Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale 2021

Mankind has recently gone through a great ordeal because of the pandemic, which seems to be gradually coming under control. MOMus and Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale return in 2021, strictly adhering to health protocols, presenting to the public 19 exhibitions of Greek and international photography, individual and group, of various themes and photographic approaches, with the participation of 94 artists from 18 countries. This year’s festival was based on the contribution of its artistic committee, consisting of: Iro Katsaridou (art historian, curator Museum of Byzantine Culture), Hercules Papaioannou (curator of MOMus-ThMP), Yorgos Prinos (artist, exhibition curator) and Michalis Valaouris (art historian).

In this year's event, the main exhibition and original production entitled The Real and the Record is curated by Yorgos Prinos and Katerina Stathopoulou. Structured in two large sections hosted at the MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the MOMus- Experimental Center for the Arts, the exhibition explores the meaning of the real. The Real and the Record are curated by Yorgos Prinos and Katerina Stathopoulou. Structured in two large sections hosted at the MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the MOMus- Experimental Center for the Arts, the exhibition explores the meaning of the real and its multiple layers and meanings, at a time of the paroxysmal diffusion of information and systematic dispersal of fake news.

The festival also supports many of the successful ideas and practices launched at its previous version:

• the organization and presentation of the exhibitions of two emerging Greek photographers selected, after an open invitation, by a three - member committee consisting of Areti Leopoulou (curator MOMus-ThMP, art historian), Eleni Maligoura (photographer), Pavlos Fysakis (photographer, artistic director of the festival MedPhoto),
• the open dialogue with the permanent collection of MOMus,
• the hosting of an exhibition dedicated to the contemporary Greek photobook,
• collaboration with other festivals in the country,
• the synergy with cultural institutions and organisations of the city and the country,
• the partnership with the University of Macedonia Press for the publication that accompanies the main exhibition.

This year’s festival, supported by the Public Investment Program of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, frames parallel events for the photographic and wider public. At the Thessaloniki Photobiennale 2021 we discover works and creators together, we share ideas and reflections, we let art lead us to unknown paths.