16 Fokionos Negri is hosting the group exhibition “Prevention Through Art” on Wednesday 5th October at 8 p.m. The exhibition is curated by Konstantinos Vafiadis and it will last until the 23rd October.

October is the “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”, an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. Breast cancer is a form of curable cancer, as long as it is detected at an early stage, making early diagnosis essential.

The internet art project of October 2015 has now transformed into a group exhibition with the participation of 15 contemporary artists. The Sotiris Felios Collection will be exhibiting a painting by Alexia Marouli.

The participating artists are:

Magda Apostolou, Konstantinos Vafiadis, Anastasia Ginaki, Loukia Dragatsi, Angela Karalis, Penny Konstantinou, Vassiliki Bloukou, Aggeliki Bobori, Dimitris Pantazis, Giorgos Papadimitriou, Sofia Papadopoulou, Alexandra Petranaki, Sofia Stavrou, Maria Filippakopoulou, Aristidis Chrysanthopoulos

Sotiris Felios, shares his thoughts on the matter:

“You can’t tell others to be courageous. I can only tell that to myself. You can be close to others and this can be both love and courage. Painting evokes emotion and sometimes it can lead us to magic – as it is defined individually – that desire of the heart or the spirit that can overrule logic”.

Dr Konstantinos Vafiadis, art historian, Researcher of Athens University and artist himself notes:

“The Disease constitutes a painful experience but also a threat that questions first and foremost every certainty. Nevertheless, this threat has a revealing power at a philosophical and an experiential level, because it portrays the truth of the world, the history, and the personal and collective being. It also constitutes a medium to redefine individuality in space and time. Consequently, prevention of the disease should not be related to a system of preventive medical examinations but to a redefinition of our being, which cannot be conceived by rule. And it is a fact that art contributes to this more effectively than any other spiritual activity.

A selection of works of art presented in the exhibition measures itself with the Disease as a problem of our existence. Every painting looks like a gate through which the spectator enters a compact experiential space with reference to the threatening consequences of the Disease. At the same time, the works exhibited here impose the Disease as a life crisis. Its liberating power states once more that death does not exist, it exists only as a change of Names. Art is Life and Life means an urge for the conquest of Truth and Truth is the conscience of our boundaries.

Every hindrance, pain and illness tends to restrain the already limited and changeable boundaries at our life, co-intersecting our creative vision and action. Therefore the Disease demands above all action, as actions promote healing and restoration of the disturbed boundaries of our being.”

Under the auspices of the UNESCO Hellas.

Supported by:

• A.K.O.S., a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and providing assistance and guidance to those who have been cured from the disease
• Alma Zois, The Panhellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer, a non-profit association for women who suffer from breast cancer. Their collage group presents two artworks,
• “Vizakia sas filo”, an internet group that supports women who are experiencing or have experienced cancer, mainly breast cancer, through the sense of humour and creativity,
• Women in Oncology, W40 Hellas, a pioneering, dynamic network of support, awareness and fundamental social contribution focusing on the female-cancer patient,
• Hellenic Cancer Society
• K.E.F.I in Athens (Cancer patients – Volunteers – Friends – Doctors) Association,
• Mrs Natasa Pazaiti, Scientific Director of Breast Unit in Athens Bioclinic, General Surgeon, specialized in Oncology and restoring breast surgery, MO, PhD, FEBS.

Videos and Radio spot supervisor: Tasos Petsas
Supervisor of Television spot: George Liossis
The instrumental composition “Anna, Mother of Mine” heard in the music video and spot is created by Tasos Petsas feat. Thespina Music and is dedicated to his mother who passed away by breast cancer.