Onassis Cultural Center Opens Renovated Gallery
The Onassis Cultural Center opened its renovated gallery in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan on March 24, 2016 with a major exhibition of ancient art, installations of contemporary art, and a variety of events and resources on site and online, dedicated to the theme of Gods and Mortals. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios cut the ribbon opening the exhibition, accompanied by Anthony S. Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation, Aristides Baltas, Minister of Culture and Sports, Greece, Dr. Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the Acropolis Museum, Athens, and Director of Excavations at Dion on Mount Olympus who curated the exclusive display of rare ancient artifacts from Olympus, and Amalia Cosmetatou, Executive Director of the Onassis Foundation (USA) and its Director of Cultural Affairs. The Onassis Foundation is a member of Leadership 100. George S. Tsandikos, Leadership 100 Chairman, and Paulette Poulos, Leadership 100 Executive Director were honored guests.
The exhibition, which runs from March 24 through June 18, 2016, is open to the public free of charge. Papadimitriou noted that the reopening of the gallery spaces after three years of renovation, would continue to welcome American and international visitors to a new series of art exhibitions in the “established tradition of the Onassis Cultural Center NY” continuing “to explore and present the Hellenic heritage to a wider audience.”
Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus, explores the relationship between daily life in an ancient city built on the slopes of Mount Olympus and the mythological abode of the gods at the peak, featuring more than 90 artworks and artifacts – including mosaics, sculptures, jewelry, ceramics, coins, glass and implements – dating from the tenth century BCE to the fourth century CE.
Contemporary art on display in the atrium of the Olympic Tower presents a commissioned video work by artist Maria Zervos titled My Half of the Sky, My Half of the Earth, images shot in the landscape of Mount Olympus with poetic texts. In addition, there are two new sound installations especially commissioned from artist Kostas Ioannidis. The work, Memory of, memory of, memory of in the foyer of the gallery reflects on how layers of meaning are placed onto the past, using poetic texts with a repertoire of sounds. In the exhibition itself, O rocky voice, shall we in that great night rejoice? frames the artifacts of the Dion exhibition with the natural soundscape of the mountain, while simulating a voyage through time and space.
