Hollywood Welcomes Olympic Artists

International Mon 24-03-2008

Hollywood Welcomes Olympic Artists
By a Correspondent

When athletes will be competing for a place on the victory podium at the Olympic Games in Beijing, about 200 artists of their home countries will be representing their culture as well, at the 4th ARTIADE to be held at the Pacific Design Centre, Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood in California USA.

The ARTIADE - Olympics of Art, established 1994, has since then taken place parallel and in the direct vicinity to each summer Olympic Games. For 2008, the organisers have changed the concept in order to be independent and have their own sponsors, to expand and broaden its spectrum.

A smaller exhibition in Beijing shall be the link between the Olympic Games and the Olympics of Art in August this year.

The spectacular PDC - Pacific Design Center, well known for its classy interior design, the famous after Oscar® parties, the sublime Elton John AIDS Gala, the branch of the LA Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and Wolfgang Puck’s first-class restaurants WP and Red Seven, will be the home of this year’s cultural main event in Los Angeles - the ARTIADE.

“The PDC will be the perfect surrounding for the international exhibits. The architecture of the PDC has an exceptional aesthetic and is a work of art itself.

We are very happy to present this forum of world culture by showing all fields of art, including paintings, installations, sculptures, photography, and a cinema for film and video art in this adequate venue”, said Renate Westhoff-Reisch, ARTIADE founder “Our objective in 2008 is, in parallel to the sporting events, to create a cultural counterbalance to the Olympic Games.

The visitors will have access to the cultural background of the Olympic Nations through the artists’ thoughts, their important messages and aspect of roots and traditions; an unparalleled diversity of opinions and expressions. In this, the Artiade is not a competition but rather a merit of the world’s artists through their works of art”, added Mrs Westhoff.

That is why the Hellenic Republic became ARTIADE’s patron in 2004 during the summer Olympic Games in Athens.

The Hellenic General Secreteriat for the Olympics Games had stated, “In the ARTIADE, artists-cultural ambassadors from every corner of the planet converse with the Olympic ideals in a multi-cultural feast: a supranational art dialogue of young artists-athletes where the experienced national background of their art production embraces the modern cultural reality”

“Starting from Atlanta in 1996, the Olympics of Art is held for the fourth time in Los Angeles - richer and more dynamic than ever - aiming at becoming the cultural event-institution of each future Olympic Games”, so the Hellenic Ministry of Information.

Background of Olympic Games of Art

The “ARTIADE - Olympics of Visual Art” first took place in Atlanta in 1996 as an accompanying event to the Centennial Olympic Games, showcasing works by artists from nations represented in the sporting event.

The idea was taken from the ancient Olympic Games, at which athletes and artists represented two different facets of a common culture, and were considered to be of equal merit. The ARTIADE pays tribute to this.

This globally unique event has become a highlight of the international cultural scene and perpetuates the true Olympic Spirit by combining art and sport.

In 2004, 80 of the Olympic Nations not only sent their athletes to the Olympic Games of Sports but they also sent their artists to the Olympic Games of Art. The event offered a forum for artists to present their cultural identity and represent their Nation as “Cultural Ambassadors”.

Since 1996, the ARTIADE has taken place at the same time and location as the Games. It is the only event - in addition to the Olympic Games themselves - which, under international Olympic Protection Law, is allowed to use the term “Olympics” in its title, thus becoming “Olympics of Art” and “Olympic Games of Art”.

Furthermore, the event was included in the official cultural guide of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture to the Olympic Games in 2004.

The event is widely recognised, which is underlined by the aegis of the Hellenic Republic and was supported by the late Johannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Other sponsors include various foreign and cultural ministries, state departments, several National Olympic Committees, embassies, international cultural organisations and private companies.

The aim of this ‘peaceful meeting of nations’ has always been to present the diversity of cultures and civilisations.

The ARTIADE - the Olympics of Art - offers visitors new and fascinating artistic insights and perspectives and encourage the interest in the unfamiliar and greater understanding for the inherent variety of the international community.

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