2024-04-30 15:18:17
The artistic residence of contemporary ceramics of the Residence of France was completed with particular success, with the participation for the first time from the Mediterranean South, of two great artists, the Egyptian ceramist Heba Helmi and the Lebanese Nina Salem Shabb.
For the entire month of April, the two artists had the opportunity to visit museums and archaeological sites of Rhodes, to get to know the cultural and architectural heritage of the place, the Rhodian ceramic art, the history and the beauties of the island and to share with the public their Rose techniques and traditions from their countries.
More specifically, the two creators were guided by the archaeologists Anna-Maria Kasdagli and Natassa Psarologakis to the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Byzantine Art, the Cosmetic Collection, the Grand Master’s Palace and, accompanied by Mrs. Aliki Moschi, they visited the Museum of Modern Greek Art, the Archangelos Folklore Museum, the Art Park in Archipolis, as well as the ceramics workshops of Kostas Neophytou, Dimitris Bonis, and Dimitris Yasirani. At the same time they visited Ancient Kamiro, Foudoukli, Lindos, Kallithea, Filerimos, Kymisala and the Ancient Stadium. They also had the opportunity to visit Symi and Panormitis.
The artists were taught the technique of Icarus by the ceramists Kostas Neophytou, Riga Simiou and Eleni Bouhuna.
At the beginning of the artistic residency, the two artists, in an open event at the Residence of France, presented their work to the public of Rhodes and proposed two master classes that were implemented with a very large participation.
The workshops had a total duration of 10 hours each and excited the participants who had the opportunity to be introduced to Arabic calligraphy by implementing a collective project and to new techniques by crafting elaborate ceramic objects.
During their stay, the artists were visited in the workshop of the Accommodation by school students and members of the 1st Kapi Rhodes.
The stay ended with a touching farewell event around the exhibition of the creations of the master classes. The participants highlighted the unique life experience they experienced during this month, praising not only the beauties and the unique cultural wealth of Rhodes, but also the hospitality of its inhabitants, citing “a unique life experience that will remain indelibly in the memory and our hearts”.
Particular emotion was caused by the statement of Nina Shabb’s husband from Lebanon, distinguished heart surgeon Basem Salem and former member of the Lebanese government, “every morning when you wake up remember that you live in a blessed place, of peace, prosperity, incredible culture and beauty, something that few people in the world are lucky enough to experience. Believe the words of someone who does not have this luck!
The local participants expressed similar enthusiasm for the pottery classes. Also noteworthy is the fact that many of the participants invited the artists to their homes, workshops and villages, and allowed them to get to know up close traditions and customs connected to the Easter season we are going through.
The artistic residence of ceramics of the Residence of France takes place within the framework of the “ALF in Motion” program of the Anna Lindh Foundation, funded by the European Union, in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Greek Art, the House of Europe in Rhodes, the Meadows organization based in Lebanon Shelter Art Space based in Egypt and has the support of the South Aegean Region, the French Consular Authority of Rhodes and the School of Fine Arts of Athens.
With this new geographical opening to the Mediterranean South, another step is taken towards the realization of the long-term goal of the Center for Ceramic Contemporary Art of the Residence of France, to once again make Rhodes a place of meeting and collaboration, a point of reference for artists from all over the Mediterranean, as it was in the past.