AFIcollective | Judith Allen-Efstathiou, Inger Carlsson, Eva Cheiladaki, Theodora Chorafas, Maria Grigoriou, Despina Pandazopoulou, Yiannis Papadopoulos

The Gennadius Library is a vibrant organization for learning, creativity, and cross-cultural dialogue, a place where history inspires both the present and the future. In 2026, the Gennadius Library marks a milestone: 100 years since its foundation. As part of the celebrations for this anniversary, the Gennadius Library welcomes the seven visual artists of AFIcollective and presents the exhibition 7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library.

AFI collective, with an uninterrupted presence of 44 years, insists on the slow manual construction of ideas. Each member works with different materials and techniques within a framework of shared artistic concern that leads to continuous evolution. The artworks to be presented, inspired by the rich collections of the Gennadius Library, depart from different points using different techniques: ceramics, textiles, handmade paper, engravings, sculpture, cyanotypes, art books, and drawings. With an eye for fine craftmanship, a combination of ancient and traditional methods is often used to create contemporary works of art. The exhibition will also include process items such as sketchbooks, tools, and a camera obscura.

The exhibition will be accompanied by guided tours, demonstrations, and workshops on handmade paper, rag doll and book making, card weaving, wire-sculpture, embroidery, and Sashiko stitching, led by the artists themselves. These parallel events are designed to attract audiences of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the exhibition and appreciate this wonderful and unique library by participating in an active, experiential learning process.

An important feature of this project is the many events planned during the 3-month span of the exhibition, including weekly guided tours of the exhibition by the artists, lectures, book signing, demonstrations and workshops in handmade paper, book making, card weaving, wire-sculpture, embroidery and Sashiko stitching led by the artists. The exhibition will include process items such as sketchbooks, tools, and a camera obscura, used in making the artworks. These events and workshops are designed to bring in the public of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the exhibition and to appreciate this wonderful and unique library facility.

Opening hours:

Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:00 – 18:00, Thursday: 12:00 – 20:00

The exhibition will be closed: Thursday, December 25, Friday, December 26 and Thursday, January 1. 

Guided tours will be offered every Saturday: 12.00-14.00. 

The exhibition is supported by the NEON Organization for Culture and Development through its annual Grants Scheme.

About the artists

Judith Allen-Efstathiou is a sculptor, printmaker and mixed media artist working in copper, paper lithography, cyanotypes and drawing. She combins traditional processes with contemporary techniques and practices. Her botanical drawing project, Mapping the Walk, records walks in support of historic preservation of the footpath system of Kea island. A book Mapping the Walk, was published by Kapon Editions 2022 and an archive of 36 original drawing of the Mapping the Walk project is in the Gennadius Library collection. 

For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” she is researching the early travelers to Greece, both botanists & archaeologists: the 10 volumes of Flora Graeca by Sibthorp ,(1806-1840); Views of Greece from Drawings of Dodwell (1821); and Tournefort  Voyage du Levant (1717). She is fascinated by the faint oil-stained images left on facing pages to the lithographs of Flora Graeca and will make lithographs of these “ghosts”. She also plans drawings and camera obscura tracings of selected ancient sites of Greece as they appear today (with scaffolding) as contrasted with the more idyllic drawings of the early travels. 

 

 

Inger Carlsson is a textile artist who uses dyes, hand embroidery, SASHIKO stitching and applique for her artwork exploring our relationship with nature and the environment. She is currently exhibition her work at Galleri Anna H. Gothenburg, Sweden https://www.galleriannah.se/. 

For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” she will research Greek costume adornment of the early travelers to Greece as illustrated in books of the1700 and 1800 hundreds. She will note the cloth, details in tailoring, hats, buttons, pocket. She wonders how the travelers survived the unknown adventures and dangers of traveling during the Ottoman period without the help of scientifically designed outfits of the 21st century? 

These questions will be explored in her textile works. 

 

 

 

 

Eva Cheiladaki is a textile artist who makes soft sculpture and puppets, from fabric, felting, paper pulp, wood, recycling vintage cloth and other found materials.

She often makes puppets based on Greek myth and folk tales, such as Kronos, a life-size soft sculpture shown in Στο Κato Κato (Benaki Museum 2022- 2023) and the soft sculptures inspired by the “Ship of Fools” (by Brant) exhibited in Tales of Tools, (Benaki 2023). 

For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” plans to research early Greek embroidery motifs depicting Greek folk tales to inspire her works in soft sculpture. 

 

 

Theodora Chorafas works in ceramic sculpture and installations.

Her 2024 solo exhibition for the first Greek Biennal of Ceramics No Birth No Death — Personal Excavations was at Tomato Industrial Museum Santorini (2024). 

For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” plans to make rakou fired ceramic sculptures exploring the mystery of life through its materiality, with natural elements such as bone and wool combined with clay. 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria Grigoriou is a textile artist who works with a variety of hand weaving techniques, handmade paper, collage, stitching, indigo and other natural dying techniques, using silk yarn, handspun paper, cotton cloth and thread. 

For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” plans to research the history and chemistry of natural plant dyeing as well as books of the early travelers to Greece. She will make artist's books and large-scale weavings inspired by colors from watercolors and lithographs of the early travelers and her own “travels” in an ongoing body of work: a two-year daily record of walks following the same seaside route near her studio. This almost monochromatic, ever-changing landscape encloses depth, time and Infinity. She observes and gathers details of nature (often pass unnoticed) to record in her artworks that carry the blue marks of time, of wear and rust, soaked by salty water with the beauty of the ephemeral and imperfect. She expresses Earth and Water, the two essential elements of life. Anything can be an image. A landscape, a color, a texture, a book, a poem, words, a technique itself. Instagram: 

 

 

Despina Pandazopoulou is a jeweler who makes microsculpture and jewelery in metals, marble, wood and leather. Her work is currently exhibited in Art in Gold, Jewellery in Hellenistic Times at the Benaki Museum. For “7 artists-7 narratives. AFIcollective at the Gennadius Library” she will make work inspired by Vitsentzos Kornaros’ Erotokritos, an epic, heroic and erotic drama with folk songs, proverbs, ancient Greek references, as well as western elements, such as jousting. The book tells the story of a mythical reality of 1590-1610 while Despina’s work will follow the mythology of her own time. Her planned sculpture, The Lie of Aretousa, references section D, verse 643, Aretousa. In the narrative Aretousa refuses to admit she gave her ring to Erotokritos, claiming that she lost the ring while dancing with her friends. Inspired by passages in Erotokritos referring to tools Despina plans to exploring writing tools as extensions of the hand and the movement that touches the page staying forever in written words. She will make small sculptures exploring how historically the various materials used for making writing tools effected the character of the written word.

 

 

Yiannis Papadopoulos is a sculpture and mixed media artist who makes artists books and sculpture constructions in ratan, string, and handmade paper. He weaves with plain linen string using repetitive movements in an almost meditative practice. He explores book forms in both small artist books and in monumental sculptures. He is interested in researching records of historic book construction, paper marbling and dying techniques to inspire his sculptural book forms (small and large-scale) with handmade paper and calligraphy.