Opening Party: Sat 11th May, 19.00-22.30

Live Music: Sun 12th May, 19.00-22.30

with intimate music by Hussain Badran & band and Mehrdad Mehrabpour at piano

Arts collective Perspectives Athens, with London based publication shado, present: A three City Touring Exhibition with talented artists from Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia, and Greece. Abdulazez Dukhan, Anna Virabyan, Ayman Alhussain  Elias Sharifi, Hussain Badran, Iqra Noor, Khatereh Ahmadi, Mostafa Rajabi, Sally Talal, Wael Habbal.

The aim of the exhibitions is to publicize and promote the artists’ work to a wide, international audience, highlighting issues for those who have been through migration to Europe, and providing a space for each artist to present their own perspective.

At Vryssaki, Living Space for Arts and Action, the first of our 3 exhibitions, Abdulazez Dukhan uses visual storytelling to change our perceptions; Anna Virabyan employs fine art as a medium of emotional expression; and Wael Habbal presents his complex politically-informed drawings. We have a room filled with the human figure –abstracted,  struggling with life‘s burdens; contorted and unexpected; or in (self) portraits;  striking works from Hussain Badran, Iqra Noor,  Mostafa Rajabi and Sally Talal.

Colour, texture, light, challenge and delight: these are the things we welcome from photographs and paintings. These photographers present the image of an autumn leaf, blown about or caught against the tarmac or fence… Does the beauty of a dying leaf link to the young climate change activists in London as part of (International) Extinction Rebellion? To mass migration due to wars, famines, and power abuse? Or contrast with lovers on the bridge, the freedom of seagulls, intimacy of a couple laughing together or a quiet moment at a lamplit desk…? From Ayman Alhussain, Elias Sharifi, Khatereh Ahmadi.

By touring the exhibition, we will connect London, Athens and Amsterdam in a discussion around art, community and inclusion. We are honoured to provide a platform across these European cities, during the hostile Brexit era, to present 10 talented artists and offer a cross-city experience of celebration, art, music and welcome, forging creative connections through the expressive language of art.