Video Art Miden returns to Kalamata with a landmark tribute to Greek Video Art

Video Art Miden returns to Kalamata from 10 to 12 July 2026, celebrating 22 years of continuous international activity with a rich programme of free video art screenings that bridges the history of the medium with its most contemporary expressions. Hosted across three venues-the Archaeological Museum of Messenia, Bandapart Studio and Re:Think / FarmaFifa Permaculture-the festival once again transforms the city into an international meeting point for artists and audiences interested in moving-image practices.

This year’s edition, titled Point Zero!, unfolds in two distinct parts. During the daytime, the Archaeological Museum of Messenia presents “Replay–Pause–Rewind: Greek Video Art in the ’80s and Early ’90s,” an ambitious historical tribute dedicated to the pioneering generation of artists who first introduced video into contemporary artistic practice in Greece. Bringing together works by influential figures including Leda Papaconstantinou, Nikos Giannopoulos, Marianna Theodoridou, Ayis Kelpekis, Margarita Ovadia and many others, the programme offers a rare opportunity to revisit a formative yet often overlooked chapter in the country’s artistic history.

The tribute is the result of long-term research by Gioula Papadopoulou, Artistic Director of Video Art Miden, and seeks to reconnect the aesthetics of the analogue electronic era with today’s digital image culture. The programme opens on Friday, 10 July, with an introductory lecture by Papadopoulou, followed by a discussion with participating artists.

The evening programme shifts its focus to contemporary international production, presenting 82 video works by artists from Greece and around the world. Alongside emerging voices, the selection features acclaimed creators such as Vouvoula Skoura, recipient of this year’s Golden Alexander Award for her overall contribution at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, as well as Guli Silberstein, Hiroya Sakurai, Mohamed Thara, Katerina Athanasopoulou and many others.

Rather than following a single narrative, the screenings are organised into thematic programmes curated by members of the Video Art Miden team. Subjects range from visibility and identity to ecological concerns, dreams, artificial intelligence, dance, memory, landscape and the shifting realities of contemporary life. Together, these curated sections reveal the diversity of today’s video art practices while inviting audiences to engage with pressing social and philosophical questions through moving images.

The festival also activates a variety of spaces across Kalamata. Bandapart Studio hosts a five-hour Video Art Marathon on 10 July, while Re:Think / FarmaFifa Permaculture welcomes audiences the following evening for an open-air screening surrounded by nature, extending the festival experience beyond conventional exhibition settings.

Participant artists: Pere Ginard, Alice Honoré, Vasilios Papaioannu, Ioana Rusu, Ausín Sáinz, Flávio Rodrigues, David B. Leal, Nur Sevim Basar, Christian Nicolay, David Anthony Sant, Oscar X. Illingworth, Olivia Hird, Céline Berger, Fikri Al Murtaky, Fani Boudouroglou, Fenia Kotsopoulou, Tessa Ojala, Levent Çetin, Jerónimo Veroa, Pierre Ajavon, Savvas Ampatzidis, Valentina Farantouri (#machines_of_desire), Babis Venetopoulos, Capitana F, Andrea Hackl, Anna Persson, Cheryl Pagurek, Robert Ladislas Derr, Marikki Nyfors, Ivana Larrosa, Lilia Li-Mi-Yan & Katherina Sadovsky, Sandrine Deumier, Yiorgos Drosos, Mohammad Vaezi, Rosa Groenewegen, Kuesti Fraun, memedesima – Teresa Valentina Caiati, Bruno Pavic, Vouvoula Skoura, Mohamed Thara, Katerina Athanasopoulou, Emanuele Dainotti, Marco Joubert, Signe Søjberg Højlt, Topp & Dubio, Nils Agdler, Ηλέκτρα Μάιπα, HoBo, Katerina Petrakou, Massimiliano Marianni, Martyna Lebryk, Phee Jefferies, Alex Cho, David Kefford, Elina Zazulia, Joe Rutland Walker, Siri Hagerfors, Karolina Gliniewicz, Valentin Sismann, AnimaeNoctis, Dim Agathopoulos, Guli Silberstein, Timothy Nohe, Sasha Sorokina, Hiroya Sakurai, Pietro Gardoni & Eathan, Irving & Fin Kinnersley, Eleonora Cutini, Rita Casdia, Milan Zulic, John McGarity, Christian Niccoli, Aviaja Skotte, Tess Martin, Jimena Aguilar, Yichu Li, Chi Kiu So, Ong Kian Peng, peqpez, Michael Spahr, Guilherme Peters & Matias Mariani & Roberto Winter, Maria Bernardi.

Curatorial team: Tatiana Altini, Maria Bourika, Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos, Sofia Grigoriadou, Danny Kargas, Gioula Papadopoulou, Olga Papadopoulou, Nikos Podias, Margarita Stavraki, Martha Zoupa

Art direction: Gioula Papadopoulou and Olga Papadopoulou

Video Art Miden

Founded in Kalamata in 2005, Video Art Miden has grown into one of Greece’s longest-running and internationally recognised platforms dedicated exclusively to video art. Through collaborations with festivals, museums and cultural institutions worldwide, it has consistently promoted artistic exchange while supporting both emerging and established creators. Twenty-two years after its launch, the festival continues to demonstrate how video art can connect different generations, geographies and ways of seeing the world.