I DIDN'T COME I LEFT / KEITA, Alexandros Simopoulos x Døcumatism, Kypseli, Athens © Alexa

I did not come, I left

Date: 20 June 2024 / Time: 7:30 pm

Kypseli Municipal Market

Counterpoints, a contemporary arts organisation, returns to working in public space with a new programme taking place in Kipseli. The programme is presented in the framework of Refugee Week Greece 2024 and its theme of “Our Home”.

Visual artist Alexandros Simopoulos, who has an extensive experience of developing large scale art in public space, will be creating a new work in the Kypseli Municipal Market. The work, taking the form of a mural, will be created through a participatory process involving young people from Kipseli, reflecting the values of dialogue and meaningful exchange. The work is the result of an ongoing collaboration with Døcumatism and is based on their research project ‘The Afrogreeks’.

An integral part of this piece is the portrait of Keita Alassane, presented alongside the accompanying video Keita-the Afrogreeks. Keita left the Ivory Coast as an unaccompanied minor. He eventually ended up working for many years as a mediator in the Municipal Market, supporting many of those who came after him. The realistic depiction of Keita's portrait intertwines with a seemingly incompatible element - the sunset on a beach in Gaza, Palestine, which invites us on one hand to dream, to immerse ourselves in the comfort of a beautiful landscape, while urging us on the other hand to reflect, to not forget or look away.

This artwork is linked to a series of events that will take place on 20 June 2024, World Refugee Day, in the Kypseli Municipal Market, Athens. The opening event, featuring a discussion around the “ENHANCING THE VOICES” report, is organized by the Greek Council for Refugees and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. The discussion will be followed with a screening of works which, through different research and artistic approaches, negotiate nuances of ‘home’ as the place of living, homeland and identity. Migration, nostalgia, loss as a consequence of war or climate crisis, belonging and coexistence within local communities are some of the issues presented through the works of Døcumatism, Forensic Architecture, Menelaos Karamaghiolis, Latent Community, Samir Karahoda, Georges Salameh and Fjorida Cenaj.