGA-EXHIBITIONS AND PERIPHERAL CONTEXTS

What is the role of mega-exhibition in peripheral contexts, and how does it relate to the model of the small-scale institution operating in precarious conditions? Iliana Fokianaki, founder and director of the non-profit organisation State of Concept in Athens, will discuss these phenomena through examples of her own work and other institutions in the Western and non-Western context. She will also present the new platform Future Climates (co-founded with Antonia Alampi), which deals with financing systems for small-scale institutions and their role in the wider map of arts production. 
 
Iliana Fokianaki is a writer and curator based in Athens and Rotterdam, and from March 2017 on, curator at Kunsthal Extra City in Antwerp. In 2013, she founded State of Concept, a non-profit exhibition space in Athens that promotes Greek and international artists and collaborates with international curators in an exhibition program concerned with socio-political topics. The gallery has collaborated with artists such as Laure Prouvost, Hito Steyerl and Keren Cytter. In addition, State of Concept is offering a pedagogical program with opportunities for artists and students to engage in a discussions and develop projects. Iliana Fokianaki has taught Theory of Photography from 2005-2014 at Focus College in Athens. She has written for magazines such as Frieze, LEAP, Art Papers and Monopol whilst extensively commenting on Greek contemporary culture and current affairs in the local media. She holds an MA in Art Criticism from City University London, and is currently working on a PhD on performativity/identity and politics at Panteion University Athens.

This talk is part of Index ongoing series of talks with artists and curators. The talk with Iliana Fokianaki is organized in collaboration with Iaspis, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s International Programme for Visual and Applied Artists, as part of the series Flying Carpet.