On Saturday, 24 October at 12:30pm, the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) will pay tribute to Anna Kafetsi, EMST’s founding director, focusing on her thought and writings, which were instrumental to her pioneering institutional, scholarly and curatorial work.
Anna Kafetsi through her own words
The first part of the event will focus on Anna Kafetsi through her own words. Selected excerpts from interviews, as well as from her television, radio and public appearances, will be screened. Drawing on archival material from Save the Dates, the Audiovisual Archive for Contemporary Art, the presentation will highlight moments from her remarkable journey—from the launch of EMST and the reflections on its first years of operation to other significant exhibitions—alongside the ideas and questions that shaped her path.
An afternoon of literary readings
The second part of the event will take the form of a collective reading of poems and literary excerpts by friends, colleagues and artists who were connected to her. Poetry was a constant point of reference in Anna Kafetsi’s life, thought and curatorial practice. The reading of selected poems and literary texts offers a way of revealing aspects of her personality, sensitivity and intellectual world through the voices of those who knew her and shared part of her journey.
Participants: Phoebe Giannisi, Giorgos Drivas, Zisis Kotionis, Nina Papakonstantinou, Danae Stratou, Giorgos Hadjimichalis, Christos Chryssopoulos, Makis Faros.
EMST Library to be renamed the “Anna Kafetsi Library”
The same day will also mark the official renaming of the EMST Library as the “Anna Kafetsi Library”, honouring and recognising her contribution and pivotal role in the Museum, while also serving as an act of preserving her memory.
Presentation of the special commemorative issue of The Octopus
EMST’s magazine, The Octopus, dedicates a special issue to Anna Kafetsi’s thought and legacy. Featuring texts by her former colleagues at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as researchers, intellectual companions and interlocutors, alongside unpublished archival material and photographs, The Octopus traces Anna Kafetsi’s journey—from the magazine Speira and the National Gallery to the founding and directorship of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, and her subsequent path.
The issue features contributions by Anina Valkana and Eleni Ganiti, Dafni Vitali, Katerina Gregou, Elisavet Ionidi and Marina Tsekou, Tina Pandi, Evgenios Mathiopoulos, Katerina Matsa, Stamatis Schizakis, Giorgos Tzirtzilakis and Kostas Christopoulos.
