Greece-+Brittni+Stefanides

=Greece: Art & Education=

Country Overview
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe. Its roots trace back to the ancient Greece civilization. It is considered to be the birth of Western civilization, democracy, philosophy, Western literature & drama. The capital & largest city is Athens. The official language is Greek. It is estimated to be the home of over 11 million people. Education in Greece is free and is also required for children ages 6-15 years old, which includes Primary & Lower Secondary Education. Children can begin schooling at age 2.5 with pre-school education in either private or public establishments. Primary schools are full of an enriched curriculum.

Art Education
In the 1990s, art education went from not being too prominent in the Greek schooling curriculum to being reformed, by the Ministry of Education, to included a stronger art education component in both primary and secondary levels. Special musical schools were established to fulfill the demand of music in secondary schooling. Arts education was also recognized as a necessity of informal learning activities. Programs were organized by departments of the Ministry of Culture or by not-for-profit organizations in the arts, along with the school system for children.

[[image:http://www.glbtq.com/images/thumbnails/arts/tsarouchis_y.jpg width="96" height="115" align="left"]]Yiannis Tsarouchis (1919-1989)
Tsarouchis was a Greek painter and photographer raised in Athens with a middle class background. Along with being greatly influenced by his teacher, Fotis Kontoglou, who would introduce him to Byzantine art, he was also inspired by the working-class people for their authentic greek character. His paintings reflect his wide range style. He was a sharp observer and could depict the everyday scenes around him in a monumental way. His love for Athens with its small streets and the authentic people who lived there was relevant in his work. His paintings and photographs of typical scenes and typical working-class people in Athens drew the attention of people in the city. Some of his work includes photographs of neoclassical houses that would later be demolished, thus preserving a memory of a lost world. He would transfer a lot of the images into paintings and theatrical sets.

Work of Yiannis:




Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival is an arts organization with many educational programs for children. It is the top film festival in Southeastern Europe. Founded in 1960. TIFF offers many educational programs for children which is sponsored primarily by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education. With their educational programs, TIFF aims to develop programs that will promote media literacy amongst students of all ages, establish an open and two way exchange of art theory and practice between students, as well as the industry of film. The also hope to provide a incentive and framework for young people to be creative in relation to film and filmmaking. Some of their programs include Schools Go To The Cinema, which is for students of all ages. Screening of films approved by the Ministry of Education are featured at the “Olympion” building, which is the home of TIFF. Students can also take tours of the “Olympion” building. TIFF has a program called MiniDoc which introduces documentary making to high school students.

Educational Seminars
Not only does the Thessaloniki International Film Festival provide arts education for children, but it also provides teacher training programs in the arts as well. “Making a short film: the art and techniques in filmmaking” is a workshop for teachers to understand the concepts of film literacy and how to incorporate it in their classroom. “Introducing the Magic of Film” is a seminar open to grade school teachers. It is a hands on introduction to another, new educational program, “A Walk into the Magic of Film”, which is offered to grade school students.

Art Education Practice & Funding
After much research, it does not seem to me that the arts is that much significant in Greece as it is here in the United States. There were few organizations that were interested in art education. Any programs that were relevant were all primarily sponsored by either the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, or both. There did not seem to be much help from community or local business. I believe this may be because of the hardships the economy is facing, so people do not seem to be giving their money to what they believe "frugal" accommodations, like art education.

Conclusion
I found it very surprising that Greece was not as involved in the arts as I expected, being the home of many historical art periods of the world. I cannot say that I have ever personally experienced anything like this, but I know our country at one time saw the arts as a luxury and focused education on the standard math, english, science, etc. (as well as specific parts of out country today).

Sources:
-http://www.ypepth.gr/en_ec_page1531.htm -http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/greece.php?aid=831 -http://www.athensinfoguide.com/wtsmuseums/natartgallery.htm -http://www.filmfestival.gr/default.aspx?lang=en-US