iLiana Fokianaki (b.1980, Greece) is a curator, theorist and educator based in Athens and Rotterdam. Her research focuses on formations of power and how they manifest under the influence of geopolitics, national identity and cultural and anthropological histories.
In 2013 she founded State of Concept Athens, the first non-profit institution of its kind in Greece, where she worked with artists such as Kader Attia, Sanja Ivekovic, Laure Prouvost, Jonas Staal, Hito Steyerl a.o. while collaborating with international curators such as WhW and Nick Aikens.
Fokianaki has curated exhibitions for KADIST Foundation, La Colonie Paris, e-flux New York, Museum of Contemporary Art Ljubljana a.o. Her most recent project THE BUREAU OF CARE (2020-2022), received the European Cultural Foundation’s solidarity grant. She has developed lecture series for several institutions, such as GOSSIPS (2019) for Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam. Fokianaki lectures in academies, independent spaces, museums, and foundations worldwide. She is currently at the advisory committee of Alserkal Avenue’s residency programme. She publishes regularly in journals such as e-flux, Frieze a.o. and has contributed in various publications. Her book “GOSSIPS-women gather” will be published in 2021.
For our Research Days Fokianaki will have a close look at Sanja Ivekovic’s practice and of Kapwani Kiwanga (which you all saw at Kunstinstituut Melly (Formerly Known As Witte de With)). She will also talk about her Gossips series of talks as well as her latest project THE BUREAU OF CARE.