On 15 September 2023, young artists from the Children’s Art Gallery of Greece filled the historic Ceremonial Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) wearing crowns of olive. They were there to receive medals for their paintings that stood out in the International Children’s Painting Olympiad 2022-2023, which ran under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The Rector of NKUA, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, presented the young artists with the medals.
In an emotional ceremony, the audience applauded the children for creating works that embrace universal human values and the highest ideals, which our nation was the first to teach as a cradle of civilization. In an atmosphere of joy and pride, the young artists who excelled received their medals, delivering to us all a message of optimism and hope for a better future.
Professor Gerasimos Siasos, Rector of NKUA, addressed this highly symbolic ceremony as did the Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Professor Emmanouil Pikoulis, the President of the Children’s Art Gallery of Greece, Ms Aikaterina Leggou, and Mr Anastasios Kezas from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Next followed the awarding of the medals and commendations to the winners and the triumphal reception of the crowned ‘Olympians’.
The 180th anniversary of Greece’s first formal request to restore the Parthenon sculptures from London to their natural home, the Acropolis of Athens, made on 12 May 1842 by Alexandros Rangavis, inspired the young artists of the Children’s Art Gallery of Greece to create paintings dedicated to the values of innate dignity and human history.
The artwork that stood out from all over Greece and thirty other countries worldwide is, in fact, a comprehensive collection of children’s paintings done by artists between the ages of 4 and 18, which will, among other things, lead to:
- The hosting of TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS throughout Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Rhodes, Kos, Kalymnos, Patmos, Aegina, Syros, Naxos, Folegandros, Crete),
- The holding of ART WORKSHOPS as a means of encouraging children and adolescents to create paintings (Patras, Thessaloniki, Attica, Kalymnos, Crete, Elis, Rhodes, Patmos, Naxos, etc.), and
- The publication of an ALBUM as an embodiment of the young artists’ collective creative activity and a way to recognize their decisive contribution to shaping our country’s contemporary cultural landscape.
This initiative would not have been possible without support from entities with significant social, educational, and cultural priorities. Such a synergy enriches the programme while emphasizing the cultural dimension of the activities of the Children’s Art Gallery of Greece:
• MINISTRY OF CULTURE
• GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR GREEKS ABROAD AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
• MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
• HELLENIC OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
• MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
• HELLENIC OLYMPIC ACADEMY
• MINISTRY OF TOURISM
• EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LIAISON OFFICE IN GREECE
• 2023 ELEUSIS EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
• MARIANNA V. VARDINOYANNIS FOUNDATION
