ABOUT

Olga Stefatou is a visual artist and consultant for Qatar Museums.

In her practice, Stefatou works with mixed media and mainly with photography. She investigates the idea of freedom and its connection to geopolitics, heritage and social structures, with a special interest in gender issues. Believing that image-making should engage the personal and collective consciousness, her work entangles documentary practices with performance elements as tools to reflect alternative realities. Stefatou has exhibited her work at Aga Khan Museum (CA), Doha Fire Station art space (QA), MOMus Museum of Contemporary Art (GR), Los Angeles Month of Photography, Head On (AU), Les Boutographies (FR) and Gallery Negpos (FR) among others.

Stefatou has an extensive experience in photojournalism, collaborating with international media such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, The Economist, NBC News and Vanity Fair among others. In 2021 Stefatou was selected to photograph the DIOR Cruise 2022 collection with nine other Greek female artists. In 2015 she documented as a crewmember the pioneering Solar Impulse mission – the round of the world using only solar power. In 2011 she participated with three short films in the collective multimedia project The Prism GR2011.

Stefatou is the creative director of Saristra Festival Arts program, a festival celebrating music and arts on Cephalonia Island, Greece. She is also the co-founder of the initiative Print For Crisis, that aims to raise funds through photography in support of freedom of expression at crucial moments in history.

She studied photography at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens and in 2012 she earned her Master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Bolton, UK, while being based in Beijing, China.

Upcoming shows

  • 2023 Chrysalis, Photon Gallery (Ljubljana, SI)
  • 2023 Chrysalis, Gallery Synthesis (Sofia, BG)

Solo shows

  • 2022 Relative Dating, Athens Photo Festival, The Benaki Museum (Athens, GR)
  • 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

  • 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)

Awards and nominations

  • 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

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)