From today Monday 28/8/2023 a new fresco adorns the neighborhood of Vardaris. It is a fresco of the Vardari Neighborhood Group of the Self-Help Promotion Program – AUTH – OKANA, that is displayed in an outdoor parking lot, at the junction of Odysseos and Aphrodite streets.
The mural draws its theme from the recent history of the area and its artistic heritage. Specifically, it honours the poet Dinos Christianopoulos, who has a large part of both his work and his personal life connected to the Vardari area. The figure of the great poet from Thessaloniki is framed by a composition of works by the painter Dinos Papaspyrou, which depict two of the most emblematic cinemas of the region, the Cinema Ilion and the Pantheon, as well as the poet’s favourite composer, Vassilis Tsitsanis. The composition is completed with references to the cats he loved so much. Of course, such a mural could not be without the poem “Vardari: Ilion Persis” one of Christianopoulos’ most heartbreaking poems inspired by the legendary “Sine Ilion”, an important “setting” of his nightly passions in Vardari.
The selection and composition of the images was made by the members of the Vardari Neighbourhood Group after research and in consultation with Mr. Dinos Papaspyrou, whom we thank warmly for his cordial response.
The implementation and the visual curation was undertaken by the artistic group “Antares”.
Part of the cost of the project is covered by the proceeds from the sales of the music calendar “Fysixe Vardaris 2023”.
Important was once again the sponsorship of the colours by the ECO BUILDINGS AE and the scaffolding from the scaffolding company Scaffolging ASTIR. We would like to thank all the neighbours for their facilitation and especially Dimitris Spiliotis Parking as well as the tenants of the building that hosts the mural for the concession of the space.
The creation of this mural will be accompanied on 20/9 with an event dedicated to the work and life of Dinos Christianopoulos with selected writers and poets of the city, at the end of which a concert will be given by the musical group “The company of Tsitsanis”.
The area of the mural before the realization.
