Announcement of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift hosted by Dimitris Daskalopoulos at the former Public Tobacco Factory.
A major body of important contemporary artworks from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection will be donated to 4 museums, in 3 countries over 2 continents to create a pioneering network of collaborations and synergies.
A private collection will become a resource for the public benefit through leading institutions in Athens, Chicago, New York and the United Kingdom.
Over 350 works by 142 artists from the Collection are to be giſted, including 140 to EMST, around 100 jointly to the Guggenheim and MCA Chicago, and 110 to Tate.
In the presence of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Dr. Lina Mendoni, and Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, and Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Katerina Gregos, Artistic Director of EMST, Athens.
The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, honoured the occasion with his presence and said: “Οn behalf of the Greek government and I believe on behalf of the Greek people, those who love art, those who will learn to love art, especially modern art with its interpretation challenges and with the need to overcome old stereotypes, I sincerely hope that this decision of (Dimitris Daskalopoulos) will find many followers. Once again, on behalf of the Greek government, we are grateful to you”.
Dr Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports, said: “Dimitris Daskalopoulos was not hesitant, he pushed the collector’s passion into the background and decided to provide to society, to people, to creators.Art is a universal language of communication. Cultural goods obtain added value through their interaction with people. In industrial societies, value creation is linked to resource access constraints. In today’s society of knowledge, education presupposes initiation into art and the democratization of culture.Collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, by offering his personal collection to four leading Museums of Contemporary Art, acts as a catalyst for the transformation, the transition of the privately-owned works of the D. Daskalopoulos Collection into public goods, accessible to future generations”.
For more information, visit The Gift page.