Exhibitions of the Project
Milan ~ Chengdu ~ Beijing ~ Izmir
Aquarium of Milan 2019
Promoted by the Department of Culture of the Milan Municipality
The Aquarium of Milan dates back to 1906 and is the third oldest in Europe. Close to Sforzesco Castle in Parco Sempione, it’s a few minutes' walk from the Duomo. The ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades’ photography exhibition was promoted by the Department of Culture of the Milan Municipality and took place from 9th May to 5th June 2019. Five hundred posters advertising the event were visible inside the city, including Milan's impressive metro network. The 9th May inauguration was sponsored by Mykonos Taverna Greca, a well established Greek restaurant in Milan. The theme, specifically land and sea, had one exception. With permission from the direction of the Aquarium, a photograph from the Lost Lady of Sikinos,Neiko gallery became the exhibition centrepiece due to its archeological relevance: anticipating by two years the discovery of a tomb containing the remains of a mysterious noble woman buried in the 2nd century A.D. under the monumental church of Episkopi in a remote part of Sikinos island. It is considered one of the most significant discoveries in recent Cycladic history.
“From 10 May to 5 June 2019, the elegant early twentieth century Art Nouveau building that houses the Acquario Civico di Milano will host the DISCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF THE CYCLADES exhibition by W. M. Wilman promoted by the Municipality of Milan within its walls and tanks. - Culture and from the Aquarium - Civic Hydrobiological Station of Milan.”
Embassy of Greece in Italy
Colophon at the Aquarium of Milan exhibition
“Brits 🇬🇧 have always been impressed by the beauty of the Greek 🇬🇷 landscape. British photographer 📷 Mark Wilman is passionate about the wild landscapes of Greece’s Cycladic islands. After 4 years of exploring little-known parts of several Aegean islands, the photographer will showcase the Greek beauty he captured with his lens in the exhibition Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades by W. M. Wilman that will take place in Milan. Check out his impressive photography in his website.”
British Embassy in Athens
Presented by the Embassy of Greece in Italy and British Embassy in Greece on their social media platforms, and also leading journals in both Italy and Greece, the event was dedicated to the late Professor Angelos Delivorias, a foremost archeologist, director of the preeminent Benaki Museum in Athens for more than 40 years, and friend for two decades. The professor’s explanations about antiquity were of great use to me particularly during research of the project, which has been proposed to The Party of Greece for UNESCO to encourage the conservation of the islands for future generations. MW
“Greece goes… Milan: The photos that promote the Cyclades. The British photographer Mark Wilman talks to ELLE.gr about his photographic project that presents the beauty of the Aegean in Italy.”
ELLE Greece
Poster promoting the exhibition
Book
My book about the exhibition at the Aquarium of Milan. See it here.
“‘Discovering the Beauty of the Cyclades’ is a photographic project focused on the natural beauty of the islands of this Aegean archipelago, from the volcano of Santorini to the wild and less explored areas of Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros, Poliegos, Kimolos, Milos and Serifos. Land and sea are dominant elements in the work, which took over four years to complete, their interaction of prime interest from the start. This will be the first exhibition of W. M. Wilman in Milan.”
Il Giorno
Il Giorno is a leading Italian newspaper. This article about the project and its exhibition in Milan was written in 2018 before the inclusion of Anafi, Sifnos and Kythnos islands.
Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum 2020
Promoted by the Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Embassy of Greece in Beijing together with the Foreign Affairs Office of Jinniu District People’s Government
Representing Greece at the Chengdu Europe Culture Season 2020
It’s been an honour to represent Greece with my ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades’ project, together with Aristeidis Kontogeorgis’ aerial views of Tinos, at the Chengdu Europe Culture Season. I’d like to thank the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades for their official support in permitting the use of ‘The Secrets of the Episkopi of Sikinos' video to accompany the centrepiece of my work ‘Lost Lady Of Sikinos, Neiko’ at this event.
Special thanks to the Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Embassy of Greece in Beijing together with the Foreign Affairs Office of Jinniu District People’s Government for organising the ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades - A Glimpse Of The Aegean Sea’ exhibition at the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum.
I dedicated the exhibition to the memory of Professor Angelos Delivorias, former director of the Benaki Museum in Athens who passed away in 2018. A good friend for many years, his encouragement was influential in my research of the Cyclades archipelago. MW
“The exhibition was inaugurated on Sunday, 27 September, in the presence of the Ambassador of Greece to China, Mr Georgios Iliopoulos. In the video he made for the inauguration, Mr. Wilman dedicated the exhibition to the memory of Professor Angelos Delivorias, former director of The Benaki Museum. The ‘Lost Lady Of Sikinos, Neiko’ photo at the exhibition is officially supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports (Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) and the (Εφορεία Αρχαιοτήτων Κυκλάδων) Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades through the use of their "Secrets of the Episkopi of Sikinos’.”
Greek News Agenda
Read the full Facebook post by Greek News Agenda (Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs) about the exhibition and the inauguration ceremony here.
Ambassador of Greece to China, Mr Georgios Iliopoulos, together with Director General Mr Jiang Bin and Chief Executive Mr Hu Jianping of the Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Foreign Affairs Office of Jinniu District People’s Government
“I feel particularly honored for being invited today to address the opening of the photography exhibition under the title “Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades — a glimpse of the Aegean Sea”, with works by the photographers Mark Wilman and Aristeidis Kontogiorgis, in this important and elegant Museum, the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum. … The photos shown here do not simply denote the past, evoking longing or nostalgia, but, even more, thanks to the perennial beauty of the Aegean Sea, they aspire to give rise to deeper appreciation of the natural environment and the “Cosmos” or Universe that inspired Greek Art. These feelings gave rise to the most typical attributes of the Greek Mind, such as the pursuit of true knowledge through exploration and excellence. … I do sincerely hope that this exhibition will mark the beginning of closer cultural ties and cooperation between our countries …”
Mr Georgios Iliopoulos, Ambassador of Greece to China
The full speech can be found below.
See my speech presented via video at the inauguration.
Journals in China that covered the inauguration event in Chengdu
China News:
China News is the second largest state-owned news agency in China.
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“The exhibition exhibits a series of 52 photos taken by British photographer Mark Wilman and Greek photographer A. Kontogeorgis in the Cyclades and Aegean Sea. …The exhibition is presented in the form of photos, accompanied by clear and vivid text descriptions, showing the rich and fascinating beauty of the Cyclades Islands, allowing the public to further understand and explore the mysteries of nature, and advocate harmonious coexistence between man and nature. In this exhibition, you can also see the video on the consolidation and restoration of the Episkopi Church on Sikinos Island provided by the General Administration of Cultural Relics and Cultural Heritage (Cycladic Antiquities and Archaeology Bureau) of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Hellenic Republic.”
Weixin:
An article that covers the inauguration of both the “CHISEL AND MEMORY - the Contribution of Marble Craftsmanship to the Restoration of the Acropolis Monuments” photography exhibition at the Chengdu Museum, and also the ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades - A Glance at the Aegean Sea’ exhibition at the Chengdu Europe Culture Sea which took place at the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum.
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“Ambassador George Iliopoulos expressed in his speech that he hoped that on the one hand, this exhibition can enhance people's knowledge and understanding of the Cyclades in Greece. On the other hand, he hopes tourists can enjoy the beautiful scenery and splendid culture of Greece. The photos on display not only show the past and evoke people's nostalgia or nostalgia; more importantly, people are eager to learn more about the natural environment and even the entire universe that inspired Greek art for the beauty of the Aegean Sea throughout the year.”
Beijing 2021
The Belt and Road Initiative International Drifting Photography Exhibition
Yangguang Shangdong Community, Jiangtai, Beijing
The Embassy of Greece in Beijing, China selected a number of photographs from the ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades’ project to represent Greece in The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) International Drifting Photography Exhibition which took place in Jiangtai, Beijing from July 9th 2021. N.B. The original venue for the event was Canton but later changed to Beijing.
Adnan Saygun Arts Center, Izmir 2022
An exhibition of the project from March 1st to 20th 2022 at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Sanat Merkezi Arts Center in Izmir was organised by Consul General D. Balkiza and her team at the Consulate General of Greece in Izmir (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic) with the cooperation of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, and official support from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades in the use of the video ‘The Secrets of the Episkopi of Sikinos’ to accompany the project’s centrepiece photo ‘Lost Lady of Sikinos, Neiko’.
See a link to details about the exhibition on the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Sanat Merkezi Art Center website here.
The event was sponsored by Kosmos Visa Services.
Details about the closing event on 17th March can be found on my blog post.
Read Greek News Agenda’s presentations of the event on Facebook and Twitter
(GNA is the English language online journal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic)
W. Mark Wilman presents his photographic project Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades by W. Mark Wilman at the prestigious Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Centre (Ahmed Adnan Saygun Sanat Merkezi) in İzmir, from 1 to 20 March 2022. The exhibition is organised with the support of the Consulate General of Greece in İzmir (Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Η Ελλάδα στον Κόσμο).
As with the photographer’s previous exhibition at the "Chengdu Europe Culture Season" 2020 festival in China, the centrepiece of the photography project, "Lost Lady of Sikinos, Neiko", will be officially supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports (Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) together with the Εφορεία Αρχαιοτήτων Κυκλάδων Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades in the use of the video "The Secrets of the Episkopi of Sikinos".
Turkiye Gunlugu.Net
An article about the closing event of the ‘Discovering The Beauty Of The Cyclades’ exhibition at the Ahmed Adnan Sanat Saygun Arts Center on 17th March organised by a cooperation between the Consulate General of Greece in Izmir and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
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“On Thursday, March 17, in honor of photographer W. Mark Wilman, who presented his photography collection titled "Discovering the Beauty of the Cyclades" at Adnan Saygun Art Center with the cooperation of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Despina Balkiza, Consul General of Greece in Izmir, to art lovers. A cocktail event was given. The cocktail, sponsored by Kosmos Visa, was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and also the Chairman of the Parliamentary European Union Assembly and Foreign Relations Commission Suat Çağlayan, the Italian Consul in Izmir Valerio Giorgio, the Federal Consul General of Germany Dr. Detlev Wolter, İzmir Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Naciye Gökçen Kaya, İKSEV President Filiz Eczacıbaşı Sarper, Honorary Consuls and well-known names of the society attended.”
See a list of other news journals that have presented the exhibition in Izmir on my Media page.
Me with Consul General D. Balkiza of the Consulate General of Greece in Izmir and Deputy Mayor of Izmir Prof. Dr. Sudt Caglayan at the closing event on 17th March 2022.
Visitors to the exhibition at the closing event
Consul General Balkiza of the Consulate General of Greece in Izmir, Turkey
A selection of photos on display
The 'Secrets of the Episkopi of Sikinos' video at the exhibition with permission from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports together with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades officially supporting my centrepiece photo at the exhibition 'Lost Lady of Sikinos, Neiko'.
