Pottery of Sifnos at the Bring Your Chair festival

An Evening Celebrating Sifnos Pottery and UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network

Date: Sunday 16 August, 20:30
Location: Dragatsis school, Artemonas, Sifnos
More info here

How has pottery shaped and continues to shape the cultural landscape of Sifnos?

The Bring Your Chair festival, in collaboration with Archipelago Network and the Municipality of Sifnos, invite you to join us for an evening celebrating the rich heritage of Sifniot pottery, exploring its significance in shaping the island’s cultural landscape. The event, titled Creative Sifnos, takes place on the occasion of Sifnos’s integration into UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, and offers an intimate glimpse and exploration of the modern potting communities of Sifnos. 

Drawing on the importance of pottery on the island from ancient to contemporary times, an introductory panel discussion brings together perspectives from archaeology, material culture and local governance. Moderated by Jacob Moe, director of Archipelago Network, the panel includes contributions from Giorgos Gavalas (Archaeologist-Curator on the islands of Siphnos and Seriphos, in the Ephorate for Antiquities of the Cyclades), Ioanna Theocharopoulou (Architectural Historian) and Maria Nadali (Mayor, Municipality of Sifnos). 

The second part of the evening features a screening of seven short documentaries directed by Jacob Moe in the context of Archipelago Network’s research on Sifnian pottery, transporting us into the potteries of Nikos & Giannis Lembesis, Antonis & Giannis Atsonios, Antonis K. Kalogirou, Georgios Atsonios, Kostas Depastas, Fratzeskos Lemonis and Giannis Podotas, combining in-depth interviews, observational footage and historic archival photographic materials from these multi-generational spaces.

Cookware ready for loading in Platys Gialos, c. 1960. Roland Hampe via Archipelago Network