MedINA along with the Vovousa Festival 2023 launch the multimedia exhibition “By the River” by the creators Penelope Thomaidi and Natasha Blatsiou, curated by Vangelis Ioakimidis.
The exhibition will take place at the Vovousa Water Museum, from July 15 to August 30, where a variety of images and sounds -from the multi-faceted Aoos River- come together to explore both the landscape and the anthropogeography of the river’s ecosystem and its tributaries, Sarantaporos and Voidomatis.
Following the river’s flow, we observe living organisms, footprints and remains. We record human activities and stories that are born, grow and die on the riverbanks.
Landscapes, portraits, cyanotype prints of plants, oral narratives and soundscapes complement each other in a multimedia installation that introduces viewers to the ecological diversity and multicultural identity of the region.
Free and undisturbed – for most of its length – Aoos is one of the last rivers in Europe, flowing unimpeded from its source in Metsovo to its mouth in the Adriatic Sea, with the exception of the big hydropower dam at the river’s springs. The project “By the river” aims to highlight the need to institutionally protect the Aoos river and its tributaries, an ecosystem currently threatened by the imminent construction of numerous small hydropower plants in its basin.
We would like to extend a warm thank you to Vovousa Festival for all the kind cooperation, the photographer Penelope Thomaidi and the documentary filmmaker Natasha Blatsiou as well as the curator Vangelis Ioakimidis for their decisive contribution and the unique way they captured the beauty hidden in the banks and the “depths” of the Aoos river.
Photo credits © Penelope Thomaidi/Hans Lucas.
