Tragedy and horror in comic art
A comic art exhibition inspired by Euripides’ tragedy
The Trojan Women
Held by the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation
From September 12th to September 26th 2024
Free entrance
A pioneering comic art exhibition entitled “The Trojan Women Struggle in Ruins”, inspired by Euripides’ tragedy «The Trojan Women», is organized by the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, opening on September 12th with the participation of 24 artists.
The artists participating attempt to demonstrate the inner connection between tragedy and horror, monitoring the point that the two genres overlap, showcasing the challenges of the modern era, concerning terror attacks and wars all over the world, slaughtering and outbreaks of violence.
The comic art exhibition is organized within the context of the program “Ancient Drama Intercultural- Interdisciplinary approaches”, held in Athens, at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, in conjunction with McGill University and some of the most prestigious Ivy League universities, such as the McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of California Berkley, University of Edinburgh, etc. The event encompassing, apart from the comic art exhibition, also hybrid webinars, workshops, an international forum and three live performances, considers how contemporary horror aesthetics can be a useful starting point for reinterpreting Greek tragedy today, while also examining how contemporary horror both responds to and recreates Greek tragic elements.
With this year’s exhibition, the third one in a row concerning comic art, the circle of this program is concluded, accomplishing the capitalization on the idea of promoting the ancient drama to wider youth audience, by using a medium popular among younger people, which combines words and imagery, as well as political and social commenting.
Since 2012 the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation has been implementing an EU program on Ancient Drama in collaboration with acknowledged Academic Institutions, such as Stanford University, the University of Leeds, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Helsinki Academy in partnership with the Aalto College of Art and Design, la Fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the LabexArts-H2H (ArTeC) – Département Arts et Technologies de l’Image, Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft of the University of Bonn and more.
The program activates and presents interdisciplinary synergies related to Ancient Drama and aims to promote the dialogue and enhance the way ancient drama is presented through performing arts in the 21st century.
This year, the MCF is implementing the act titled “Ancient Drama: Interdisciplinary and Cross Art Approaches”, co-funded by the European Union and the European Regional Development Fund, through the Regional Program “Attika”, within the frame of the Partnership Agreement 2021-2027.
For this year’s edition, the MCF has invited McGill University to contribute as the academic curator, aiming to compose an interdisciplinary team of scholars and artists from Greece, Canada, and abroad. This year’s program, “Drama: Between Tragedy and Horror”, explores the affective and aesthetic connections between ancient Greek tragedy and contemporary horror media, bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives from Canadian and international scholars working in the theoretical spaces where the two genres overlap.
The Trojan Women: a contemporary play, an inspiring source for comic artists
The Trojan Women, a tragedy written by the Greek playwright Euripides is a commentary on the costs of war through the lens of women and children.
The artists, inspired by this antiwar play, create their own stories, commenting on our modern society, with people struggling in their own ruins, but also in the ruins of wars, destruction, and despair.
The exhibition’s curator, Athina Exarxou, notes that “the artists were inevitably inspired by contemporary issues, such as the war in the Middle East and the Palestinians’ casualties, attempting to reinterpret The Trojan Women by using the narrative form of comic art. The mourning mothers, the terror attacks, the bombardments, the casualties, the pain were the catalyst for the creation of multiple stories inspired by all these women and children being in peril.”
The Artists
Dimitris Avramopoulos, (Abraham), Rene Aggelidou (Fokshee), Iakovos Vais, Melina Vlaxou, Giorgos Ganidis, Giannis Galaios, Polymnia Glabedaki, Dimitri Chevet, Conan Nanco, Georgia Kalogeropoulou, Valia Kapadai, Thanasis Karabalios, Thomas Kefalas, Hara Kokoli (Acouaria), Nikos Kourkoutas, Kristanz, Anastasis Meletis, Giorgos Mikalef, No Budget Epics, Olia Dokogianni, Kalli Doltseti, Aggeliki Salamaliki, Antogoni Tzounakou, Dimitris Trakosas, Afroditi Rizou (Guagua)
Opening Night Thursday, September 12th 19:00
Opening Hours On weekdays 18:00-22:00 On Saturday-Sunday 18.00-22.00
Free Entrance
Curator: Kalliopi Liadi, Art Consultant
