Creaid, chaired by Marina Vernikou, is organizing the 6th charity auction of collectible works of art, entitled “Art & Design”.

Creaid is a non-profit organization with a focused humanitarian mission, served through creative and artistic initiatives. Its founding principle is “I Create to Help”, and it aims to combine creativity through artwork with help for those in need. It is an organization that uses the artistic inspiration and creations of its supporters to provide assistance to the local community and awareness through these creative and artistic initiatives.

The Art & Design exhibition aspires to be a major artistic and social event that will gather a large number of people and will put issues concerning contemporary Greek and world art at the center of discussion.

It will be a meeting point between Greek and foreign galleries, cultural institutions, curators, art collectors from all over the world, art critics and the art-loving public.

The opening of the “Art & Design” exhibition will take place on Monday, April 15, 2024 at the Arts Center of the Municipality of Athens in Eleftheria Park.

15.04.24 | 19:00 – 23:00

The exhibition includes a wide collection of 110 collectible works of art donated to Creaid by renowned artists from Greece and abroad.

Works by artists such as Sophia Vari, George Zongolopoulos, Takashi Murakami, Costas Varotsos, Konstantin Kakanias, Sophia Kalogeropoulou and many more great artists will be included in the exhibition and auction.

The electronic auction of the projects in question will take place April 15-21, 2024, through Creaid’s website www.creaid.com. The proceeds from the auction will be allocated to the purchase of important medical equipment for the anti-cancer department of the Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital.

INTERVIEW

1. On April 15, the opening of the Creaid “Art & Design” exhibition will take place. Tell us a little about this year’s Creaid charity event and auction.

“Art & Design” is the sixth auction organized by Creaid. This year distinguished artists from Greece and abroad donated unique works of art from their collection to be auctioned to achieve our charitable purpose. The Art & Design exhibition aspires to be a major artistic and social event that will gather a large number of people and will put issues concerning contemporary Greek and world art at the center of discussion. But the most important thing is that through all this effort we will succeed in achieving this year’s charity goal.

2.Have you decided which specific cause you will support this year?

Creaid was born from my need to offer to children in need. It is my life’s purpose to help children and make them smile! So this year our goal remains to support children in need. The proceeds from this year’s auction will be allocated to the purchase of important medical equipment for the anti-cancer department in the Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital.

3. It is the first time that the Creaid auction concerns works of art. How did the preparation process for this year’s event leave you? How do you feel now just before the opening?

We are optimistic that everything will go well this year too! For yet another year, the donor response exceeded my expectations. Works by artists such as Sofia Varis, George Zongolopoulos, Takashi Murakami, Kostas Varotsou, Konstantin Kakanias, Sofia Kalogeropoulou and many more will be included in our exhibition. It is touching that people are willing to help and contribute to our work. I think that now the people who support Creaid are convinced of the importance of our work and effort. We have been working on organizing the exhibition for almost a year and I am sure that the result will justify us. Of course, every time I also have great anxiety because I feel responsible towards everyone who supports our effort and of course towards the children we want to help!

4. The exhibition “Art & Design” includes a wide collection of works by artists from Greece and abroad. Was the process of approaching the artists and gathering the works difficult?

It was a long process but fortunately we did not encounter any particular difficulties. All the artists were willing to contribute to our cause and gladly donated their works. Something else worth noting is that through the process of organizing the exhibition we also discovered many new artists with excellent work and it is my pleasure to introduce them to the art-loving public.

5. Have you personally singled out a project that you might want to acquire??

This is a very difficult question because all the works are so special, so unique, so different from each other! I confess that through the process of preparing the exhibition I felt connected and inspired by all the works. I honestly can’t pick one! I wish I could have them all!

A remarkable work – also for emotional reasons – is that of Sofia Vari, who recently passed away. The donation was made by Sofia Vari’s daughter, Ileana Bouboulis. Sofia Vari was a great visual artist with an international artistic presence and the legacy she leaves behind is huge and imbued with her love for Greece. The work offered to us is entitled “I love Greece” and is inspired by Greece, the Greek flag and the blue and white color.

6. Are you planning Creaid’s next steps? What do you think about the future?

First of all I want everything to go well with this year’s exhibition and auction! I have many dreams for Creaid and I want to believe that every year our project will grow! After all, the central idea of Creaid is based on creation and this is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and the birth of new ideas for our next events! Another goal we seek to achieve through our events is to highlight and introduce new artists to the public. But what makes me dream and plan the future of Creaid is the support we have from the world. It is of decisive importance and gives us strength to continue. It makes us aim even higher and we hope that Creaid will be present to organize projects that will be characterized by authenticity, inviting the world to become part of the work it is doing.

The opening of the exhibition will take place on Monday, April 15, 2024 at the Arts Center of the Municipality of Athens in Eleftheria Park from 19:00 to 23:00. The “Art & Design” exhibition will remain open to the public until April 21. The opening hours of the exhibition are as follows: Tuesday – Friday 11:00 – 19:00 and Saturday – Sunday: 10:00 – 15:00.

The online auction of the projects will take place April 15-21, 2024, through Creaid’s website www.creaid.com