Aris Georgiou
Biographical Notes

Aris Georgiou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, οn December 4, 1951. He studied architecture in Montpellier, France, where he also obtained a postgraduate diploma in town planning. In 1978 he returned to Thessaloniki, and worked for a time as a translator (Boris Vian, J'irai cracher sur vos tombes, Ypo Skepsi Publications and John Chilton, The History of Jazz, Ypodomi Publications). From 1979 to 1985 he produced radio programmes for the Greek Νational Νetwork (ERT Macedonia) on photography, art and music.

Since 1977 he has exhibited his paintings and photographs at numerous group and one-man shows, in Greece and abroad. He is a member of the Northern Greece Fine Arts Association.

He was a founder member of "Parallaxis", the Association for the Advancement of Creative Photography set up in 1984, which in the following year organized the first international photography events ever held in Greece. He also helped to found the Hellenic Museum of Photography in May 1987, and was on its executive committee until his resignation in June 1988.

He has been the founder and leading spirit in "Photosynkyria", the international festival of photography held yearly in Thessaloniki since February 1988. In 1995 he was member of the committee appointed by the greek minister of Culture to establish a National Policy for Photography and in 1996 he was elected member of the Board of Directors of the Macedonian Centre for Contemporary Art. In 1998 he was appointed first director of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography by the minister of Culture, a post he held until 2002 when he withdrew leaving Photosynkyria to the Museum.

As a contributor to "Entefktirio", an arts and literature review, he introduced a special supplement of photography entitled "Camera Obscura" which has up to now published 83 monographic porfolios. It eventually led to the establishment of a company with the same name. "Camera Obscura" was not-profit making and, besides holding "Photosynkyria" festivals in its beginnings, carried on numerous other activities connected with photography.

Aris Georgiou has published his artistic work, articles and translations on photography, art and architecture in many Greek reviews and other publications (Jazz, Syn Kai Plin, Prooptiki, Diagonios, Dendro, Endefktirio, Pandora, Pratirio Technis, Klinamen, Tetarto, Tram, Photographia, Themata Chorou kai Technon, Living, Inside, Ena, Ktirio, Design, Tefchos, 40th Parallel, Ici Grèce, Contemporary Greek Architecture, Epilogos, Sima, Tzaz & Jazz and others). Several groups of his photographs and other works have also been published as monographs (by Agra, Syn kai Plin, Macedonia Thrace Bank, Diagonios, University Studio Press, Schema and Chroma, Camera Obscura, EnTOMO, Ides et Calendes and privately).

As a professional, his main occupation is his work as an architect, though he also has a major involmement in the graphic arts, mainly on projects of cultural interest.