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The Ephorate of Antiquities of Corfu organizes in the Latin Chapel of the Old Fortress the art exhibition "Shelter. Corfu, Refugees 1922-1924" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the role of Corfu as a place of reception and refuge of Asia Minor refugees.
The sad reality at the end of the summer of 1922 and until the end of 1924 led hundreds of refugees to seek a new homeland and a new life here in the westernmost part of the country. Corfu, as a forever place of reception of populations, embraced and supported their effort. A real person, Chrysanthi Arabatzi, gives a vivid testimony of their painful struggle for survival. Her story, indicative and parallel to many others, inspires the present exhibition of paintings to initiate artistic creation. The homeland, the family, the journey, the new place, the fate of Chrysanthi and so many others weave the fertile dowry of Asia Minor in contemporary Corfu.
Participating in the exhibition are Spyros Kolyvas, Aleka Labiri, Kostas Minas, Katerina Monopolis, Sofia Stavrou, and Kostas Tombros, six visual artists who are active on the island and who, in different ways and interpretations, recreate the stories of the ‘shelter’ of the refugees.
Also included are three landscape paintings with views of the ‘shelter’ of the island's coastal zone from the collection of the late Corfu painter Tzinos Dimitratos (1943-2021), as a tribute to his contribution to art and Corfu’s humanism.
Exhibition curator: Maria Melenti, art historian
Historical documentation: dr. Maria Kamonachou, historian
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