NEWS

Merely a matter of bad timing?

Vassilis Balatsos of Unlimited on Kriezi Street, which closed in 2005, is more pessimistic than the Breeder owners. «To reach an economic level that would make the art gallery sustainable we would have to betray our principles,» he explained. «We would have to organize commercial events every Christmas and Easter and display artists that we do not like.» «Even if we had been able to survive we would have left Psyrri. It has become a district geared solely to nightlife. Our hopes have been dashed in the worst possible way. Not only have we been disappointed in terms of the area’s development but also as regards those who buy modern art in Greece. Greece cannot sustain so many art galleries.» «We cannot turn our back on the Greek market and live off foreign clients,» he continued. «It’s not nice to give your compatriots the cold shoulder. We do not live on the Internet but in a real city in the real world. Unfortunately we are surrounded by the newly rich who know about [popular singer] Peggy Zina but not about [the late esteemed artist] Nikos Kessanlis. They will never spend money on modern art. Maybe the situation will improve in the future and there will be more buyers.» «Maybe the Psyrri experiment failed because of bad timing,» said Balatsos. He said Unlimited would not reopen.

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