Another significant activity of the Research Unit “European Policies and Democracy” (the predecessor of CEDLAW) for 2019 was the co-organization of the conference “Democracy and Art: Challenges and Perspectives” with the Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki. The conference took place in the unique area of the museum. A great amount of people attended the interesting speeches of the conference.
Speakers included both academics and artists/art experts: Head of the Research Unit, Associate Professor of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Assistant Professor of the Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology of the University of Thessaly, Mitsos Bilalis, Assistant Professor of the Law School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MOMUS, Andreas Takis, Professor of the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Konstantinos Papageorgiou, artist Mr. Ilan Manouach, the Coordinator of the Educational Project of Theatrical Education, Mrs. Naya Bohemi, and Dr. Areti Leopoulou, art historian and curator of MOMus.
Head of the Unit Associate Professor Ioannis Papadopoulos introduced the topic of discussion and addressed a greeting to the public and his co-speakers. He then proceeded to analyze the subject of artistic creativity as a form of individual freedom and initiative, of work of art, of art as a society for the understanding and transmission of spiritual experiences, and culture as a prerequisite for the existence of democracy of free and active citizens.
Assist. Prof. Mitsos Bilalis focused on the function of art within the context of digitalism and social media. Specifically, he raised the question of whether the democratic aspect of art is affected by the digital age or possibly conflicts with it, while posing the question of the co-existence of art with the widespread dissemination of social media in the context of the modern age.
Assist. Prof. and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MOMUs, Andreas Takis, addressed the question: “What is Art?” by seeking the correct criteria for defining an artistic venture as a work of art in the context of a democratic society. He stressed the complexity of the composition of the definition based on objective criteria.
Prof. Konstantinos Papageorgiou spoke of the paradox of lack of tolerance towards art, referring to specific works of art and having the cases of insult to religious sentiment as his main axis.
Artist Ilan Manouach highlighted the issue of discrimination of people with visual disabilities in relation to the access to art spaces, while also analyzing the function and usefulness of the “Shapereader” language which was designed to meet such needs by alleviating barriers in art communication.
Naya Bohemi attempted to define the concept of democracy, and then stressed the role of theatre within the aforementioned political system through an interactive game with the public. It was highlighted through the game that within each concept a meaning is hidden, conclusions and connotations are drawn. Thus, more words compose the idea of democracy, art and their composition to the consciousness of individuals.
Dr. Areti Leopoulou stressed the challenge of making a living for today’s artists through their work in her speech titled “Except, of course, from those who are rich”, contrasting the reality and visibility of artists of the past.
The interaction with the people who attended the event was felt from the very beginning of the discussion, as there were many people willing to understand more effectively the topics under discussion who asked questions to the speakers. The relationship between democracy and art has proved to be a contemporary issue with prospects for analysis and further search.
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