In the context of the EFG Eurobank Ergasias sponsorships programme “The great moment for Culture: Promotion of young artists – Eurobank Private Banking”, the Bank’s Private Banking Division awarded prizes to six young artists who graduated with honours from the School of Fine Arts.
In the context of the EFG Eurobank Ergasias sponsorships programme “The great moment for Culture: Promotion of young artists – Eurobank Private Banking”, the Bank’s Private Banking Division awarded prizes to six young artists who graduated with honours from the School of Fine Arts.
The event was held in the new building of the Benaki Museum where an exhibition of the laureates’ works open to the public was also staged with the support of the Private Banking Division.
In his speech, Eurobank’s Managing Director, Mr. Nicholas Nanopoulos stressed that: ”We believe that through this initiative we can create, in the long run, an institution that will consistently support and promote Greek contemporary art, bringing highly promising young artists closer to Greek society. The cooperation between Private Banking and the School of Fine Arts represents an important aspect of our sponsoring policy in the field of Culture.
For us at Eurobank, this initiative is even more important as it focuses on young people with vision, talent and creativity, ready to respond to challenges and to excel. In fact,it is these peopleas well as other areas of activity that we target through all the sponsoring initiatives of our Group, in the field of Education, Culture and Sports. These are the areas where, by definition, we find the most hopeful and pioneering elements that a society has to offer. This is precisely why, the efforts as young people, artists, students or athletes, are for us at Eurobank a source of inspiration and motivation to look for ways of enhancing their endeavors and rewarding their success”, Mr. Nanopoulos affirmed.
The Bank’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Nikos Karamouzis, in his short address referred to the program that links the Private Banking Division with fine arts, stressing that: “the objective of this programme is to contribute to the establishment of a useful institution that will support and promote Greek contemporary art. The programme is part of the Bank’s wider strategy of active involvement in social developments through its constructive contribution to the community in which it operates. Through the annual prizes, which will be given every year to young Greek artists who have excelled in their studies, we are tangibly supporting their efforts and their work, contributing in this way to the promotion of Greek modern art among the public at large. The Art Sponsorship programme also involves cooperation with the National Gallery and aims at contributing to the widest possible promotion of Greek painting and sculpture. The Private Banking Division will sponsor, on an annual basis and for three consecutive years, a large retrospective exhibition of reputed Greek artists. The first exhibition of the work of Alekos Fasianos has already been successfully organised, while the second exhibition on George Iakovidis will open in November”, Mr. Karamouzis added.
The Rector of the School of Fine Arts, Mr. Chronis Botsoglou, praised Eurobank for its initiative to reward these promising young artists, expressing the certainty that it would continue and develop into a useful institution. “The sponsorships offered by Eurobank to graduates who have excelled in their studies represent a major social contribution and at the same time a significant support to artistic activity. They offer young artists a great opportunity to show their work and take their first steps in the open world of art”, he concluded.
Art Historian Dr. Nelly Misirli, the exhibition’s curator, briefly referred to the work of the six young artists, stressing, that “this exhibition of the work of the six best graduates is a small sample of the perceptions and expression modes of contemporary art both in Greece and all over the world, as art knows no frontiers. We hope that these young artists will also be able to represent their country at world level. Full support from all can bring the expected results and Eurobank with its gesture wishes to contribute to the attainment of this goal” she concluded.
The prizes were awarded by the General Manager of the Latsis Group, Mr. Evangelos Chronis and Eurobank’s General Manager and Head of the Private Banking Division, Mr. Efthymios Bouloutas.
The six laureates are:
Leda Dionysia Alexopoulou, Antonis Donev, Andreas Mitropoulos, Anargyros Paschalis, Evangelia Leda Tentoma and Nicoleta Theodora Tsavaki.
Through the Programme “The great moment for Culture: Promotion of Young Artists – Eurobank Private Banking”, the Private Banking Division will reward every year the three graduates of the School of Fine Arts Graduate Course who have obtained the highest marks, with a money prize of € 10,000 each. The Bank will also organise on an annual basis, an exhibition where these young artists will have the opportunity to show their work and to come in contact with the public.
Eurobank’s Private Banking Division aims at providing comprehensive asset management services to wealthy private clients. Eurobank’s Private Banking Division is a leader in the Greek market, managing about € 5 billion with 5,000 clients in 2004. Euromoney, a magazine of international acclaim, selected EFG Eurobank as the best bank in Greece in the private banking sector in 2004 for the quality of its services.