Art Exhibitions In Thessaloniki Last Weekend

Last Sunday we went to Thessaloniki with @trumpman and a friend of ours. We went to check out a Burger Fest that was on for the weekend in Thessaloniki (the city where I spent my college years). To be honest, there was not much to see there, we just wandered around a bit, had a burger with a beer and left to meet with @dimitrisp for a coffee.

We left home at about 11:30 and after an hour we were already parked near the HELEXPO National Exhibition Center. The place is an area that hosts various events all year long and you can almost always find something to visit. This time, it was not just the Burger Festival. 

Since on the 19th we honored the memory of the Pontian Genocide (1914-1923) by the Ottoman Empire, there was an amazing exhibition with paintings and traditional costumes during the whole of May. We got in a large building with walls all adorned with masterpieces praising the shameful event of a violent pogrom against humanity. 

Starting with the Armenian Genocide by the Ottomans (that claimed 1.5 million lives) the Genocide of the Pontian Greeks (where about 300-350,000 lives were lost) came to add another black chapter in the book of History.

Entering the place, our ears met with the sounds of the pontian lyra or kemenche and our eyes were flooded with colors, red, black, blue; images of destruction, torture, pain and death.

Among the numerous works of art, a few caught my attention and made an impression on me. 

She is screaming "STOP!", can't you hear her?

"We're shadows of ourselves..."

"Our home is lost..."

Children are dragged around, wandering and wondering:

"When is this going to stop?"

"When will our people see the light again?"

"How tall do those mountains of soulless bodies have to get?"

"How much humiliation? Barbarity? Hatred do we have to tolerate?"

This painting really shocked me! Being a woman myself, I could sense the intensity of a rape just by glancing at this picture. Despite the vibrant colors and the naive outlines, the painting delivers a message that hit me like a punch in the stomach. Nightmarish!

And a more personal version of the traditional costumes to make the atmosphere lighter:

     

I wanted to spend some more time there. I needed to pay more attention to some of those pieces. I needed to understand more of them. We were taught about the Genocide at school, it is part of our history and I wanted to remember details again; but we had to go.

One thing is for sure, the visitor would not leave the place without feeling upset at the slightest.

Our visit continued to the Burger Festival area to grab lunch and then, upon leaving the festival we saw a newly opened Shoe Exhibition. We didn't miss the chance to get in for a quick look, before we headed to meet @dimitrisp.

Here are a few of the exhibits, our traditional costume shoes: tsarouchia

Some shoes made of recyclable material:

The shoe within the Fairytale Universe:

Some "foreign samples"

What do you think of these?

Oh! And these?

The perfect bridal heels are here!!

These are playfully weird too:

I bet @reinhard-schmid would love these!

The guide there explained that the exhibition is still in the making and they are waiting for more exhibits. We also saw some shoes famous actors wore in plays or athletes wore in games and tournaments. 

And after having lunch with both "edible" and "cultural" food, we made our way high up in Skyline cafe AKA OTE Tower, a tall building with a rotating interior that allows you to view the whole of the city while enjoying your drink.

Cheers!

Don't you agree that the view is magnificent?

*All images by @ruth-girl - Steemit, 2018

Thank you so much for your time!

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!