This summer, the Kaireios Library and the Andros International Festival present a particularly revealing exhibition titled “Andriots’ Works and Days.” The exhibition’s content was drawn from the Kaireios Library’s newly established photographic archive, which was created under the auspices and with funding from the Ministry of Culture.
Our primary goal was for the people of Andros themselves to create the island’s new archive by donating their photographs to the library—photographs that were otherwise destined to remain forgotten due to the ravages of time.
Photography, with its characteristic visual power, has the ability to bring to the surface the cohesive bonds that can unite the whole of Andros, an island with marked differences, shaped first and foremost by its own geography, with the sea serving as both a border and a gateway to the world. The Andros International Festival has been a staunch supporter of our project; from the very beginning, it showed great interest and supported the initiative in every way possible.
People from all over the island rushed to drop off their photographs at the library, and within a few months, 4,000 photographs had been collected. Every package we received was not merely a collection of new photographs, but rather the memories and bonds that have remained indelible over time; they were the living witnesses to an era that should never fade away.
The material was digitized, cataloged, and categorized chronologically and thematically, followed by a fascinating journey into the past through the recording of the testimonies and narratives hidden behind the images.
The photographic material collected dates from the last decades of the 19th century and extends through the 1970s.
In the exhibition “Andriots’ Works and Days,” photography is treated not only as an artistic creation but primarily as an irreplaceable historical source that sheds light on aspects of Andros’s history that remain uncharted —or less well-documented—due to a lack of written sources, such as various aspects of social life, education, rural life—such as the depiction of lost professions—or aspects of the emigration of Andriots to Constantinople, Egypt, and America.
The exhibition is accompanied by a book of the same title, and includes a wide variety of sections accompanied by corresponding, original photographic material.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the residents of Andros who generously donated their photographs to the library, revealing new aspects of the island’s history. We would like to extend special thanks to the Andros International Festival, whose contribution was instrumental both in organizing the exhibition and in publishing the book of the same name. We also thank the Moraitis Foundation for its consistent support of our activities, as well as the DEMOS Foundation. We extend our warmest thanks to Gutenberg Publications and especially to Mr. Yannis Mamais, who designed and edited our publication with his own unique vision, further highlighting its content.
The opening of the exhibition “Andriots’ Works and Days” will take place on Friday, July 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Kaireios Library exhibition space (M.E. Kydonieos Residence), and the exhibition will remain open through September.
Exhibition Hours: Monday–Saturday, 10:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Many people collaborated on organizing the exhibition and publishing the book of the same name, working with passion and great care to achieve the best possible result.
Concept and curation of the exhibition: Amalia Tinakou
Art Design: Yannis Stamatopoulos
Architectural Rendering of the Exhibition Space: Koula Kondylatou
Contribution to the setup of the exhibition : Angeliki Strati, Leda Kazantzakis
Publication Editor: Amalia Tinakou
Foreword: Michalis Tiverios
Authors of the volume: Amalia Tinakou, Michalis Tiverios, Nikos Vatopoulos, Angeliki Strati, Leda Kazantzakis, Dimitris I. Kyrtatas, Giorgos Pallis, Lydia Paleokrassa, Eleni Salouvardou, Konstantina Antiochou, Violetta Koutsoukou, Giannis Pippas, Nikos Vasilopoulos, Panagiotis Anastasopoulos, Vangelis Loukisas.
Essay Corrections: Areti Boukala
Publication Design: Yiannis Mamais