Providing a roof for new, veteran artists

ISTANBUL

The exhibition TIO ILAR 7 provides a roof for young artists in their early stages, who get the chance to exhibit their art alongside established artists.

Bringing together 15 artists from five countries, the contemporary art exhibition TIO ILAR 7 has recently opened at the Sismanoglio Megaro of the Consulate General of Greece in Istanbul. The exhibition is curated by famous young artist Panos Malamis.

“TIO ILAR” in the ancient Attica dialect means “providing a roof, providing protection.” TIO ILAR provides a roof for young artists in their early stages, who get the chance to exhibit their art next to established artists. The proceeds from the exhibition are donated to charitable causes.

Hugo Fontela from Spain; Beyza Boynudelik, Hakan Bayer, Leyla Ersin, Pet 05 , Zone from Turkey; Pietro Ruffo from Italy; Alexis Avlamis, Olga Alexopoulou, Alekos Skoutariotis,  Dimitris Dokos, Kalliopi Kouklinou, Pandelis Pandelopoulos,  Localize it! from Greece and  Thiemo Kloss from Germany will exhibit their artwork in this group exhibition. TIO ILAR 7 will also be held in Athens in September.

Speaking about the exhibition, Malamis explained the idea behind TIO ILAR, saying, “Once a seed is in harmony with the earth, it will blossom. And I try to provide the earth for the seeds to blossom where seeds blossom.”

“Established artists will exhibit next to young artists, thus benefiting from the new ideas and forces that have not yet been part of the artistic mainstream, while the younger artists are exhibiting under the wings of internationally established artists, bridging the mainstream with what will be the mainstream. This approach is one of the powerful novelties of TIO ILAR.” He said it was the second time the exhibition has come to Istanbul, and continued:  “The feeling we received last year and also through the year since last year’s exhibition was representative of the vibrancy of the art scene in Istanbul. We have seen many local artists and we are looking into more local creators. We have seen young people that can put their entire world in a piece of art and that is not easily seen anywhere. This is why we are back and we are thinking of making Istanbul a yearly destination. There are very few cities worldwide that share the vibrancy of Istanbul and art is a depiction of that vibrancy.”

A large portion of the exhibition’s income will go to social responsibility related causes. “This is one of the core values of TIO ILAR. However, social responsibility is paramount in all elements of TIO ILAR.
 
Contributing to artists, charities, the audience are the keys, profit is not. We do not derive financial profit in any way.  In a strange way it is this approach to social responsibility that generates the highest profits even if they are not in the strict monetary fashion. Charities receive, artists benefit, collectors discover, the public enjoys, we observe all that and we are amazed of how a shy idea 10 years ago evolved and thus we benefit,” Malamis said.

Young and established artists together

A roof and the earth to artists that during their early professional steps have the privilege to exhibit their work next to established artists and to those established whose motivation to participate derives from their internal personal need to offer. The aim of TIO ILAR was to become more than an art exhibition and evolving from a shy idea into a seventh annual event, it successfully continues to support creativity and freedom of expression in art.”