Art show for 2023 Elefsina Cultural Capital grapples with historic city’s identity

The central art event for the 2023 Elefsina Cultural Capital, “Elefsina, mon amour”, was inaugurated this past weekend with the works of 16 artists, 9 of whom are Greek.

The theme of the show is based on the title of Alain Resnais’ 1959 film “Hiroshima, mon amour” written by Marguerite Duras, and focuses on the trauma of displacement, post-industrialized conditions, environmental destruction, migrant shipwrecks, differing nationalities of workers, and the imprint left by the ancient city of Eleusis, the historic city west of Athens. Most of the pieces were created specifically for this exhibition.

With the exception of a photography exhibition by Aglaia Konrad shown at the X-Bowling Art Center, most of the work is being shown at the Old Oil Mill Factory (Paleo Eleourgio), where the open-air theater is also located.

Director of National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens Katerina Gregos, who has curated the show, says of the exhbit it is “the symbolic portrait of a society in transition.” The modern city, she notes, “is a case study for societies searching for a new identity,” the difference with other industrial cities of Europe being that as a city “it expresses a sweetness” rather than alienation.

The artwork unfolds among three storage rooms at the Factory, and the show will be available to the public through September 30, 2023.

For more information, see https://2023eleusis.eu/ (English site available).