Aliki Tsirliagkou
Contemporary Art | Art Consultant
Aliki Tsirliagkou is the Director/Founder of ArtSpark and as a second generation gallerist, the Founder of Nitra Galleries (Athens-Thessaloniki, Greece, est.2013)
Aſter studying Business at the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki, Greece), she earned her MA in Contemporary Art at Sotheby's Institute of Art, London (joint degree with University of Manchester, UK).
In the past ten years she has founded and ran two art galleries (Thessaloniki est.2013 - Athens est.2017), designed and led their strategy, initiated collaborations with emerging and established Greek and international artists, participated in local and international Art Fairs (London & Istanbul) and worked closely with art professionals, institutions and Greek and international collectors.
Aliki has always been inspired by the way art is born. That’s why many of the projects she has engaged with have the artistic creation in their epicenter and that’s why it was particularly rewarding being the Artistic Director of the Artists in Residence Program by Eagles Palace powered by TORhotel Group (2017-2021). The Residency has hosted more than 45 artists in weeklong residencies, leading to group exhibitions of the created works, often as part of the parallel program of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
With an eye on innovative projects and new media, one of the highlights of curatorial projects has been the 'Techniques of the Body' installation in Alaca Imaret, Thessaloniki; a joint project by Columbia University Professor Mark Mazower and Film-maker Constantine Giannaris (exclusive donor Stavros Niarchos Foundation, 2016).
Being driven by the power of the digital image, Aliki has worked as the Contemporary Art Program Consultant for PCAI, a not-for-profit organization which aims to raise environmental awareness through contemporary art with a focus on the moving image. She was also a member of the Jury for the Best VR film at the 58th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2017).
She curated for the Greek America Foundation, the Greek Film & Foto Week (Toronto Canada), a demanding project as she had to curate and co-ordinate a group show of Greek Photographers from a distance. Her love and expertise for Photography led her to being invited as a member of the curatorial team of the PhotoBiennale of Thessaloniki 'Logos' (2014), organized by the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography.
Other Museums Aliki has collaborated with, have been the Contemporary Arts Center (part of the State Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki), the Biennale of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki (Biennale:3/Old Crossroads- Old intersections, Make it new).
Due to her extensive curatorial work she was selected to participate in the NEON Curatorial Exchange in collaboration with Whitechapel gallery in London (2016).
Aliki’s long volunteer and activist approach also found room when she acted as the Visual Arts Director of the non-profit Organization 'Thessaloniki Allios' (2010-2015). Her goal was to bring visibility and empower the artistic community of her hometown and along with her peers she designed, curated, and implemented a series of large-scale group exhibitions and art projects in the city of Thessaloniki.
Apart from private and corporate collections, Aliki has collaborated with various corporations, among which the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and Louis Vuitton, for which she has delivered tailor made art programs and exhibitions.
Having worked in diverse contexts and having undertaken different roles in the Art World, all of them have on common denominator: Aliki’s passion for exciting art projects and about opening up the exciting experiences that Contemporary Art has to offer to the wider audience.