Exhibition, “Παράγκες” : CATASTROPHE and CREATION – Alexandros Tzonis

The origins of this exhibition, «Παράγκες» : Catastrophe and Creation, go back to the childhood of
Alexandros Tzonis, born and raised in an extended refugee family. Alexandros grew up a few steps
from the παράγκες or shanties on the banks of the Ilissos River, one of the many refugee settlements
in the greater Athens area, created with the arrival of refugees following the devastating events of
the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922.
From the age of thirteen, fascinated by the ingenuity, simplicity and sense of community of these
structures, built in circumstances of extreme poverty, he began to photograph them and later, as a
student, to document them in sketches and watercolours. His interest and preoccupation with these
structures continued in the following decades, in collaboration with his spouse, Canadian photographer,
Liane Lefaivre, a work that now exists in the Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre Archive at
the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
The presentation of this exhibition at the premises of the Canadian Institute in Greece is particularly
felicitous as the building is located on the banks of the former Ilissos River and was the home of
writer Stratis Doukas, a refugee of 1922 himself.

Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 10.00-14.00 —– Tuesday-Thursday, 17.00-20.00.