Report 2000-2003

By Anna Kafetsi
Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art

A cycle of operation of the newly established National Museum of Contemporary Art has already been completed. The cycle had originated in June 2000, with our temporary settlement on the ground floor of the long deserted former Fix brewery, where we installed some offices and an exhibition space of 1800 m2. The cycle closed in September 2003 with the transfer of the Museum premises in a neighbouring building and the hosting of our exhibitions since December 2003, in the new exhibition space of Megaron /The Athens Concert Hall, to allow the commencement of the reconstruction works of the entire Fix building, which after its completion is to be the permanent venue of EMST. Simultaneously, with the administrational/financial, scientific and technical infrastructure, the recruitment of the staff and the composition of an internal set of Museum regulations, three have been the main priorities, since I assumed my duties as a founding Director of EMST, early in 2000:exhibitions, collections and premises.

Exhibitions

The programming and production of exhibitions was set as an immediate goal. Exhibitions organized in series (Synopses, Works) of open and explorative character on interesting current issues and critical investigations of contemporary international art on the fields of painting, installations, photography, video, new media, and "experimental" architecture, presentations of individual artistic projects commissioned by the Museum, monographic mid-career retrospectives of remarkable contemporary artists (G. Hadjimichalis, Chen Zhen, Vassiliki Tsekoura, Manolis Baboussis), historical retrospectives (Costas Tsoclis), as well as periodical presentations of thematic nuclei of the permanent collections have been planned and realized or are currently prepared and will follow in 2004 (Transcultures, Jannis Kounellis) within the framework of an open, as well as critical exhibition policy compatible with the ecumenical spirit of our times. A central goal of this policy has been the gradual formation of an audience for contemporary art, previously inexistent. Emphasis has been given on exhibitions and works, which bring to the fore the most advanced and experimental investigations of contemporary art with inter - artistic and transcultural quests and the use of new media and technologies. The foregrounding of contemporary exhibitions against historical ones was certainly dictated also by the inadequate museological preconditions of our temporary exhibition hall, which did not allow loans of older works, mainly of painting.

Within two years of EMST exhibition activity (October 2000- April 2003) 16 exhibitions were organized in total, of either a greater or smaller scale, in the context of which significant collaborations with many Greek or international remarkable artists, big Museums abroad, galleries and collectors were developed. Within 2003, we also inaugurated a policy of collaborations within the framework of our exhibition program Outside with contemporary art institutions in Greece and Cyprus.

The total number of visitors from October 2000 until December 2003 (c. 24 months of exhibition operation), amounts to 75,000. Younger audiences were bigger, while a significant visit increase was observed from exhibition to exhibition, an indication of the public's information regarding the operation of the Museum and mainly of the recognition of its intense activity and offer.

Collections

As far as the collections are concerned, we started from zero. Following the constitutional orientations of the Museum, which wishes to remain open towards the present and its historical depth in Greek and international contemporary art, we immediately implemented a collection purchase policy and reception of donations in a dual axis: synchronic and historical. As the acquisition of works of the international '50s and '60s movements is hindered by the rarity of the available works and the inapproachable prices- for the financial possibilities of the Museum-, at least so far, because unfortunately Demosthenes 's words " Funds are necessary and nothing can be done without" apply self-evidently and decisively to this field as well, our purchase policy which could be initially be summarized in "Few, but good works", the previous four years was orientated towards the synchronic axis, which was the only one permitting the formation of a core of collections of European and international character.

Thus, a number of very remarkable works of the previous decade (painting, installations, photography, video installations, digital architecture) by artists such as Ilya Kabakov (The Boat of my Life, 1993), George Hadjimichalis, Nan Goldin, Allan Sekula, Thomas Struth, Gary Hill, Gillian Wearing, Ann Sofi Siden, Kutlug Attaman, Nikos Navridis, Joel Sanders, LTL, Andreas Angelidakis, e.a. while a significant collection of video art consisting of 104 works by some of the most remarkable artists since 1965 onwards (Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Bill Viola, Gary Hill, Tony Oursler, Robert Wilson, Vito Acconci, Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Chris Burden, Dan Graham, Rebecca Horn, Lynda Benglis, Dara Birnbaum, Martha Rosler, Carolee Schneemann, Mona Hatoum, Sophie Calle, Saddie Benning e.a.) in which, apart from the "classics" of the genre, basic tendencies are represented , such as conceptual, feminist, sociological, political e.a.).

Within the framework of the enrichment of the international core of the works, and in collaboration with the Cultural Olympiad we designed a program of commissions for exceptionally significant works of internationally acknowledged artists as Bill Viola, Costas Varotsos, Kendell Geers, Anish Kapoor, Jannis Kounellis, Wolfgang Laib, Miroslaw Balka, Shirin Neshat, Danae Stratou, Costas Tsoklis, Katharina Fritsch, Mona Hatoum, Gary Hill, Do - Ho - Suh, Walid Ra'ad, Kim Sooja, Emily Jacir, which will be presented in the major exhibition Transcultures (Summer, 2004) and will consequently form part of the EMST permanent collections.

With the exception of video tapes collection, the historical axis is currently represented with creations of Greek artists, who produced their works in Greece and abroad (in Rome, Paris, New York and Berlin) in the '50s, '60s and '70s. Remarkable historical works were acquired, individual or mostly in units, which either represent - often with great integrity and completeness -the entirety or the most important periods of an artist's work- or contribute to a more particular artistic, social and political investigation, by bringing to the fore the basic directions of Greek modernism in the second half of the 20th century, as well as the contribution of Greek artists in the creation of a post -formalism and international movements, such as Informel, Nouveaux Realistes, Mec Art, e.a, as well as post-representational tendencies. Among the artists presented so far in the historical core are: Stephen Antonakos, Vlassis Caniaris, Nikos Kessanlis, Pavlos, Costas Tsoclis, Danil, Chronis Botsoglou, Bia Davou, Pandelis Xagoraris, Rena Papaspyrou, Sotiris Sorogas, Yannis Psychopedis, Dimitris Alithinos, Yorgos Lazongas e.a.

Another dimension of our collection policy refers to an opening to young or emerging artists. This was initiated in 2001 and continued in 2002 with purchases of paintings, installations, photography, video and digital works.

But then, the planning of a policy of donations and the relative efforts for the assurance of remarkable historical and contemporary works, already initiated in 2000, bore significant fruit thanks to the generosity of many artists and private individuals. 38 works by Nikos Kessanlis, of his "Art Informel" and "Gestures" period of the years 1960-62 and Mec Art and "Reformations" ones of the years 1963-65 and 1966-78 respectively, 21 original Cycladic Books in plaster (1957) and three big wall neon constructions by Chryssa, 1 of the first neon sculptures (1967) by Stephen Antonakos,1 work of the series Space within Space (1960) by Vlassis Caniaris, 6 video installations by Costas Tsoclis, 12 works by Dimosthenis Kokkinidis of the dictatorship period, 1 triptych by Sotiris Sorogas, 29 works by Pandelis Xagoraris, 160 works by Bia Davou e.a. Particularly the donation of works by former two artists, donated by Zafos Xagoraris is distinguished for the quantity, quality and representativity in periods, genres and materials of the offered works, with which their experimental investigations are fore-grounded, both in depth and extent.

Within the four years, 509 works of art were acquired in all (71 in 2000, 88 in 2001, 324 in 2002 and 26 in 2003), from which 194 by purchases and 315 by donations. The sum of € 1,320,000 was spent on purchases of works of art, € 801,000 from the regular annual grant by the Ministry of Culture (2000-2003). The remaining sum was raised from other state grants and private sponsorships that we were able to secure within the previous three years for the enrichment of the permanent collections of EMST: € 400,000 in 2002 by a special grant of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and € 119,000 by annual sponsorships (2001-2003) of the I. F. Costopoulos Foundation.

Premises

Our temporary settlement on the ground floor of the former Fix brewery in 2000 contributed to the final selection of the building as a the EMST's permanent venue and accelerated the commencement of the procedures for its reconstruction, according to the international museological requirements. The project was integrated in the Third Commission Framework by the Ministry of Culture with a total budget of € 40, 000, 000 and 2006 as time horizon for its completion.

After a series of time-consuming legal procedures in relation to the possibility of the transfer of ownership from ATTIKO METRO to EMST, the option of the lease for a period of 50 years for the symbolic fee of € 30,000 annually was selected and the respective agreement was signed in October 2002. Meanwhile the Museum, as the body for the materialization of the project, after an open competition had already, appointed Ellinotechniki S.A as Project Manager for the design and construction of EMST and had began the recording of the existing condition of the building and the composition of the edificial program. In December 2002, an open architectural competition on a closed basis in two stages was declared for the assignment of the preparation of the EMST project study.

After the expected intermediate procedures, particular preliminary studies were submitted by seven competing bureaus. A Committee of Evaluation was formed by Constantinos Tsoukalas (Chairman), Savas Kondaratos, Barbara Belezini, Dimitrios Fatouros, Anna Kafetsi, Yeorgios Gerakis, Marios Michailidis, Athanasios Papas and Stefanos Ioakimidis (members). After two months of sessions the committee issued their decision, according to which the first prize was awarded to the collaborating bureaus Ioan. MOUZAKIS and Associates- Architects LTD, Studies of Technical Works Pan. BABILIS and Associates LLC, INSTA. In November 2003, the Board of Administration of the Museum endorsed the competition result and assigned the preparation of the EMST Project Study to the above collaborating bureaus.

Education

As a supplement to our exhibition policy, the educational and editorial ones were designed. Educational programs, which were elaborated and applied for different audience categories and ages (children, school groups, adults, families, educators, e.a.), by the Museum scientific staff during the period of the exhibitions, accompanying catalogues, educational printed material and all kinds of information material as well as parallel events were realized aiming to contribute to the discovery , familiarization and at the critical reception of contemporary art by the audience. For this purpose, emphasis has been given on the Museum's programs and editions on contemporary theoretical methods, which favour interpretational approaches of the artistic works themselves and do not provide scholastical supplementary information. Museo-pedagogical practices were also stressed, which allow the participation of visitors, dialogue, exercise of artistic activity, games and contact with new technological media. For the more immediate or wider understanding of contemporary art , which is often received as closed and hermetic, meetings between the audience and the artists, lectures and interdisciplinary readings of works by lecturers of various specializations were organized.

153 school groups attended the Museum's educational programs (4570 students, in total), while in the regular Thursday and Sunday tours c. 3000 visitors participated. After the recent integration of the Museum into the European Program Society of Information, the bases for a program according to which, a major part of our educational activities will be realized in the following years via the EMST website.

Digital documentation

Within the framework of the prementioned European program, we are preparing the digital documentation of the museum collections and artistic archives, which are composed and constantly enriched mostly by donations of artists, Museums, galleries and private individuals. The actions approved in 2003 and are to be sponsored by the Society of Information are: a) the development of infrastructures/ digitization/documentation of cultural collections and b) the design and development of a web portal of information and three- dimensional representation. Our goal is that by 2006, EMST will be operative on a national and internet level as a digital centre for contemporary art, contributing to the information of the public, the support of scientific research and particularly to the promotion and the diffusion of contemporary Greek art.