Crafts of the Sea: Amorgos
June 14 – 22, 2024
Opening: June 14, 19:00
Athletic, Sailing, and Cultural Association of Amorgos
Katapola, Amorgos
Curation: Maurizio Borriello and Jacob Moe
Production: Archipelago Network
in collaboration with
the Professional Fishing Association of Amorgos
with the support of the Costas M. Lemos Foundation, Goethe-Institut Athen, and Archipelago Network’s benefactors’ circle
Aegiali, Katapola, Agia Anna, Kalotaritissa: four hubs of fishing activity across the island of Amorgos.
In conjunction with the annual “Fishers’ Feast” in Katapola, Archipelago Network inaugurates the Crafts of the Sea exhibition, which takes place from June 14 to 22 at the Athletic, Sailing, and Cultural Association of Amorgos. The exhibition focuses on the island’s long tradition of fishing activity and the current challenges faced by its seafaring communities.
Today, Amorgos, like the rest of the Cycladic islands, is at a critical juncture: a dramatic decline in fish stocks due to overfishing, coastal pollution, degradation of natural resources, and the destruction of cultural heritage, compounded by uncontrolled touristic development, all pose imminent threats to the region. Meanwhile, government-sponsored destruction of wooden boats via subsidies meant to prevent overfishing has led to the disappearance of over 80% of the Greek traditional fleet since the 2000s.
As society and environment undergo accelerated changes, new models for cultural and environmental action are needed. The remaining fishers of Amorgos have already proposed and adopted a different plan of action, whereby they cease fishing in April and May, the main period of fish spawning, and instead use their boats to clean beaches inaccessible from land.
The exhibition Crafts of the Sea in Amorgos invites residents and visitors to explore the island’s maritime heritage and envision a sustainable future via photographic archival installations by Jacob Moe and documentary photographs by Maurizio Borriello, which reframe the marine environments of the Cyclades as future resources of knowledge.
On June 16, in collaboration with the Amorgos Cinema Club in Vroutsi village, a screening program will be presented featuring a series of documentary shorts about fishing practices and boatbuilding activity in Amorgos and beyond.
Crafts of the Sea is an exhibition series held in Amorgos and Athens. Curated by Maurizio Borriello and Jacob More, it is presented by Archipelago Network in collaboration with the Professional Fishing Association of Amorgos and the Goethe-Institut Athen, with the support of the Costas M. Lemos Foundation, the Goethe-Institut Athen, and Archipelago Network’s benefactors’ circle.
Through a grassroots approach to sourcing and preserving community heritage, the Crafts of the Sea exhibition series celebrates less tangible and monumental forms of maritime culture and contemporary boatbuilding, fishing and seafaring communities of Amorgos, Koufonisia Paros, Santorini and Syros. Via archival material, documentary photography, sound collages, and documentary shorts, Crafts of the Sea advocates for their continued relevance and existence in the years to come.
Both the historical archival material and the contemporary audiovisual documentation are the result of on-site research conducted by Archipelago Network throughout 2023-24 as part of the Maritime Trades of the Cyclades project, also presented on the organization’s online platform as an interactive digital map.