Following “Light Your Lamp Differently” (Φωτιστικό σου Αλλιώς) at the Pittaki Syn-oikia, the visual lighting collective Beforelight returns with another installation in the commercial centre of Athens. The installation will be created during May with the participation of the public and volunteers, and will open on 6 June 2014.
The “AthiNeon” lighting installation is part of the “Traces of Commerce” initiative (Traces of Commerce), designed and curated by Charis Biskos and Martha Giannakopoulou. It forms part of the City of Athens programme “Ergo Athina”, and aims to revive the Stoa Emporon (Merchants’ Arcade) through artistic activity.
For the “AthiNeon” installation, Beforelight is collecting illuminated signs from closed shops across the city. We are looking for old and more recent illuminated signs (neon, individual illuminated letters, wooden or metal boxes with Plexiglas, and so on) from the kinds of businesses commonly found in the Athenian metropolis, which shed light on its commercial character and its commercial past. The signs will be reworked in a participatory workshop open to the public on 24 May, accompanied by presentations and screenings related to the art of the shop sign.
We are issuing an open call to the public to take part in the search for illuminated signs:
“Take a walk around your neighbourhood, look out for closed shops and send us photos of their signs, along with the owners’ phone numbers and the exact location, on our Facebook page (facebook.com/beforelight)! The team will get in touch with you and/or the owners and incorporate the sign you have found into a collective lighting installation. The final result will evoke a temporary “museum” of the illuminated sign in the centre of Athens, bringing a former commercial space back to life visually and conjuring up, virtually, a retro luminous universe of the Athenian metropolis.
