ARISTEA RELLOU

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Aristea has lived and worked in the US and the UK for the past 10 years. Aristea is the Co-Founder and Director of the studio and project management agency, Hekate Studios, and the nomadic gallery KIRKI, which curates site-specific contemporary art exhibitions in the Cyclades annually. She is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and social justice, and has been a co-organiser for the Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival. She is passionate for cross-cultural exchange and collaboration, and aims to continue creating platforms that empower and support the creative endeavours, fair treatment and social impact of artists and art workers.

“With Perseverance and Self-respect, We Can Endure More Than We Think”

Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings!

Originally from Athens (Greece), I have since lived in New York (USA) and London (UK). After a year of studying Psychology, I switched to Law and then pursued a second BA in Visual Culture. Later on, I completed an MA in History of Art. I am the co-founder of HEKATE and KIRKI, both of which work closely with contemporary artists and art institutions. 

My involvement with art and culture has been a long-standing one, as it started from a very young age; first with making art, and then eventually with my work at galleries, museums, auction houses, festivals and other arts institutions. Before HEKATE and KIRKI, I was a major donor fundraiser for arts institutions in London and fundraising still is a big part of my day to day. 

I also have a creative practice as an illustrator, which aims to map out ideas concerning consumption, nurture and the formation of personal, social and cultural identity while championing accessibility, social engagement and diversity.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

After living abroad for most of my adult life, my sense of society and community is split between Greece and the UK and therefore the challenges that both are facing differ. 

In Greece, not unreasonably or unexpectedly, we are facing a major issue with morale. It is difficult for young people to imagine and try to create an inspiring and fulfilling future for themselves and I have noticed a widespread lack of hope, which underlines a lot of the other major societal challenges that we are facing. At the same time, overtourism and the commodification of culture are top of mind for me at the moment. 

In the UK, there seems to be a struggle in terms of their nation's identity in a changing world. After Brexit and the pandemic, the landscape transformed completely and the cost of living and the energy crisis have affected all of us in more ways that we realise.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them?

It's important to acknowledge one's privilege and I was lucky enough to grow up in a family with a deep appreciation for history and culture, which the instilled in me from a very young age. Life has not been smooth sailing however and I've been rejected countless times based on my particular characteristics. I've also had to face traumas that run very deep to this day, which never stop being part of you. It hasn't been easy. However, proving to oneself that you are capable of overcoming the hurdles that life throws at you - though often painful - is a forging process that paves the way for prosperity and mental well-being. With a healthy dose of perseverance and self-respect, we can endure more than we think.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

A mentor is a form of inspiration and a method of accountability. Beyond giving advice and offering invaluable guidance, mentors can hold us to our word and thereby help us improve, grow and reach our fullest potential.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share?  

Risks are usually worth it. If not always for the reward, then certainly for the journey they take you on. Risks force us to grow in new and unimaginable ways, learning new skills and expanding our horizons. If taken reasonably, they are invaluable; regardless of the outcome. Very often things don't work out in the way that we may have imagined and they will for sure exhaust you, but the benefits of putting yourself through the process of taking a risk have paid off massively for me.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

Through the exhibition I am currently working on for KIRKI, titled 'Soil Horizon' (Sifnos, June 2024), we have had the pleasure of working with Archipelago Network; a team of researchers, writers and scientists who work tirelessly to study and preserve the cultural memory of the Cyclades. Their audiovisual archives record endangered histories, which could very much face extinction if their loss goes unnoticed.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

Sexism runs deep, very deep. It is a powerful dividing force between us, poisoning every facet of society. In my view, it comes down to the question of who "owns" the contemporary equivalent "means of production," and who "holds" power. This has become evident by the notable rise in femicide and violence in Greece and the concerning lack of effective response by the authorities. 

On a very basic level, there are things that are fundamentally wrong in the way we talk about gender in society and in the way we raise children, to unwillingly perpetuate stereotypes and modes of behaviour that should be heavily criticised and eventually abolished.

Outdated beliefs and heteronormative roles are still the norm, in a society that is organically developing faster from the ground up than

these norms and laws can keep up with. There has been significant legal and judicial progress in recent years, with several monumental laws being passed, but the road ahead is challenging and treacherous, so we must not become complacent.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by.

As a young teenager, a long time ago, I used to keep notebooks upon notebooks of mottos or quotations. They gave me great strength and inspiration at the time and as I flip through those pages now I can see the collage of my life unfolding before me, with each saying signifying something different and unlocking a new forgotten memory. Nowadays though, I am not sure if the breadth of human existence can be summarised in one motto. 

That being said, every time I am faced with a challenge at work or I try to problem-solve something with a friend, we always land on the idea of putting one foot in front of the other. It sounds simple enough, but doing so can take you the longest way, both literally and figuratively. One foot in front of the other, and you can hike any trail.

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do?

HEKATE and KIRKI are both projects that I dreamt of before actually attempting them and I am very privileged to have found the right people to work with so that we could have collectively brought them to life. 

There is no shortage of plans for the future and ultimately I aspire to live a life dedicated to the betterment and the prosperity of my community. On a very personal level though, at the end of the day my favourite thing to do is to create. I like crafting with my hands, trying out different materials, and hopefully standing up for something meaningful while doing so. So, rather than launching a singular project, at the moment I am dreaming of creative solutions to shared challenges.