Contemporary Greek Art Institute donates its archive to the Greek National Gallery

A partnership between the Contemporary Greek Art Institute (ISET) and the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum is ushering in a new era for the Institute’s important archive—the largest archive of contemporary art in Greece.

ISET’s donation to the National Gallery includes its building facilities, its equipment, and, above all, its invaluable archival material. The institute’s rich archival collection has aimed from its inception to record, to the fullest extent possible, the development of visual arts in Greece from 1945 to the present. It complements the abundant archives of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, creating a resource that comprehensively traces artistic creation in modern Greece. This landmark donation is a result of ISET’s philosophy on the necessity of collective efforts and dialogue, on the creative interplay between the past and the present and future, and on the necessity for continuity—which is to say constant renewal.

A research center in Greece that includes a multidimensional archive of texts, photographs, posters, and other objects, ISET serves scholars and researchers of contemporary Greek art, as well as art lovers. SNF has supported ISET with a series of grants, including for the purchase of technological equipment, the creation of a digital platform, and operating expenses. We are particularly delighted with this partnership between ISET and the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, a major SNF grantee-partner. The collaboration between the two organizations ensures the best possible future for ISET as an institution and significantly adds to the value the National Gallery offers the public. ISET’s rich collection of materials will continue on as part of a living and growing archive, and this material is now becoming even more accessible to all—as any record of our cultural heritage ought to be.