State Museum of Contemporary Art

3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art "Old Intersections-Make it New"

September 18th – December 18th, 2011

The 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, under the general title ‘Old Intersections-Make it New’, which is at the same time the thematic keystone of the three consecutive biennial organisations initiating from 2011, will take place from September the 18th till December the 18th of 2011. It is the first joint venture of the ‘Thessaloniki-5 Museums Movement (5M) consisted of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, the Museum of Byzantine Culture, the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Teloglion Foundation of Art AUTh and the leader of the project, the State Museum of Contemporary Art-Costakis Collection.

Focused on the Mediterranean region, the culture, the people, their emotions, their suffering and problems, viewed through a contemporary visual outlook, this year’s organisation comprises a main and a parallel program including exhibitions, an international workshop of young artists, a performance festival, a symposium and a variety of artistic events building up in every part of the city.

The 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art is funded under the Operational Programme Macedonia-Thrace 2007-2013, and is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund), with the SMCA as the lawful beneficiary.

It is also part of the “Thessaloniki: Cultural Crossroads” programme of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which focuses on the Middle East this year, as well, and is supported by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Department of Culture, Education and Tourism, the 9th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, and other cultural and educational partners jointly.

The Main Programme of the Biennale is supported by an International Advisory Committee:
Catherine David, Art-Historian-Curator
Maria Rosa Girace Pieralisi, Director of the Italian Institute in Thessaloniki
Jannis Kounellis, Artist
Jessica Morgan, Curator of Contemporary Art
Denys Zacharopoulos, Art Theorist

Katerina Koskina, President of the Board of Trustees of the SMCA is the Director of the 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art.
Athina Ioannou, Administrative Manager of the SMCA is the Project Manager.

The 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale will take place in cooperation, at promotion and communication level, with the 11th Lyon Biennale (15.09 – 31.12.2011, http://www.biennaledelyon.com ) and the 12th Istanbul Biennial (17.09-13.11.2011, http://bienal.oksv.org).