This publication, and the edited version of the survey exhibition Image & Icon: The New Greek Photography which it accompanies at Ottawa's Karsh-Masson Gallery, represent two more Iinks in a chain stretching back to 1994, when the Greek Ministry of Culture first took cognisance of the burgeoning photographic medium. However delayed such recognition may have been it
was inevitable, given the critical esteem and high profile which Greek photography achieved during the eighties and nineties.
One of the Ministry of Culture's earliest and most fruitful initiatives in the field of photography proved to be the exhibition Image & Icon, which was commissioned in 1996 and first presented at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in February 1997 before embarking upon an extended domestic and foreign tour. Another significant initiative was the foundation, that same year, of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography; this new institution, which is still in a state of transition, was soon to be entrusted with the care and administration of what has proved to be perhaps the most popular and successful exhibition of contemporary Greek art to date. Following a thorough overhaul and refurbishment, Image & Icon was shown in the Czech Republic during the first part of 2000, prior to an extensive tour of Canada in 2000 and 2001.
Thanks to the interest shown by the City of Ottawa, the first venue of this Canadian tour will be the Karsh- Masson Gallery, which for reasons of space will host an edited version. This has been specially assembled for the purpose by the curator, John Stathatos, with a view to presenting ascoherent as possible a preview of the exhibition which will subsequently be shown in other Canadian cities. On behalf of the Thessaloniki Museum
of Photography, and with special thanks to all those who contributed to making this tour possible, both in Canada and in Greece, it is with great pleasure that I invite you to discover the New Greek Photography.
Aris Georgiou
Artistic Director
Thessaloniki Museum of Photography