Curator: Christos Artemis, artist
The curator of the residency entitled “The inherited earth”, Christos Artemis, focused on 13 visiting artists / residents who attempted to highlight the quarry of Agios Eleftherios (or Dragon’s Quarry) as a source of inspiration and activation of the local community. The project aimed to include the wider utilization of the cultural heritage of the island and not just from the point of view of yet another tourist activity, highlighting a monument, or its place or tradition which was “generously” stated on Tinos today.
Looking towards the peculiar man-made landscape and the history it carries, for two weeks, 13 residents (guests), Emilia Sølvsten (Denmark), Lily Clark (America), Marie Hervé – Elsa Martinez (France) , Franek Wardyński (Poland), Zoe Tzika- Elias Casanova (Greece-Spain), Vincent-Palazzi Mathias (France), Yorgia Karydis (Greece), Maro Avrabou- Dimitri Xenakis (Greece), and Miriam Isasi (Spain) lived in the wider area of Pyrgos implementing 9 on-site productions based on the thematic residency in the quarry. The residency was completed by Maria Varela (Greece), who lived in Chora and implemented her project at the Textile School in Chora.
The direction / curation was based on the simple direction to become part of the community and to communicate with the people, to create from the natural and artificial “materials” of the land of the quarry, in order to create the conditions for a fruitful dialogue and reflect on contemporary issues of locality, “development”, sustainability and focus on the cultural axis that lately has been confused and competed with tourism. The projects presented in this theme consist of different mediums and approaches of the visual arts, such as visual installations spread over space, sculptures, sound performances and participatory works. The common reference point that unites them all is the quarry space itself in combination with the material and the traditional techniques of Ekso Meria whom had requested that to be the basic material.
As in every residency process, the works are created on-site and originate from the space itself. Through the process of implementing the project and the daily life of their residence in this place the residents came into contact with historians, folklorists, community leaders, marble craftsmen, artisans, farmers but above all with students and locals. Delving into the culture of the place as well as the material “goods” it offers, with these locals they discussed and learned how to find solutions for the production of their works.