ABOUT

Olga Stefatou is a visual artist, photography mentor, and consultant based in Athens, Greece.

Her most recent photographic work is called East Eighteen: a collaboration with a Palestinian teenager who escaped war and he seeks a new life in Cairo. She is currenlty working on her first short film, a creative documentary titled As If I Had You Next To Me co-directed with Despina Ladi, funded by the Greek Film Institute and produced by Empty Square. Alongside her freelance practice, she works as a consultant at the new international photo competition Tloupas Path (since 2024), and she teaches documentary photography at Akto College in Athens.

Her artistic practice explores the concept of freedom in relation to geopolitics, heritage, and social structures. With a strong focus on gender issues and women’s rights, her visual language is rooted in documentary photography and storytelling, often incorporating elements of performance and self-portraiture.

Stefatou’s work has been exhibited internationally at institutions and art spaces including the Aga Khan Museum (Canada), Doha Fire Station Art Space (Qatar), MOMus Museum of Contemporary Art (Greece), Benaki Museum (Greece), Los Angeles Month of Photography, Head On Photo Festival (Australia), Les Boutographies (France), Negpos Gallery (France) Synthesis Gallery (Bulgaria) and Photon Gallery (Slovenia) among others. In 2024 her work A Pair Of Brand New Eyes has been nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack award.

In parallel with her artistic practice, Stefatou has extensive experience in multimedia journalism, having collaborated with international media outlets such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, The Economist, NBC News, and Vanity Fair. In 2021, she was selected to photograph the DIOR Cruise 2022 collection alongside nine other Greek female artists. She also documented the pioneering Solar Impulse mission in 2015 – the first round-the-world flight powered entirely by solar energy.

Her past consultancy work includes a collaboration with Qatar Museums for the 2023 Tasweer Photo Festival and its permanent photography collection, 2018-2020. From 2014 to 2022, she served as the creative director of the Saristra Festival arts program on Cephalonia Island, Greece.

She studied photography at the University of West Attica and earned a Master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Bolton in 2012, while living in Beijing, China.

Her creative space, atelier délos, located in Athens, serves as a hub for artistic expression – fostering creativity, collaboration, and community around photography and audiovisual arts.

Solo shows

  • 2023 Chrysalis, Gallery Synthesis (Sofia, BG)
  • 2021 Chrysalis, MOMus – Museum of Contemporary Art (Thessaloniki, GR)
  • 2021 Chrysalis, Photometria Festival (Ioannina, GR)
  • 2020  Chrysalis, Aga Khan Museum (Toronto, CA)
  • 2020  Relative Dating, Tyrvee Gallery (Messolonghi, GR)
  • 2020  Chrysalis, Doha Fire Station contemporary art space (Doha, QA)
  • 2017  Relative Dating, Boutographies Festival (Montpellier, FR)
  • 2017  Relative Dating, Photoeil prize, NegPos Gallery (Nîmes, FR)
  • 2016  Relative Dating, Rencontres Cinématographiques (Cerbère,FR)

Selected group exhibitions

  • 2024 Chrysalis, Gnafala Festival group show, Soufli Folk Art Museum (Soufli, GR)
  • 2023 Chrysalis, Photon Gallery (Vienna, AT)
  • 2023 Chrysalis, Photon Gallery (Ljubljana, SI)
  • 2022 Relative Dating, Athens Photo Festival, The Benaki Museum (Athens, GR)
  • 2020  Arab Bedouin, No future without past, Oxo Tower Wharf (London, UK)
  • 2019  Analogue Portrait Project, Month of Photography Los Angeles (USA)
  • 2019  Portrait Prize winners and finalists, Head On Photo Festival (Sydney, AU)
  • 2019  Depression Era collective, Slought (Philadelphia, USA)
  • 2018  Solar Impulse, the historical flight, Adventure Film Festival (Athens, GR)
  • 2015  Depression Era collective, Biennale of Contemporary Art (Thessaloniki, GR)
  • 2015  Rania, Break the Chain festival (Athens, GR)
  • 2014  Cast in the wind / Depression Era collective, Benaki Museum (Athens, GR)
  • 2014  Women in Asia, JeonJun photo festival (Seoul-KR)
  • 2013  Connecting people,  Cervantes Institute (Athens-GR)
  • 2012  Silent Crossing, Multimedia art festival (Yangon, MM)
  • 2012  Through Waters, (Tianjin, Chongqing, CN)
  • 2010  Locus Loci, Photobiennale Festival (Thessaloniki, GR)
  • 2010  Make History, Lee (Modena, IT)
  • 2004  Prestige, Photosyngiria Festival (Thessaloniki, GR)

Teaching & Workshops

  • 2025 Lecturer, Photography BA Program, AKTO Art & Design College, Athens, Greece
  • 2022 – Present  Workshop Leader & Mentor, atelier délos (private studio), Athens, Greece – conducting creative classes for children and adults
  • 2020  Online Workshop Instructor, Education Above All Foundation (Qatar) – creative workshop for teenagers in Gaza
  • 2010 – 2011  Course Instructor, Procter & Gamble (Greece) – annual creative course for employees
  • 2010 – 2011  Volunteer Instructor, Ev Zin Association – annual course for individuals with mental disabilities

Consultancy Highlights: Curatorial, Archive & Art Management Projects

  • 2024 – Present – Consultant of the new international photography competition Tloupas Path, Region of Thessaly, Greece
  • 2023 – Curator, exhibition “Eyes in Motion”, EEA Norway Grants in Greece, Technopolis City of Athens
  • 2023 – Curator, Tasweer 2023 Live Program, Qatar Museums
  • 2020 – Co-founder & Curator, Print for Crisis initiative
  • 2018 – 2020  – Senior Photography Specialist, Qatar Museums
  • 2014 – 2022  – Curator for the Arts, Saristra Festival, Cephalonia Island, Greece
  • 2013 – Curator, Festival of Cultures, Highway productions, Greece

Awards & Nominations & Grants

  • Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center, “As If I Had You Next to Me”, Funded 2025
  • Pitching Lab – Drama International Short Film Festival, Selected 2025
  • Biennale Della Forografia Femminile, “Chrysalis”, Selected 2024
  • Leica Oskar Barnack Award, “A Pair Of Brand New Eyes” Nomination 2024
  • Head On Photo Portrait Prize, “Mahboubeh/Chrysalis”, Finalist 2019
  • Monovisions Photography Awards, “Relative Dating”, Honorable Mention 2019
  • 12th Julia Margaret Cameron, “Chrysalis”, Awardee 2018
  • Photoeil award, “Relative Dating”, First prize 2016
  • Lugano Photo Days, “Happy World”,  Selected 2016
  • Summer Davos debates, “Feng Yuan / Parched Homes”, Finalist 2012
  • One World Media Awards, “Parched Homes”, Shortlisted 2012

Collections

  • Thessaloniki Museum of Photography – MOMus
  • Lucie Foundation’s Permanent Collection

Clients

DIOR (FR) • European Central Bank (DE) • Qatar Museums (QA) • Education Above All Foundation (QA) • Solar Impulse (CH) • Der Spiegel (DE) • Die Zeit (DE) • Amnesty International (UK) • NBC News (US) • Le Monde Diplomatique (FR) • The Economist (GB) • Girlgaze (USA) • Global Post (US) • Vanity Fair (FR) • World Press Photo (NL) • Dove (USA) • WWF (GR) • Action Aid (GR) • Forest Troop (GR) • Ν-Coded pictures (US)