Page 66 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2021

discover|local people

Irene Syrianou

“TO FIND ME YOU WILL have to search for me”, is one of the first things this young woman says. She was
born and bred on Mykonos with close ties to Rineia and Delos. Working as a young woman on Delos, she had the
good fortune of seeing the mosaics up close – and a magical relationship developed between her and them. Each and
every mosaic in the space entered her soul and she started to learn their craft, mentored and taught in her efforts
by mosaic creator and conservator Nikos Tolis. At present, Irene Syrianou together with just one partner – “with
whom we have the same hand” – makes everything from replicas of antiquities to contemporary visual creations in
her mosaic workshop and gift shop in Mykonos Town, behind the Gialos area. The tiles and anvil keep her company
throughout the summer. In recent years she has started teaching the craft of the mosaic in workshops organised by
the Municipality of Mykonos to dozens of students from the island, while she also participates in the “Agoni Grammi
Gonimi” programme, teaching at schools on distant small islands of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Through her
craft she feels that she is travelling in the same dream as all those who came from her land in the past, especially from
Delos. Irene Syrianou follows the ancient method of cutting tiles by hand and relies on the utilisation of recyclable
materials. Her work can be found in public spaces and private collections. Her mosaics can also be purchased in
archaeological museum gift shops throughout Greece. www.art-mosaic.gr

A LAND OF CULTURE
Try to visit the emblematic Panayotis Kousathanas Library – Municipal Research Foundation on Culture and Tradition.
An authentic place of Myconian tradition.

Panayotis Kousathanas

BORN IN MYKONOS IN 1945, Panayotis Kousathanas studied English and Greek Literature
at the University of Athens and worked for twenty years as a teacher in secondary education.
He has published a total of thirty books including collections of poetry, translations of English
poetry into Greek, short stories, a novel and texts on the culture and history of his birthplace.
His most recent books, all by Indiktos Editions, Athens, are: 1. the novel (Uncollected are the
difficult) (2016); 2. Spyridon Paganelis, On the island, Annotated and Edited by P.K. (2017), and
3. Mutterings IV, Texts on the Culture and History of Mykonos (2018). Excerpts of his poetry and
prose have been translated into English, French and Arabic, and published in various literary
anthologies and collections. Awards and distinctions: Maria Per. Ralli Prize (1980), Greek State
Prize for Chronicle-Testimony (2002), Greek State Prize for Short Story (2009). He was also
awarded with the Mykonos Municipality Medal (2011) and the Athens Academy Medal (2014)
“for his scientific researching, his books and generally for his offer to the cultural progress and
THE DELOS INSPIRATION
promotion of the civilization of his birthplace”. Irene Syrianou makes everything from replicas of antiquities to contemporary visual creations in her mosaic workshop and gift shop in Mykonos Town.

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