Dukakis Center to host exhibition on "Social Capital"

The Dukakis Center at ACT has invited Scott Townsend to visit Thessaloniki to share the fruit of recent research in Greece, in the form of an exhibition entitled "Social Capital," to be hosted at the French Institute of Thessaloniki from June 21 till July 17, 2017.

Mr. Townsend is Associate Professor of Graphic Design at North Carolina State University. His work in the last thirteen years has taken the form of specific projects concentrating on issues of globalization.

"Social Capital" is actually one of a series of ongoing projects, begun in 2013, using various forms of audience and community research. The individual projects in this series have taken place in Florence, Belgrade, Kefalonia, and Corfu, as well as in Cairo, and will be exhibited in the United States at the end of 2017.

The current exhibition will consist of material drawn from community dialogue in Kefalonia in 2015-17, at a moment when global attention was focused on the prospect of "Grexit." The research tells the story of how communities have persevered through their own social capital – community resources and relationships -- while undergoing increasing hardship.

The exhibition will consist of projected animations exhibited alongside interviews and visualizations, to explore such themes as "borders and exchanges," "community," "negotiation," family at a distance," allegiances," etc. The exhibition will also serve as a venue to begin new research and engagement in Thessaloniki regarding the Malakopi Arcades as a contemporary urban space.

"Social Capital" marks the second occasion in eighteen months that the Dukakis Center and the French Institut of Thessaloniki have collaborated in a public service initiative. In November 2015 French journalist Jean Quatremer delivered a Dukakis Lecture at the Thessaloniki City Hall under the auspices of both institutions.