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The three-storey, historically-significant building and prime example of 1930s Athens architecture in which the Canadian Institute in Greece is now housed was the residence of the well-known writer, artist and art critic, Stratis Doukas, from 1938 until 1981. This event will explore Doukas’ life and works.Mirka Palioura (Assistant Professor, Department of History and Digital Humanities, Ionian University), “The artistic oeuvre of Stratis Doukas”.
Eri Stavropoulou (Professor Emerita, Department of Modern Greek Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), “Human Tragedy and the Miracle of Art: Stratis Doukas, The Story of a Prisoner”.
Conceived and co-organized by Katerina Pizanias, Ph.D.
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Stratis Doukas was born in 1895 on the Moschonisia islands off the Asia Minor coast. He went to the secondary school in Ayvali together with the well-known writer and painter Fotis Kontoglou. In 1912 he enrolled in the Law Faculty at the University of Athens, but at the outbreak of the First World War he abandoned his studies. He first visited Mount Athos in 1914 where he later spent a year (1923-1924) with the painter Spyros Papaloukas as part of their aesthetic quest and artistic explorations. During the period 1916-17 he served as a volunteer in the Greek army and later took part in battles on the Macedonian (1917-1918) and Anatolian (1919-1922) fronts, where he was wounded. In 1923 he returned to civilian life and became the artistic director of a commercial venture to introduce traditional Anatolian crafts such as pottery and carpet weaving to Greece. In 1928 he worked as a reporter for the newspaper Makedonia.
The years up to 1936 were the most crucial and fruitful for him as a writer and artist. During the Second World War, Doukas settled permanently in Athens. In the 1950s he served as a secretary of the Society of Greek Authors and contributed articles and art reviews to journals and newspapers. He became a member of the Communist party and his political beliefs caused him trouble during the military dictatorship (1967-1974). In the final years of his life he remained confined at home due to illness. Doukas died on 26 November 1983.
His reputation as a writer rests exclusively on “A Prisoner of Wars Story” which he wrote in 1929 and which was reprinted several times. He also wrote a number of short literary texts, travel notes and studies on art and artists, such as Yannoulis Halepas and Spyros Papaloukas. He also published a collection of drawings. Most of his texts are accompanied by drawings, demonstrating how word and image were intertwined for him.
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Event venue
Orminiou 3A, 115 28 Athens, Greece, Ορμηνίου 3, 115 28 Αθήνα, Ελλάδα, Athens, Greece
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.
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