HELBI

Greek President Karolos Papoulias and personalities from the arts world attended «Angelos Goulandris: Ten Years On» at the Gaia Center in honor of the late Angelos Goulandris, the founder of the Goulandris Museum of Natural History. Benaki Museum director Angelos Delivorias, Goulandris's widow and president of the museum Niki Goulandris, her sister and museum vice president Marianna Delamotte, and poet and museum general secretary Fali Voyiatzaki spoke in simple, moving words about Goulandris, the visionary, methodical organizer and quiet painter and sculptor who died in November 1996. «I know that without Angelos there would be not have been the vision, the mission, the timely foresight, the decisions, the daring and the touch of history,» said Niki Goulandris, who shared with him and his chosen colleagues the «fantastic journey» into knowledge and nature. One aspect of his personality that all the speakers mentioned was his farsightedness, which made him aware that nature was at risk long before that was generally understood. Another was his faith in individual action and each person's ability to change the world. As Voyiatzaki remarked: «All of us, having absorbed his ideas and his vision, follow in his path so that more and more people will realize that our behavior in the years to come will determine the future of life on our planet. The measures that each of us takes as an individual can, put together, be effective, guiding and expedite political action.» Today Goulandris's works speak for him: the Museum of Natural History in its neoclassical building on Levidou Street and the Gaia Center at 100 Othonos St, which was completed after his death to his specifications. After the speeches came the screening of a film about Goulandris's life and contributions, as well as a visit to a retrospective exhibition of his paintings and sculpture at the Gaia Center. Goulandris Natural History Museum artistic director Petros Zambelis, accompanied by Niki Goulandris, showed the Greek president and Kifissia Mayor Nikos Hiotakis around the exhibition. The exhibition is open to the public until November 30.