Demetrius Salpistis
Deputy Mayor for Culture, Youth and Sports
Head of the Organizing Committee of the Municipality of Thessaloniki for the Biennial

On November 26, 1986, a few days after the end of the events of the 2nd Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Alexis Dermetzoglou, renowned film critic and sensitive observer of the city's cultural life, wrote the following in our city's daily newspaper: "Our opinion, as well as the opinion of many people working at the Biennial, of many young people and artists that we interviewed, and especially of many children from Thessaloniki is that, thankfully, from now on, things will never be the same.
This kind of popular cultural event taking place non-stop at all levels, in all venues and places, shattered the model of an antiquated dogmatic ethics, an old perception of culture. So, things in the future will never be what they were in the past. Something new has occurred and we must now wonder what the new, permanent cultural agencies that will follow the Biennial cultural events will be."
In this way, he recorded a generally accepted conclusion. Hosting the 2nd Biennial of Thessaloniki comprised a revelation and a landmark in the city's cultural life.
It revealed a cultural dynamism "in stasis," an underground explosive process seeking an escape route to expression.
It shaped a landscape, because Thessaloniki was flooded with the light, sound, colors of modern art, new quests and trends that broke through the window opened by the Young Artists' Biennial on the world.
The eighties in Thessaloniki were marked by significant cultural developments. A new Authority had been established at the Municipality surrounded by rejuvenating forces from major political and social trends of "change," which brought, for the first time, a socialist government into the country. This Municipal Authority managed to motivate the cultural forces of the city, shaping, for the first time in its history, new institutions of cultural and artistic creation, new cultural structures at the Municipality, institutions, organization of artistic events, etc.
The climate of the Young Artists' Biennial, which swept the city and especially its youth, left behind exhilaration, enthusiasm and an inquisitive spirit, carved into the consciousness of the city.
In fact, the next few years were nothing like Thessaloniki during the mid-eighties.
The invitation extended to the Municipality of Thessaloniki to organize the 2nd Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean arrived in October 1985, almost simultaneously with the resurgence of the climate of protest against Athens which had organized, that year, the events of the Cultural Capital, the institution proposed to the EU by Melina Mercouri.
Was this a "gift" to the second largest city in the country or was it the result of the recognition of the work accomplished by the Municipal Authority in the sector of Culture and Youth?
Both arguments were employed, depending on the circumstances at the time. Nevertheless, Thessaloniki felt a vital need to open up to the world. Young people were suffocating within the limits of a city where many aspects of life maintain a rural introversion.
The city's creative forces were looking outwards, but all roads seemed closed or impenetrable.
Despite all municipal activities, the city's cultural infrastructure and institutions, of the kind that only state intervention could bring about, remained limited.
The last cultural building established was the Society for Macedonian Studies, in 1961, which remained the only venue for hosting drama, music, dance, opera and cinema events. Thus, the proposal for an international event, with the participation of foreign artists in all fields of creativity, arrived at an appropriate historic moment for Thessaloniki.
At its initial organizational phase, the event mobilized all the artists in the city, who participated in the various juries, as well as the members of the technical community, who undertook the preparation of the city for November 1986.
The situation of things at that moment foretold what was to happen, but, within the climate of suspense and preparation, nobody had time to ascertain it.
The responsibility was great and time was of the essence, since municipal elections were to be held in October 1986; the Municipal Authority lost the elections, but did have the satisfaction of tasting that huge success the following month, since they had to hand over to the new leaders in January 1987. At the end of the Biennial, in late November, many claimed that if the event had taken place before the elections, the outcome would have been different.
However strong impressions might have been, the country's main conquering policy indicated that the result could not have been any different; what mattered was not local election criteria, but the central general policy.
Thessaloniki had to set the priorities for organizing the event without deviating from the goals set by the organizers in Barcelona; the same was true for all those who participated in the events that gradually shaped the features and goals of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean.
The success of Barcelona and, mainly, the international mobilization proved that the institution had strong support, that it responded to crucial demands and problems expressed by a new generation of artists and that it had prospects and a future.
The enhancement of creative initiatives undertaken by young artists, the creation of a network for informing young people and disseminating their cultural works, the fulfillment of preconditions for keeping up with new trends, the forces and quests of creative production were also the indisputable priorities of Thessaloniki. In fact, these priorities were vital, bordering on the vitally existential.
At the same time, the city had to see to its own particular problems, both those related to the world of the city's and country's young artists and those related to the city's capacity to carry out an unprecedented project on the scale of a Biennial. There was plenty of enthusiasm, but not much knowledge and experience. The organizers had to wade through the deep waters of planning a huge artistic event starring and addressing young people. This was a wager difficult to conceive and even more difficult to realize.
The largest problem-which was to become the event's largest success-was trying to find the best locations for the activities.
650 young artists representing nearly all forms of art, 370 coming from other European countries, meant resolving issues of accommodation, hospitality, transportation and, mainly, locations where dozens of works in the fields of Photography, Video, Dance, Classical Arts, Architecture, Industrial Design, Comics, Jewelry-making, Music, Cinema and Literature could be held.
The competent architectural committee that chose and shaped the locations was faced with the total lack of infrastructures, even for smaller projects. Therefore, it chose the "rebirth" and "discovery" of new venues: forgotten and abandoned buildings, unknown monuments, inaccessible warehouses. Thus, events were distributed throughout the city: at the Port, which hosted artistic events for the first time; at the Royal Theater, which was reopened after twenty years of dereliction and dilapidation; the premises of the Thessaloniki International Fair; museums; the giant Roman Rotunda, where forty photographers exhibited approximately four hundred works in interior elevated perimetric constructions, so that visitors could also see the monument's unique mosaics; Ottoman monuments, such as Yeni Çami and Alaça Imaret.
The enthusiastic audience, consisting mainly of young people, traversed distances of a few kilometers every day, from the Port to the Royal Theater to the Rotunda, thus maintaining a living, human current of traffic until late at night.
This much is obvious from an excerpt of a newspaper article of the time:
"Perhaps never in the past have cultural products been so indissolubly interlinked with the venue in which they are created, exhibited and shaped. The phenomenon of the Royal Theater and the unprecedented vivification of the port proves the success of choosing to utilize these venues for cultural purposes." Meanwhile, the city had been mobilized, its awareness having been raised by a communication campaign adapted to the boldness of youthful creation.
City constructions, floating architectural interventions on the sea, "invitations-challenges" on building façades in squares and streets predisposed the city and its visitors for an unprecedented event.
At the same time, the juries, comprised of renowned artists and creators, and all the dialogues, arguments, protests, minor or major problems between the executives of the General Secretariat for Youth from Athens and the local municipal organizing committee gave plenty of work to newspaper columnists. There was suspense, one might say unrest, over what would happen, concerning an event the features of which were enough to provoke curiosity.
Then came the unexpected wave of participation by thousands of people-something never repeated, even during the largest and most impressive events of the 1997 Cultural Capital.
The only exceptions, which were reasonable and predictable, were the night party for the inauguration of Thessaloniki's seafront, the concert by U2 and the exhibition of the "Treasures of Mount Athos." The Biennial brought about Thessaloniki's first acquaintance with large crowds and organized visits.
Twenty thousand students from the broader region and 170,000 tickets are two numbers indicative of audience attendance, without taking into account participation in free outdoor events. This kind of attendance and creative participation held promises for the future.
Countless pages have been written on the phenomenon of audience attendance at Biennial events. To glean a few:
"A new, unsmiling generation, deprived of culture, with unfulfilled needs and lost visions. YES-this is the 'other' face of the 2nd Biennial of Young Artists presented by young artists: inventive, daring, challenging. There was quality, originality, a composition of modern trends and, appearing quite often, the particular cultural tradition of the country from which artists originated.
It was obvious, at least then, that there was no prevalent leveling unification of aesthetic trends or production techniques. Personal identity and particularity were often perceived as "legible" by sensitive observers.
In fact, it was no coincidence that the interesting Forum organized with the contributions of twenty-five renowned intellectuals from the participating European countries focused on "cultural prospects and artistic trends among young artists from Mediterranean Europe."
Of course, the question remains: Are the goals established for the first two Biennial events being promoted and, if so, to what extent?
Developments in ensuing years demonstrated that, as in all Biennial events and international forums concerning art, what operated at the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean was the art market.
What is important is to ensure the possibility for young artists to exhibit their works before as many specialists as possible, who will judge, evaluate, select and internationally promote the artists' works.
I refer here to art critics and historians, collectors, curators, gallery owners, various producers and managers, festival directors and art journalists.
Naturally, the goals of a Biennial such as this definitely shift, gradually, either to respond to major changes in the art market environment or because state and international cooperation schemes and policies establish new conditions.
Thessaloniki was lucky to have been a participant in the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean from its inception and it immediately agreed with the statement made by Michel Renard at the 1986 Forum.
"I hope that, one way or another, the event will be held at least every one or two years; otherwise, what from the Mediterranean, which became a major cultural event for the city and its youth.
All of a sudden many things we were not aware of, or whose existence we had forgotten, appeared in inaccessible and abandoned locations before conservative art lovers.
Our customs were greatly 'challenged' and the inertia forced on us was subversive. In a country where everyone was speaking about the 'swamping' caused by the political, social and economic crisis, finally, something changed. Who can deny the importance of an event which brought thousands of young people to all Biennial venues, desperately seeking a creative outlet within a regime of inactivity?"
"The young people themselves took the matter into their own hands-a fact that honors those among the organizers who were in favor or happily welcomed this orientation. The city still operates as a city, as a uniform organization."
"The 2nd Biennial has left us a little wiser, because we now know that there are venues, old buildings and monuments that the youth can not only utilize, but also resurrect. The Royal Theater, haunted up until two months ago, has already become more than a cultural venue-it is a lively youth 'joint.' For those who know Thessaloniki, the extension of the 'vital area' comprising Doré-Navarinou Square-Koromila Street with the addition of the Theater in the nightlife 'geometry' is a major event-the triangle became a square. Now beware: the walk from the Royal Theater to the White Tower and from there to the Port, along the seafront is lovely. People didn't just visit one event; they flowed from venue to venue."
"Then came a feast that lasted for many days, a spirit of collectivity, of participation-nothing was given, nothing could have been offered without this effort. Young people were surprised to see in such a compact manner that, besides misery and underdevelopment, there was also creativity and art and communication and meaning-and the fruit of this effort will be borne in the future."
Thessaloniki was mobilized and its awareness was raised; the public communicated with art, as it was happens when two people no longer meet will follow: a flame that ignites and is then extinguished." Thankfully, nothing like that happened. The Biennial continued to exist and Thessaloniki made a bid for the intermediate institution named "Crossroads of the Mediterranean," but, unfortunately, the city's interest then slackened. However, the city will never forget the climate, the events and the surprise of November 1986. A youthful, enthusiastic audience invaded the cultural life of Thessaloniki with its demanding presence.
Dozens of young artists that participated in the Biennial are now established artists acclaimed in Greece and abroad, in the fields of Cinema, Music, Literature, Painting and Architecture.
In the years following the Biennial, the city managed to keep all the venues that hosted cultural activities for the first time in 1986 open, renewed and modern.
There are certain such examples.
The Royal Theater, originally constructed as an open theater in 1939, hosted the most resplendent drama, dance, opera and musical events for decades, until, over time, it was fully neglected and abandoned for over twenty years.
The Biennial resurrected the Royal Theater, brought it into the limelight, and it was used by the State Theater of Northern Greece for a whole decade, up until 1997, when Thessaloniki was the Cultural Capital of Europe. Then, within the framework of a wide range of cultural infrastructure projects, it became the new Royal Theater, a glorious, modern theater house that adorns Thessaloniki.
The first pier of the Port, which had been abandoned by Port activities, had been a closed fortress for the citizens of Thessaloniki.
The Biennial managed to pry it open and, a few years later, its cultural character was safeguarded by law; it now hosts the State Museum of Modern Art, the Photography and Film Museum, a large multiple-use hall and four modern cinema halls.
The White Tower, the city symbol, which had remained closed to the public since the liberation of Thessaloniki, hosted Biennial events and, after that, major exhibitions of Byzantine Art; it is now being prepared to become the City Museum.
Alaça Imaret and Yeni Çami, the Ottoman monuments, were first opened during the Biennial and then handed over to the Municipality of Thessaloniki to host musical and artistic events.
All venues used by the Biennial, thanks to the brilliant and ingenious idea of the members of the Venues' Committee, now comprise vital hubs for the support of the city's artistic and cultural life. Thanks to that mobility, things changed dramatically over the following decades, with the establishment of major cultural agencies that now adorn the city and promote it as one of the best equipped cities in regards to infrastructure and cultural creation institutions in the broader region of Southeastern Europe.