Stavros Niflis
My camera is an extension of my hand
Stavros Niflis was ten years old when he entered a darkroom for the first time to print photos taken by his brother, an amateur photographer, in the streets of Piraeus, where they were growing up.
Panos Kekas
I enjoy helming upwind
For some decades now, Panayiotis Kekas has been crafting food for the mind as a film director and producer. In addition to his audiovisual work, which we’ll have the pleasure to see and hear in Paros and other Cycladic islands this summer, his soul’s laboratory has, for a second season, come up with a host of exquisite, full-spirited flavours. Oh, yes, he’s also a sailor, but “Rakenti” is not the name of his sailboat. It’s the name of his restaurant.
Natasa Biza
Things are not only good to use, but also good to think about
For Natasa Biza, all it takes is a minor detail that would go unnoticed by the rest of us to stimulate an aesthetic insight, which in turn disrupts life’s balances, and awakens thinking. The distinguished artist studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts (under Professor Yannis Psychopedis) and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Her work has been featured in a number of solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad. Recently, she has been collaborating with the Visual Arts Workshop run by the Municipality of Paros.
Maroulia Kontou
The new Mythodia of Paros
Paros will soon have its first private conservatory. The instigator of the project is a gifted pianist who dares to take the plunge in difficult times. Maroulia Kontou, originary of both Paros and Santorini, welcomes us to her house: a charming Cycladic house built with lots of artistry in the mountainous village of Kostos.
Maria Demetriades
"Medusa" changes once more the artistic map of Paros
Fotis Art Cafe at the port of Naoussa, a reference point for art lovers of Paros, would present this year a multitude of authors in an exhibition bearing its name. The exhibition would mark the ten-year cooperation of Fotis Mellios with Maria Demetriades, the creator of the Art Gallery "Medusa".
Mary Hatzaki
The Photo Festival was well-attended, and the castle was lit up
The first art gallery in Antiparos was opened in 2011 by a vigorous woman: Mary Hatzaki. Not Paros-born, but definitely Paros-loving and artistically inclined, she spearheaded the launch of the Photo Festival held on the grounds of the castle. The gallery is called “anti,” alluding to “Antiparos,” evidently, but also because, as we are told by Ms. Chatzaki, the name suggests “swimming against the stream.” As of this year, we are informed, it will be hosting the art shop of the Museum of Cycladic Art.
Dimitra Chanioti
Haven’t you just had enough of art illiteracy?
Dimitra Chanioti, one of the most interesting visual artists of the new generation, spoke to Parola about art ant the experience of teaching. Daughter of an art-loving confectioner and mother to an eight-year old girl who often joins her in her painting sessions, Dimitra Chanioti has aspired to become an artist ever since she can remember herself. “I was influenced by family friend Nikos Katsouros. Paintings by him hung in our home and I used to watch him labouring away on his canvas in this very studio for hours on end,” she remembers.
Despina Giavara
My library is my paradise
Despina Giavara is an actress and the owner of Brazil port bar in Pisso Livadi. Nowadays more and more artists are turning to the creation of a space whose objective is to combine both the artistic activity with the banquet and hospitality.
Yannis Tsigonias
It took a fair bit of hard work to establish trust with the community
He’s dynamic, straightforward and blunt. A man of few and measured words, a man of action and deeds, with the air and tone of an army officer, like Stavros Xenides’ character from the black-and-white movie classic “And let the wife see that she respects her husband” delivering his trademark line: “I’m a military officer and Ι don’t mince my words!” Despite appearances, Yiannis Tsigonias is not an army man; he’s a surgeon.
Yannis Ragoussis
Ι want to live as I was raised
He’s young, restless, with an alternative, ecological approach to living, which is readily evident in “The Green Project,” his café bar in Drios. Here visitors can unwind over a coffee or drink and an eclectic selection of dishes by a natural cistern. An entire wall is covered with jars of his own jam, and guests are invited to sample never-tasted-before jam cocktails!