The imprint of the COVID-19 pandemic on society and culture – Panel

Stergiou Mayra

Mayra Stergiou comes from Evoia, whereas she lives and works for the last 13 years in London as an actress, director, and artistic director of the physical and visual theater Vertebra. She studied Educational and Social Policy at the University of Macedonia, J. Lecoq Physical Theater at the London International School of Performing Arts, and Drama Therapy at the University of Derby. She is currently doing her PhD at Guildhall School of Music and Drama on physical dramaturgy and applied scenography in the visual theater. She has cooperated with prominent artists, such as David Glass, Robin Quiver (War Horse), and Mem Morisson (Arts Admin), as well as with experimental music groups, such as the Metapraxis Ensemble, and festivals or theaters in London, such as the Arcola Theater. She has participated in workshops with Theodoros Terzopoulos, Song of the Goat, Enrique Padro and others. She also works as a drama therapist to vulnerable groups in various mental health structures (CNWL, Crisis UK). She gives lessons on Inventive Theater and Puppet Theater at various organizations and conferences, as well as J. Lecoq Neutral Mask at the University of Roehampton.

Leventaki Elli

Elli Leventaki is an art historian, exhibition curator and a PhD candidate in the Department of Theory and History of Art of the School of Fine Arts. She is a curator at the Biennale of the Western Balkans, while she also collaborates with independent art programs and venues.
She has a degree in History and Art Theory, a postgraduate diploma in History / Art Theory and Exhibition Curation from the Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences of the University of Ioannina. She has an Adult Instructor proficiency from the Kapodistrian University, while she regularly attends seminars and lectures on art, politics and gender discrimination.
She is an experienced curator and cultural manager, as she has collaborated with numerous cultural institutions, art venues and festivals, as well as with artists during independent activities. Moreover, she is deeply engaged in writing exhibition catalogs, scientific articles and other texts related to art. She often participates in conferences and lectures in Greece and abroad. She is a member of the Art History Laboratory of the School of Fine Arts of the University of Ioannina, the AICA Hellas, the ICOM, the Europeana, as well as the Society of Greek Art Historians.

Argyriou Dimitris

Dimitris Argyriou graduated from the Department of Sound and Vision of the Ionian University (Master of Arts) and from the Universität der Kunste – Berlin (UDK – Berlin). He has participated as a director at the Berlinale Talents, Sarajevo Talents and Talent Development Campus of the Cork Film Festival, among other residencies and cinematographic programs. His films have won more than 50 awards and have been projected at more than 1000 international festivals.

In addition to his film work, in 2014 he founded the NewBorn Short Film Agency that provides Festival & Distribution Strategy for short and feature films. He was the director of the 3rd Hellas FilmBox Berlin Festival, where he was also responsible for its short film program. Additionally, he has worked as the programmer of the Berlin International Short Film Festival – Interfilm (2013 – 2016), the director of the short film program of the Aegean Film Festival (2015- 2018), the director of the Shortcutz Berlin Film Festival (2013-2015), and has also worked at the Guest Management Office of the Berlin Film Festival – Berlinale (2014-2017). In the meantime, he has served as a member of the Jury at various Short Film Festivals, such as the Alpinale ISFF and the Landshut ISFF. In 2017 he organized a special program of Greek films at the International Film Festival Fest: New Directors / New Films in Portugal. 

For further information, you may visit his website: http://dimitrisargyriou.com/

Stavlas Nikos

Nikos Stavlas is a pianist and a pianist teacher, who lives in London. He has studied at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the University of Macedonia,  the Royal College of Music, the Goldsmiths and the University of London, and holds a PhD in piano interpretation. He teaches at Morley College and City Lit. He has given recitals and chamber music concerts in Greece, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina and the USA. He has collaborated as a soloist with the State and Municipal Orchestra of Thessaloniki, the Morley Chamber Orchestra and the Tirana Chamber Orchestra and has performed at Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and St John’s Smith Square in London, among others. He often gives concerts in the United Kingdom, Spain and elsewhere with the violinist Sofia Baltatzi, the Tetrachord Piano Ensemble, the Vladimir & Estragon piano duo, the Ciklus Ensemble and the contemporary soprano Patricia Caicedo, with whom he has recorded three albums of Catalan music for voice and piano.

Nathanail Maria

Maria Nathanail has studied Law, International Law and Gender Sociology in Athens (EKPA) and Paris (Sorbonne Paris 1 and EHESS). She has collaborated in the field of communication with various cultural institutions (Hellenic Design, Animasyros, Ethnofest, International Film Festival of Athens Premiere Nights) and has worked as a Legal Advisor and Communication Director of NGOs (Vouliwatch). Currently, she is the Communication Director for the Athens International Film Festival. She believes in the power of art and the politics of everyday life.

Kotoula Tsampika

Tsampika Kotoula is the Head Project Manager at the REWORKS AGORA Festival. She chooses the content and the speakers, while she confronts culture’s contemporary challenges. Simultaneously, she works as the Head of workshops’ planning and facilitation for the program “THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S ROOM”. In the past, she has participated as a production assistant in the facilitation of the “54th DIMITRION” Festival and as an assistant editor at MOMus in the 7th Thessaloniki Biennale. She is a graduate student of the Kapodistrian University of Athens and holds a MA in Art Law & Art’s Management from the International Hellenic University. She is currently claiming another postgraduate degree in Museology-Cultural Technology and Communication from the University of the Aegean.

Manolopoulou Georgia

Georgia Manolopoulou is a PhD Candidate in Cultural Diplomacy in UoP. She has a background in Philosophy (University of Athens/Faculty of Philosophy) and is actively engaged in Cultural Heritage through her work experience in the Ministry of Culture and via a Master Course (MA) followed at the University of Athens / Faculty of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Graduate Program “Museum Studies” with the collaboration of Department of History and Archeology and Department of Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Owner of Scholarship IKY / Grundtvig European Program-The Learning Museum Project at the University of Manchester Museum and a Fellow of NEON Curatorial Exchange Program at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. During the last ten years, she has been working at the Ministry of Culture as a curator of Audience Development at the Archaeological Museum of Patras. She has participated in conferences, workshops, seminars on Cultural Management and Diplomacy. She is an author of articles in Greek, English and Italian. She speaks English and Italian fluently and has a basic knowledge of Spanish and Russian. She is a member of the Council of Europeana, ICOM-International Council of Museums and Diazoma.

Dinopoulos Stergios

Stergios Dinopoulos is a director, cinematographer, and designer, who grew up in Athens and learned his art abroad. He did Visual Studies at Harvard University, and until recently he worked as a film editor at the Museum of Modern Art  (MOMA) in New York. He is particularly interested in the intersection area where arts, education and politics meet. His film “The eye” won the audience award in the 10th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival. 

Calbari Marianna

Marianna Calbari is a graduate of the drama school of the THEATER OF ART – KAROLOS KOUN and the University of Sorbonne (PARIS IV – literature and communication). She studied acting and directing at the Atelier du Théâtre des Cinquante (Andreas Voutsinas, Paris) and at the CHARPENTIER ART STUDIO (acting-directing, Paris). She has collaborated with the ART THEATER, the NATIONAL THEATER, the ATHENS AND EPIDAURUS FESTIVAL, the THESSALONIKI CONCERT HALL, the MICHALIS KAKOGIANNIS FOUNDATION, in plays of Moliere, Marivo, Horvat, Zene, Mamet, Stein, Ritsou, Bartlet, etc.) but also musical works (Monteverdi, Offenbach, Heidel, Kypourgou, Gogiou, etc.). She has written plays: “Almanac” (Eurodram 2015 distinction), “Biomagia”, “New blood”, “One more breath” etc., plays for children (“Once and for a minute” etc.) and has done many translations of plays (from French and English) as well as theatrical adaptations of short stories that have been directed by her own but also directed by others from the ART THEATER, the NATIONAL THEATER, the K.Th.B.E. etc.

As an actor she collaborated with the ART THEATER, the NATIONAL THEATER, the TECHNOCHORO-THEAMA GROUP, the MAJOR HELLENISM FOUNDATION etc. In the cinema, she played in films by D. Athanitis and L. Rikaki. She has taught acting and theater practice at the UNIVERSITY OF PELOPONNESE, at the MORAITI School and at the drama school ACTION SEVEN. She has also taught an introduction to ancient drama and dramatization of literary texts at the LASKARIDIS FOUNDATION. She has been teaching acting at the Drama School of the THEATER OF ART-KAROLOS KOUN since 2005 and melodrama at the ATHENS CONSERVATORY since 2015. She has been the art director of the ART THEATER – KAROLOU KOUN since September 2014.