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“You are truly blessing us with all these beautiful images!”

_{^{Xaviera Aubri
Contributing Fashion Editor
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“Michael Pappas portfolio reflect the complexity and richness of modern Greek culture, displaying a mix of rituals that may be Orthodox, Shiite, Pagan or syncretistic in origin.

Purpuris is something of a “Dionysian” practice that is blended with the festivities of the Christmas season. In the shots presented by the photographer, we find a small community coming together in a cold, grey-brown landscape that is animated by bright red, yellow and green fabrics. A genuinely joyful theatre is executed amid a simple life of limited resources. A spirit of gratitude and unity, a positive outlook despite one’s hardships is easily evident.”

“The medium-format portraits depict Michael Pappas’ compatriots adorned in traditional garb and set against a diversity of eye-catching backdrops.

Invariably characterised by rich colours, textures, and dexterous use of light, they possess a painting-like quality that befits the socio-historical subject matter and arrests and intrigues with striking immediacy.”

Mitos Project turned into comics in TOPO Magazine from Paris, FRANCE.
Numéro 44. Nov – Dec, 2023.

READY2BOARD

THE OFFICIAL ATHENS AIRPORT MAGAZINE

Spotify

‘ANOTHER GREECE’

Available at the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen.

EXHIBITHION
“Refugees from the East, Migrants to the West”

The Ethnological Museum of Thrace invites you to the opening of the exhibition: “Refugees from the East, Migrants to the West” on Sunday, October 6 at 19:00 at the Michalis Kakogiannis Foundation in Athens.
The exhibition is under the auspices of UNESCO.

Georgios Prevelakis, Emeritus Professor of Geography and Geopolitics at Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1), former Ambassador will conduct the opening.

This exhibition is part of the program: Refugees from the East, Migrants to the West, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

It features documents, objects, photographs, archival, and costume materials from the Ethnological Museum of Thrace, focusing on the refugee experience of Thrace, whose people were displaced from Eastern Thrace and settled in their “new homeland” in 1922, leading to further migration. The refugee trauma bled anew as the children of refugees left their souls behind to build new lives in the mines of Belgium and the factories of Germany.

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of those who transformed from refugees into Akritas, vigilant guardians of the borders, only to become migrants once again.

In the exhibition space, there is also the “Journey of Memory in Eastern Thrace,” an artistic photography project by Michalis Pappas, curated in terms of costume and research by Angeliki Giannakidou, featuring pieces from the Ethnological Museum of Thrace.
Garments intertwined with the cultural heritage of the people and the places they left behind in Eastern Thrace are presented in diverse contemporary landscapes, across four historical stops of our collective memory: Adrianople (Edirne), Forty Churches (Kirkiarelli), Vize (Vize), and Midia (Kiyikoy).

Opening: October 6 at 19:00
Exhibition Duration: Until October 13

Opening Hours: 18:00-22:00
Location Information: https://mcf.gr/en/

Exhibition Contributors

Curator: Angeliki Giannakidou
Scientific Curator: Angelos Palikidis
Exhibition Texts: Angelos Palikidis, Angeliki Giannakidou
Technical Management: Orfeas Giannakidis
Artistic Photography: Michael Pappas
Support: Michalis Kakogiannis Foundation, L. Voudouris Foundation

EXHIBITION: HEALTH FOR ALL IN EVERY FRAME

2ND PRIZE: MICHAEL PAPPAS

“The portrait of the girl in traditional attire, set against the backdrop of a waterfall, is stunning. Sometimes, context becomes essential in a photograph to understand what the image is trying to convey. This portrait is part of the series Threaded in Time, which explores a generation rooted in memory yet reaching toward the future.” – SMITA SHARMA

“This environmental portrait may very well look like fine-art photography, but it is actually a very good documentary picture. The photographer found an exceptional way to visually convey the complicated relationship between youth and tradition, the contrast between the future and the past. The photograph is artfully curated, each element having the exact amount of visual weight and a precise role in the story.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Threaded in Time. In these portraits, youth meets tradition. Girls under 18 wear the traditional costumes of their heritage–not as museum pieces, but as living threads in a fabric that continues to evolve. Captured as part of the Mitos Project, these images reflect a quiet defiance: a generation rooted in memory, yet reaching forward.

There’s a tenderness in the way they carry the weight of culture with the lightness of youth. Between the folds of woven cloth lie stories passed down, rituals learned, identities forming. This is youth not just as a fleeting moment, but as a bridge–between past and possibility.

https://www.life-framer.com/youth-2025/

Story Portrait / 2nd PRIZE WINNER

Following its distinction at the international Istanbul Photo Awards, the project is now featured in the official phonebook of the competition.

Greece – through its traditional costumes, its stories, and its people – seen with a contemporary eye and deep respect.

View the book here: Winners of the 2025