Yearbook on the country’s cultural scene
Cultural events in this country are increasing by the year. With more than 300 plays performed annually, this is one example of many that indicates the difficulty that the public interested in the arts may have keeping up with the pace. Seen from one angle, numbers can be a sign of a cultural boom, yet quality does not always come with expansion. The «Greek Culture Yearbook 06-07,» which was just released by Highlights magazine and Filtotheamon, includes a selection of what the writers see as the most interesting cultural events that took place over the past year and presents them in a 600-page volume that gives readers a retrospective, all-around appraisal of cultural life in Greece throughout 2006. It is the second in a series that Highlights – an established and well-respected bimonthly magazine on the arts and the only one in Greece – began last year. The yearbook’s publication is one of several cultural activities organized by Highlights. Fully illustrated, this hardbound, bilingual (Greek and English) edition comprises all fields of cultural production: architecture, the visual arts (the yearbook’s largest section), photography, theater, books (with subsections for prose, poetry and essays), cinema, dance and music – both classical and contemporary Greek music, the latter being a new addition. The depth of analysis varies slightly from section to section with some writers being more descriptive and others employing a critical approach. An introduction that precedes the presentation of each field helps give a general appraisal and place the events within a broader cultural context. Yiannis Svolos, in the classical music section, for example, is most successful in providing an overall picture and in offering a critical point of view by discussing not just the highlights in his field but also the negative aspects. It is a broad image that the yearbook puts across and which Constantinos Tzamiotis, the edition’s publishing director and editor in chief of Highlights magazine, articulates in a penetrating introduction expressing his personal views. Tzamiotis writes about the Greek cultural scene as split between a Greek-centered conservative camp that is suspicious of anything new and the opposite extreme, a minority which accepts, often uncritically, everything that is contemporary and new. Tzamiotis also argues that artists are most concerned with the «approbation of their peers» and «need to be reassured that their tribe’s borders remain inviolate, that its suffocating, near-autism-inducing shell remain unchanged. Thus reassured, the artist can continue to enjoy the security they provide, utterly indifferent to anything that may be happening in the world beyond.» By depicting the existing cultural scene as introverted and self-centered, Tzamiotis offers a rather pessimistic view. He does so in a daring, upfront way that bears no relationship to the unconstructive complaints repeatedly heard in the field. It is a welcome change to the paucity of solid criticism. As in most small countries on the artistic periphery, Greece is dominated by its own cultural coteries, which often stand in the way of constructive criticism. The «Greek Culture Yearbook» is a venture that helps improve public dialogue within the field and bring more people in touch with the arts. The product of hard work and commitment, it is a useful documentation of cultural output in Greece over the past year, and more indirectly, a reflection of art criticism in this country. The yearbook is an offshoot of the cultural activities initiated by Highlights magazine (George Dragonas is the publisher). Besides special editions, the magazine and its team have, in past years, organized festivals (for example a film festival) and conferences on various topics and fields of art. A one-day conference that was held on the occasion of the new draft law for art subsidies a few months ago at the Benaki Museum drew a large crowd and had considerable impact. The minister of culture was himself a participant. Each year, Highlights also invites art publications from all over the country to a conference held outside Athens. www.highlights.gr
