The gallery’s collection consists of representative objects gathered from the mid-1990s onwards, from different locations around the world. The objects are made of natural fibers or mixed media. They are from different eras covering the last 100 years. They are of different uses and value, historical or other. All objects, however, have a different story to tell.
The gallery aims at running temporary exhibitions of a duration of up to 10 months. Exhibitions will be coupled with relevant side events – virtual or in situ – through synergies with and participation of institutions and individuals from different backgrounds and disciplines. The goal is to stimulate reflections and discussions on issues that are of relevance to our society.
The logo is inspired by the bottom part or basis of many traditional baskets, including those handmade by members of the Roma community in north-eastern Greece. This is the part from which the making of a basket starts. While each straw alone cannot do much, woven together these straws can do the heavy lifting.
Most exhibits are for sale
THE BUILDING
The gallery is on the ground floor of a building constructed in 1933-1934.
The building’s construction permit is dated May 4, 1933 and was issued in the name of the owner, Artin Mumjian. The name of the architect is Vartan Ter. Zakarian
According to the same permit of 1933, the plan was to build six floors. In reality, the building has a basement, a ground floor, three standard floors and a roof apartment. During the restoration work on the ground floor in 2021, one of the street windows had to be brought back to its initial design in symmetry to the other street window of the adjacent flat on the same floor.
The building was declared a protected property rather belatedly along with another 198 buildings in Thessaloniki, in 2016. All 199 were constructed near the interwar period and were characterized as “remarkable buildings that were built in the interwar period or later and are examples or elements of architectural heritage that must be preserved”. They include the Saul Stoa, the Bit Pazar market, the compound surrounding the church of Agios Minas, the Old Vegetable Market as well as buildings on Tsimiski street, the Old Seafront and Old Port such as the Koniordou Building, the Gini Building housing the Red Cross, the gate to the Old Port but also the Evangelical Church at 37 Palaion Patron Germanou street.
In the Government Gazette 229/2016 the building of Karaoli and Dimitriou ton Kyprion, number 36 is described as follows:
“Symmetrical three-part organization of the facade on both sides of the central axis (with double openings and the corresponding single balcony) that protrudes in height. Also of interest are individual elements of the building with Art Deco influences such as the configuration of the entrance with the overlapping frames and the iron door, the railings of the balconies. The addition fits harmoniously into the whole building.”
Another two buildings close to thebasketgallery and belonging to the same group are located in number 35 and 35A of Karaoli and Dimitriou ton Kyprion street.
The street and its name: Manolis Karaolis (23a) and Andreas Dimitriou (21a) were the two first Cypriots who, on May 10, 1956 were sentenced to death and hung by the British, during Cyprus’ independence uprising. Field Marshal Harding chose to announce the two Greek Cypriots’ death sentence on 28 October, an important Greek national holiday marking the refusal of Greece to surrender to the Axis Powers in World War II, a decision which hugely inflamed public feeling.