Cultural Capital to Cultural Omnivores — A Spotlight on Socially Engaged Art Spaces in Athens, Greece

Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital states that the higher the status of an individual growing up, the more cultural tastes they will have for "high brow" art and then culture can be profited off of, is an important term to understand when considering the shift in the way we consume art (Banks, 2012, 62). This idea that art — the traditional, aesthetically pleasing, and historically significant type — is only for those of higher classes and the more educated no longer remains as the dominant art form amongst young thinkers and creatives. In the wide sense of the contemporary art world, that era has come to an end. Likely due to the social turn in art, the idea of cultural capital has shifted into the idea of art consumers as "cultural omnivores", meaning that people consume different levels of art and not just "high brow" art (Koppmann, 2015, 293). The social turn, in art historian Claire Bishop’s terms, emphasizes that participation is key in a project, that "there must be an art of action, interfacing with reality, taking steps — however small — to repair the social bond.”(Bishop, 2012, 11). This is a different way of looking at the consumption of art than traditional, historical models of the presentation and education of the arts. This is due to the increasing number of smaller arts initiatives that often work independently from larger institutions.

Because art has moved beyond the traditional institution and trickled down into community arts initiatives and alternative collectives, the way it is produced and consumed has also shifted. This is where new genres of art, and participants without traditional art backgrounds, come into play. Newer Greek institutions, traditionally appealing to a higher status art consumer, are responding to this shift to cultural omnivores by mimicking the projects put on by smaller socially engaged art spaces in creating more inclusive and diverse programs to accommodate the social turn. These newer Greek institutions, such as NEON, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Onassis Centre, operate differently than the traditional art institutions in Greece like the Acropolis Museum and the Benaki Museum because they do not house regular collections and exhibitions, but offer a wide range of activities and events surrounding arts and culture. In the past ten years, Athens has gradually made its way into the global contemporary art scene and it can be owed to the smaller socially engaged art spaces that popped up because of the crisis.

The financial crisis has proven in the last ten years to be a source for creative expression and global attention — even more so after successful Athens Biennials and documenta 14. Through this chaos of crisis, a new contemporary culture has emerged in Athens and has allowed the city to become a destination for "touristic alternative experience”(Kanellopoulou, 2019, 12). This is the idea that many come to visit the city for more than just the classical heritage monuments, but for contemporary socially engaged projects.

There are many grassroots organizations in Athens and around Greece who are a part of the social turn. One such initiative, Love Without Borders (LWB), established by Kayra Martinez in 2015 is a non-profit organization that helps refugees express their creativity through the process of helping them sell their artworks. All of the money collected during the sales of artworks goes directly to the artists. Up until 2022, LWB functioned through pop up events, but has since purchased a building in the Athenian area of Kypseli to accommodate the organization and hold future events (Martinez, May 16 2022, interview). 

Another organization, also based in Kypseli is Khora. Khora functions as a community centre, providing food and support to displaced people living in the area, as well as art workshops through the Beehive Makerspace. Beehive at Khora aims to use art as therapy, while providing the tools and materials to those seeking to express their creativity. Their goal is to “provide a space dedicated to individual expression, community building, resilience, and psychosocial support…with a focus on sustainability, creative reuse and healing…with workstations for jewellery making, textile arts, drawing and painting.”(Author Unknown, ‘The Beehive Makerspace’, Khora Athens Website). Khora provides a safe space for those within vulnerable communities to express their creativity while collaborating with those in their community. They are creating sustainable links that allow for a smooth integration and providing accessible outlets for expression. 

Finally, Curing the Limbo (CTL) is a collaborative organization that helps refugees who have received asylum in Greece to integrate into everyday life in Athens. They help the newcomers become socially active in the city through facilitating access to affordable housing, to language classes, and collaborating with active citizen groups (Author Unknown, ‘The Idea’, Curing the Limbo Website). CTL has also established a series of participatory activities in order for participants to become acquainted with the neighbourhoods of Athens while promoting civic autonomy. Through collaborations with active citizen groups, the programme becomes mutually beneficial for longtime locals and newcomers (Author Unknown, ‘The Idea’, Curing the Limbo Website) One example of an art workshop that CTL hosted was a photography and video workshop called Buildings and Graffiti in which participants were encouraged to think about the relationship between graffiti and the walls of Athens. During this project, participants photographed the city and interviewed locals to ask about their experiences with graffiti in the city (Author Unknown, ‘Buildings and Graffiti’, Curing the Limbo Website). With this workshop, participants thus gained a closer look into the streets of Athens and became active members of their surrounding neighbourhoods. These are but a few examples of small initiatives that have a large impact on those in vulnerable communities, while facilitating social change and promoting creativity. 

One may ask the question,“Who does Athens belong to?”. Through collaboration with their respective communities, these programs work to engage the people who actually live there while creating sustainable networks. I use the word sustainable not in an environmental sense, but as a description for something that holds a lasting impact. Those who are actively participating in the culture of the city should feel as though they are integrated into urban life, even if they have just recently arrived. 

It could also be said that through ephemeral art, or art programs that are continuously evolving, sustainable programs are easier to implement. If there is a constant need for collaboration on new projects, then community input and participation becomes more vital to the program. The Buildings and Graffiti workshop at CTL could potentially live on as a sustainable program, as buildings are always being painted over and changed. The participants could go out even once a month through this program to explore the city’s walls and their responses would change every time. This is a sustainable program that allows for an ongoing conversation with the community.

Through the creation of sustainable programs with their surrounding community and uplifting marginalized voices, smaller initiatives are truly taking part in the social turn. Small, socially engaged spaces have begun shine and create art that encourages community input and participation while fostering meaningful connections and learning. Going back to Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital, we can see how Greece, and likely other parts of the contemporary art field, are shifting to create art projects that appeal to the cultural omnivore, and truly taking part in the social turn. 

**This blog post is based on an excerpt from my Master’s final dissertation, Who does Athens belong to? Navigating art’s social turn in Athens, Greece.**

References

Banks, Patricia Ann, ‘Cultural Socialization in Black Middle-Class Families’, Cultural Sociology, 6:1 (2012), 61-73.

Bishop, Claire, Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship (London: Verso, 2012). 

Kanellopoulou, Charis, ‘Space in common: Socially engaged art in the Athens of crisis’,  Journal of Greek Media & Culture, 5:2 (2019), 211-227. 

Koppmann, Sharon, ‘Different Like Me: Why Cultural Omnivores Get Creative Jobs’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 61:2 (2015), 291-331.

Martinez, Kayra (2022), interview with the author, 16 May, WhatsApp.

Cover photo is an image taken by the author in August 2018 in Metaxourgeio of a piece by Greek artist Dimitris Taxis.