* This text, signed by the president of the Photography Circle, Platon Rivellis , was published on the occasion of a group exhibition of the members of the Photography Circle entitled "The Photography Circle, Ten Years On" in 1998 at the House of Cyprus in Athens.

Fifteen years ago, when I gave up practising as a lawyer and began to work seriously and exclusively in the field of photography, I could not have imagined what the future would hold in terms either of the nature of developments or their speed. Over the first five years, testing my strength and skills as photographer, publisher, shop-keeper, writer and teacher, I concluded that the most interesting and important facet of all those which attracted my attention in the new world to which my attention had turned was the teaching of photography. All the other activities, though far from negligible in themselves, functioned more as a framework and reinforcement for teaching. On the other hand, the job of teaching creative photography - which was the content of my classes, the only thing that interested me and the only thing I knew - ought not to begin and end with the presentation of general principles, nor could the constantly increasing number of students as they came and went be my sole source of gratification.

Looking back, at that time, over the recent past I observed with sorrow that most of my students in those early years had left photography behind - even those whom I regarded as being most highly talented. This led me to the thought that what is needed by photographers who are young in photography, if not necessarily in age, is solidarity. Photography is easy, and far from inaccessible to most people. That is why it can become particularly unpleasant - cruel, even - when one discovers its difficulties, especially when one's closest friends are unable to keep up with one any longer.

Yet what does solidarity mean when addresses to a young creative photographer? Here I should note that by "creative" I am referring not to the quality of the photography but to the seriousness of purpose one brings to it. From my personal experience as a photographer and a teacher, I had realised that there are certain factors of a material and moral nature which, while not of course essential for supporting a photographer, are nonetheless useful. The first category of factor includes a well-organised dark-room (which is relatively feasible to most people) and a full and constantly up-dated library (which is almost impossible for most people to set-up on their own). My own knowledge was based largely on books: it was from them that I had learned photography (and am still learning it), and, as I think is only natural, I had learned less by reading and more by looking. The principal factor of the second category is the need for constant criticism and discussion revolving around photography, within the framework, of course, of a mutually-accepted target and dialogue. There is also a need for the establishment of incentives to help the creative artist overcome his artistic inhibitions by means of his desire to serve a purpose which is specific on each occasion.

Although these purely photographic motives would by themselves have been sufficient to cause me to decide to set up a specialised forum, they were further strengthened by two observations: first, that some people (not all of them) need not to feel alone with their artistic thoughts and concerns, which they find more important than other people do, and second, the significance of the existence in modern-day society of small cells of people with shared ideas and hopes which are not necessarily the same as promoted by society as a whole. Such little outposts of what I would call resistance to the levelling effect of objectives imposed from above and outside as self-evident and exclusive, and whose dimensions are usually unambiguous and utilitarian, constitute almost our only potential for effective political action.

These thoughts led in the spring of 1988 to the formation, on my initiative and in collaboration with some of my students, of an association whose premises were on the ground floor of 44, Tsakalof Street and which operated under the name "Photography Circle". The word "Photohoros" (i.e. "photospace"), sired in 1984 by my friend Christos Zouraris and which we used first for the photography shop that functioned at the same address from 1984 to 1990, was turned down because we did not want to create confusion between what was then a well-known commercial establishment and the fledgling association. In addition, the word "Circle" was reference to the "vicious circle", which gave rise to a variety of associations. As for the name "Quark", which had emerged from my scientific and artistic discussions with the astrophysicist Yorgos Grammatikakis during the Seventies and had been used as the title of the space at 22, Arahovis Street where I held my seminars from 1981 to 1988, that, tooo, had to be abandoned, as hard to understand and of foreign origin and also in order to emphasize the change of direction marked by the founding of the Photography Circle.

Naturally enough, our initial enthusiasm led us astray and some mistakes were made, the worst of theme being our desire to measure the success of the Photography Circle in terms of the growth in the number of its members. Little by little, however, we came to realize that the most important thing was a shared language, a shared ethos and, possibly, a shared viewpoint which would serve as bonds among the members, given that the nature of the purposes of the association is incapable of generating measurable common material interests. Ultimately, this became possible, thanks chiefly to the fact that most of the members of the Photography Circle begin their membership of it with a four-month introductory seminar in creative photography which I lead. This may not guarantee that everyone shares the same viewpoint, but it does facilitate mutual understanding and the use of a common dialect, if only to delineate the points in which we disagree. However, I think it is both unfair and arrogant to describe all the members of the Photography Circle as my "students" in perpetuity simply because they once underwent my teaching for four months out of a period of ten years, or to see the Photography Circle as a ‘school' or a gathering of disciples. Suffice it to bear in mind that over a period of seventeen years I have taught, in the framework of my seminars, several thousand students in schools, universities and private colleges, while the members of the Photography Circle today number no more than two hundred and thirty.

What the Photography Circle ultimately proposed was a sui generis combination of activities and services which makes it rather difficult to describe it with exactness. There are seminars, meetings, lectures, film screenings, a library, a dark-room, publications and exhibitions. To begin with, I thought that large numbers of photographers and teachers would join, if for no other reason (and it is a far from insignificant one) than to use its excellent library and out of curiosity to see the work of many young photographers. This hope turned out to be mistaken - as I discovered with some surprise, I must admit - but perhaps, ultimately, it would not have been right or beneficial. In any case, the Photography Circle ought in my view to be in the nature of a large group of friends. I could say today that there is considerable affinity and connection among the members, which is why the Photography Circle has both a ‘character' and a ‘direction' of its own. For many people who are not members, this is a negative factor, and it has been interpreted as uniformity or, still worse, as levelling down. I have often cited the example of the policy which the Catholic Church adopts towards its monastic orders: everyone serves God, but it is far from certain that a Franciscan, a Jesuit and a Trappist would share the character and convictions that would enable them to co-exist and work effectively under the same roof. For that reason, a wide range of views are present and develop in different groups, each of which works harmoniously because its members agree on a basic set of methods and concepts which they all accept.

It is true to say, however, that we Greeks are not very familiar with the concept of a club, of a group which exists because of general options and not of interests. It is easy for a Greek to perceive the need for a labour union or a sports team, or for a political party, where the shared objective is visible and guarantees the balances necessary for the existence of the body, and much more difficult for him/her to see the need for a group whose existence is its ultimate aim. In other words, the Photography Circle does not exist in order to discharge a particular mission on earth or to safeguard the well-being of its members, who - theoretically at least - could quite easily do by themselves what they do in the Photography Circle. It exists because it promises and gives its members something which is only necessary to the extent that the lack of it is felt: a common quality, a sense of comradeliness, an exchange, mutual appreciation and liking. For some people, those feelings facilitate creativity and they seek them out - particularly today, when general confusion prevails inside a stifling straightjacket of utilitarianism and efficiency. When, as an artist, you advocate the allure of the useless, you very often feel a desire to find other people with whom to share that fascination. Of course, the present day has no need for artistic groups struggling combatively to dictate allegedly infallible artistic views, as was the case with many of the well-known and important movements of the inter-War period. Yet anything which can provide an answer to isolation and competition on the individual level is both necessary and welcome, and the Photography Circle goes some way in meeting that need.

Over time, the features of what might be called the profile of the members of the Photography Circle began to take shape in the type of photographs they produced and in the mode of their artistic conduct. This was not the outcome of an autocratic decision but emerged gradually through discussion and options from the inside. To put it another way, the members are not selected in advance on the basis of criteria. Anyone can become a member of the Photography Circle, as long as he wants to and pays the annual subscription. But if, having found himself at the Photography Circle, he discovers that his photography does not meet up to the expectations of the other members (whose opinions are expressed at formal or informal meetings), or that he does not appreciate the work of others, it is only reasonable and to be expected that he should resign. Sure enough, having looked at the list of former members of the Photography Circle, I was able to put those who resigned into three categories. The first, and largest, consists of those who joined, were pleased and agreed, but retreated from the field of battle in creative photography. For those people, the Photography Circle was a useful and enjoyable interlude but could offer them nothing more than that since they ceased to be seriously involved in photography. The second category is much smaller: it consists of those whose path led to types of photography very far from the aesthetic views of the Photography Circle. The third, and usually most interesting, category is made up of those - also few in number - who made something of a success for themselves in the field of applied commercial photography. I do not mean the professionals in general, quite a number of whom have remained in the Photography Circle for the sake of their personal work, but those for whom professional success was of greater ethical significance (or at least I imagine this is the case), absorbing their time and depriving them of the stamina to put their work forward for constant judgement and questioning. Needless to say, I should not omit the obvious fourth category of those who, without falling into any of the other categories, left either because of personal disagreements or because they were unable to function in a large group.

The philosophy of the Photography Circle and the central body of its tenets were formulated first by me, as its founder, as the teacher and as the eldest of all the members, but they have been significantly influenced by all the others, who over time came to have an impact on the options taken and on my own ideas. I believe that my most important teachers (apart from books, of course) have been my students. In recent years, I see the course of my views and my teaching as having been frequently corrected. Naturally, it would be absurd to expect the same thing to have happened with my basic guidelines, which are based on more general aesthetic and ethical views which are hard to change, or to change in maturity, at least without sweeping away a number of other life props. An outline of those views was the subject of a brief manifesto which we published two years ago in order to demonstrate that the Photography Circle has certain principles and is not just a jumble of differences, and also in order to stress that those principles are extremely general and not immutable. Along general lines, I believe that most of the members espouse those principles.  

The Photography Circle's activities revolve around its philosophy. The introductory seminar is a foundation, a basis, from which exploitation of the potential afforded by the Photography Circle sets out. After the seminar, one is in a better position to make the most of the library. The library consists of some three thousand books on photography and is constantly updated with the majority of the books published around the world - a process which is extremely costly. The seminar is also the starting-point for the formulation of a language in which we can make ourselves understood, which we will use later for criticism and communication. The introductory seminar is followed by others, shorter in duration, whose purpose is to maintain and cultivate the photographic practices of the members and also to brief them on new ideas and views. Among these seminars are: the "old members seminar", held on one Friday every month, where portfolios are discussed, the work of young photographers from other countries is presented, and new artistic themes are touched upon; the Paros seminar, where in a pleasant, yet urgent atmosphere thirteen days are devoted to daily photography and criticism sessions accompanied by film screenings and discussions on topics connected with various areas of the arts; and the Tuscany seminar, lasting fifteen days, which sets its sights - apart from daily photography and criticism sessions - on the culture and inspiration which that region, so highly-charged with the Renaissance can provide. It has also been a source of great satisfaction for me to many of my former students and members of the Photography Circle teaching, in their turn, at other seminars and in other schools.

However, over and above the seminars, an extremely important role in communication within the Photography Circle is played by our "Thursdays" - the well-attended meetings held each week so that the members can see and discuss the work of other members or of Greek and foreign guest photographers. Sometimes, the "Thursday Meetings" have been taken up with lectures on various topics outside photography which, quite reasonably and correctly, are of interest to young artists. But communication and the exchange of views is a continuous process in the Photography Circle, since the entire vindication of its existence is based on precisely that. As a result, one will always come across photographers showing their work to each other in the coffee-shop or the library, or discussing their various views on photography.

One fact of which we are all aware, but which becomes painfully obvious to those who teach, is that in the overwhelming majority of cases a relative degree of inability or indifference in the school or family environment leads to a complete lack of artistic sophistication and knowledge of events in the art world. At the Photography Circle, we try to make up for that deficiency by holding seminars or lectures on subjects such as Art History and Music and by organizing screenings of films dealing with important works in the cinema or music or consisting of interviews with, and presentations of, famous artists.

We have always tried to ensure that the Photography Circle was suitably equipped both for convenience and quality. Equally good photographers could have emerged without air-conditioning or wall-to-wall carpets, but we believe that the pursuit of quality should cover all possible aspects and should protect photographers from the temptation of succumbing to the squalor that surrounds us. Good equipment for printing and copying, the most up-to-date projectors for films, photographs and negatives: these things make the photographer members respect their surroundings and appreciate them better. It is characteristic that over these ten years we have not had a single instance of vandalism or theft to report despite the fact that all this expensive equipment is at the free disposal of the members.

Our love of books is what determines the need we feel always to be making our own small-scale efforts in the publishing world. In parallel, my teaching needs led me - in view of the fact that the theoretical literature in Greek is non-existent - to write books about the technical, aesthetic and historical sides of photography. All of our publishing activities, which have now exceeded fifty titles, have been brought together under a firm named "Photohoros" which also runs the magazine by the same name and the gallery/coffee-shop. In this way it was possible to preserve a name which for many people was a synonym for the Photography Circle.

For me, the publication of a magazine has always been a personal need. The magazine - every magazine - achieves its own individual mode of communication. As a matter of fact, my own past foreshadowed something of the kind, because even in primary school I tried to bring out a school newspaper (called "The School Clarion", believe it or not) and I published a student magazine ("Themes") at university. The ‘death' of the former after two issues and of the latter after three may not have been a particularly optimistic start, but this time our magazine "Photohoros" is approaching its eleventh issue. And if we add in the newsletter "Photography Circle", which came to halt after six issues, it can be seen that the situation is improving.

Our activities in the field of exhibitions have been continuous and intensive, though fortunately they have never become an end in themselves. More than fifteen solo exhibitions are held each year in the small gallery/coffee-shop we call "Photohoros", and many more take place in galleries, on the initiative of the members, or at alternative venues when we are asked to mount such exhibitions by the venues themselves. The large-scale Photography Circle exhibitions in Athens and Thessaloniki have made a good impression (on well-intentioned viewers, at least) because of their quality, and have also been rather remarkable in their size. This has given rise to rather quite a lot of criticism, even among the members of the Photography Circle and the exhibitors. I oppose, as groundless in principle, the argument that there are too many photographs to see in a single visit, since there is the reasonable and automatic reply that the visitor should come back again, especially since the exhibitions are always held in the cities' centre. One could also invoke the fact that such strictures would dismiss all the world's most important museums, whose collections are on such a level as clearly to impose more hardships on the visitor than simply appreciating or rejecting a few photographs. The nature of photography as a medium, for that matter, is not compatible with contemplating each photograph for many minutes at a time. But what most of these critics forget is the nature of the Photography Circle as a group and the dynamic implicit in the volume of work. When some people propose that only a small number of photographs be exhibited and that these photographs be work of, as they say, the best, tehn it is clear that they assume themselves to be among that number and that everyone agrees on who the best are - which, fortunately, is not true. For my part, I prefer to exhibit as many photographs as the venue on each occasion makes possible, thus pleasing more photographers and also those visitors who would rather see more photographs than fewer and judge them, positively or negatively, on their own criteria. My only regret is that the process of the selection will always disappoint some people, who despite the devotion they have demonstrated to photography and the Photography Circle are not able to take part in the exhibition.

If any of us was to be asked what the Photography Circle has achieved over the years, the answer - without pomposity, but with satisfaction - might be that it has helped to create a large and relatively cultured public for photography in Greece, that it has kept people with artistic sensibilities working in photography when their insecurity (stronger than their perseverance) would otherwise have caused them to fall by the wayside, that it has created incentives and opportunities for new photographs and widespread publicity for them, that it has contributed to raising the intellectual and photographic level of all its members, and lastly - and most importantly - that it has established, protected and maintained a space in which artistic and human quality is the central aim. If the same person were to be asked what plans the Photography Circle has for the future, he or she might answer that we are all concerned to maintain our objective of quality and enhance its level, that we would like to develop more contacts with photographers in other countries whose work we like and admire, and that we would like our presence in the publishing world to be lasting, more frequent, and of still higher quality. 

* This text, signed by the president of the Photography Circle, Platon Rivellis , was published on the occasion of a group exhibition of the members of the Photography Circle entitled "The Photography Circle, Twenty Years On" in 2008 at the Benaki Museum (Pireos Street Building) in Athens.


A decade can mean substantial changes in the lives of natural and legal persons alike. Thus, my own personal life and the life of the Photography Circle have changed significantly by comparison to the past. Nevertheless, the most major of these changes are related to the technological revolution which has significantly changed the way we approach photography and how we carry it out.

The first change in my personal life is the fact that I took up permanent residence on the island of Syros as of the year 2000, a move which in a way contributed to a partial autonomy for the members of the Photography Circle. The increasing difference in age between myself and the majority of members was another fact which contributed to the same development. We are now much more linked to each other by photography than by social relations or friendship. My presence in Athens for only two days a week has restricted our contacts and conversations to the bare essentials and to primarily photography-related topics. Thus, the Photography Circle has become more of a group of persons with mutual interests and views than a sizeable group of individuals who spent perhaps more time just enjoying themselves together than taking photographs.

The second personal change has to do with my increased interest and dealings with cinema - alongside photography of course, but in a different way. Lectures, seminars and books on the cinema took up a considerable amount of the time that I used to devote exclusively to the theory and teaching of photography. This development, together with my move to Syros, went down with many as an artistic as well as a personal betrayal on the part of a friend, causing them to leave the Photography Circle. Naturally this type of stance is one I can only regard as short-sighted and unproductive.

However, at the same time that these tangible changes were taking place, a feeling of saturation had begun to build up inside me as a result of the routine of the many years of life within the Photography Circle, within the same ‘worn-out' space and based on an unchanging form of communication with a restricted number of individuals. My seminars followed precisely the same rhythm within a static environment. Our exhibitions were smothered in the tiny space of the former coffee shop, and in my opinion they had become merely decorative. Our "Thursday Meetings" continued as before, with more or less the same photographs, in front of the same audience, since - due to lack of space - it was not feasible to invite guests from ‘outside' the Photography Circle to join us. Our magazine was discontinued after its 13th issue for lack of money and contributors. Our small monographs with photographs by members of the Photography Circle did not continue because we were unable to sell a sufficient number of copies. The Photography Circle's library had grown to nearly 4,000 volumes - but on the other hand it had almost stopped renewing itself, since our poor budget, in combination with the realization that a flood of new publications was actually not introducing anything truly novel and worthy, slowed down its enrichment considerably. 

In my opinion, the Photography Circle simply had to change in one or more ways. This was necessary in order to give fresh impetus to its members, even if it meant a significant change in its composition, and above all it would give me, as the person bearing the chief responsibility for keeping it going, a new interest in doing so.

Besides, a general loss of enthusiasm had become noticeable, not only within the Photography Circle itself, but also in the area of photography at large. Photography schools were closing, magazines were being discontinued or were shrinking, photography groups all over the country were being restricted to a bare minimum, while more and more young photographers are nowadays thinking of nothing but their career anymore, completely ignoring what the world of photography around them is all about.

The first impulse for change was given by a large and successful exhibition organized in collaboration with the Benaki Museum in 2001 with photographs of Athens by our members. This collaboration gave me the idea to ask the Museum whether I might be permitted to hold my seminars at their small auditorium on Koumbari Street in future. My request was granted with pleasure, and thus as of 2003 the seminars are being held at this lovely, welcoming venue, including a pleasant coffee shop where we spend our breaks, as well as the friendly presence and supervision of Mr Stelios Margaritis, the guard and senior employee of the Museum who soon became a new member of the Photography Circle and is now very knowledgeable on the subject of photography. The seminars were extended from four months to eight, from November to June, as I realized that a comparatively brief period of time was no longer sufficient in order to cover our core curriculum - nor did it make optimum use of my students' time, given that they had committed to devoting a whole winter to lessons in photography in any event.

This change had an additional beneficial effect. It conveyed something to our members which I had never succeeded in making clear: that the Photography Circle and my seminars were not necessarily one and the same thing, since the seminars could easily be hosted at external locations, as was now being proven in practice.

The second step was that of holding our "Thursday Meetings" in locations accessible to a larger number of participants and allowing for more publicity. Following various attempts at auditoriums belonging to diverse organizations, we returned once again to the hospitable and fine premises of the Benaki Museum building on Pireos Street and its large 400-seat auditorium - and I hasten to add that the coffee shop here is just as pleasant. As of the year 2005, all of our meetings have been taking place there, and have drawn an average audience of almost 300. Besides introducing young Greek photographers (and not only members of the Photography Circle), I also give presentations on great film directors, as well as inviting artists and scholars to give lectures on a wide range of topics. To date, we have had the opportunity to welcome film directors Pantelis Voulgaris, Vassilis Loules, Christos Karakepelis, Eva Stefani and Katerina Filiotou, authors Vassilis Alexakis and Georgios Bramos, philosophy professors Evgenia Vegleri and Pavlos Sourlas, the pianist Lida Zournatzi, the astrophysicist Georgios Grammatikakis, gallery owners Julia Dimakopoulou, Marina Eliades and Ileana Tounta as well as the lawyer Nikos Frangakis, and others.

Hence, the Photography Circle's two most significant activities (the Wednesday seminars and "Thursday Meetings") have been hosted by the Benaki Museum for several years now. As a result, it is not inconceivable that there may come a time when the Photography Circle might be more officially incorporated into the Museum and (probably) renamed "The Benaki Museum Photography Circle". 

In order to facilitate the implementation of this plan in the (not so distant) future, four further problems needed to be dealt with, which have to do with the Photography Circle's activities, and which have fortunately already been solved.
The first is connected to our exhibitions. The Museum will be able to provide us with the requisite space to exhibit photographic work once or twice per year, which will bring along a much more significant impact than the small exhibits we used to organize in the minimal space of our coffee shop.

Τhe second is related to the Photography Circle's extensive library. Up to now, this library was only accessible to our members, who were bearing the financial cost ensuing from it. However, we decided to donate the library to the Benaki Museum, since it is in a much better position than we are to preserve these volumes, which are already marked by the passing of time and much reading, as well as to add new publications, thus also giving interested members of the public the opportunity to consult them.

The third is related to - or rather was related to - the Photography Circle's dark-room, which could not be moved to the Museum for lack of space and due to complicated functional demands. The solution was provided by radical developments in the field of new digital technology. Over the past few years, only very few members had continued to work in the dark-room. Hence not many of us were sorry to see it go, since most of those few still devoted to traditional developing methods had already installed a dark-room in their homes.

The fourth and last problem relates to our few necessary meetings for members only. Hospitable as ever, the Museum opened its doors to us and whenever we wish we can meet there under exceedingly comfortable circumstances.

These changes allowed for a drastic reduction in expenditure on the part of the Photography Circle, resulting in the first ever equally drastic reduction in our annual membership dues. This enabled the Photography Circle to open its events to a much larger audience. It allowed for its financial and administrative emancipation from my presence and interventions, which up to now had been absolutely essential. It allowed us to hope that the Photography Circle would survive irrespective of my presence, or that of its founding members. And it allowed our association to operate under much more comfortable circumstances than before - at times they could even be referred to as luxurious.

These changes were also of substantial benefit to the Museum, bringing in a lively and primarily young community of individuals, capable of lending fresh momentum to the Museum's activities. They provided for interesting events every Thursday, filling the amphitheatre with an enthusiastic audience, and they also provided the Museum with an invaluable and vast photographic library, including many publications which are either rare or out of print.
I hope that this collaboration will continue and bear even more fruit in future. It is with great pleasure, and not all by obligation, that I would like to express my esteem for the leadership as well as for all of the staff at the Benaki Museum, irrespective of their rank, with whom we cooperate in a spirit of harmony and mutual support that is quite unusual in the (almost) public sector. In particular, I would like to refer to Angelos Delivorias and Irini Geroulanou, as well as the entire executive office staff. I would also like to refer to Emilia and Marinos Geroulanos, as well as all of the members of the Board of Trustees, to Fani Constantinou, as well as the entire Photographic Archive staff, to our much-loved friend Stelios Margaritis, as well as to all of the guards, to Manolis Blaziakis and Yannis Zervakis and all of the technicians, and, finally, to Takis Christofileas and all of the coffee shop waiters.

The composition of the members of the Photography Circle has changed slightly by comparison to the past. Besides the categories mentioned in my notes compiled on the occasion of our tenth anniversary, there are three groups of individuals who are now former members. These are those who regarded our meetings at the coffee shop as primarily social gatherings and came along for the company, those who, paradoxically, saw the Photography Circle a discount shop where they could purchase photographic material and books at reduced prices, and finally those (of whom fortunately there were very few), who did not concur with my interest in cinema. The circumstances now prevailing no longer fit their needs, and thus they were right to leave.

The present members of the Photography Circle are more actively involved in photography than ever before, and they attend our "Thursday Meetings" in greater numbers than ever before. And, finally, (by comparison to the past) they have by far fewer immodest personal ambitions. In my opinion, these features have allowed the Photography Circle to become a dynamic and productive association.

An additional paragraph concerning digital technology should be added to our old manifesto. We are not afraid of digital technology - on the contrary, we are pleased with the way it has made our lives easier, drawing more and more people towards the world of photography. The fact that the cost of photography has now been reduced to almost nothing, as well as the convenience of using a computer instead of a dark-room - and computers are not only ‘bright', they are also to be found in almost every home these days - is something we can only be pleased with. However, new technologies also engender new problems demanding a new approach. We are now pondering them, and it is not at all unlikely that new solutions will also provide photography itself with fresh impetus.

The final paragraph of my notes written on the occasion of the Photography Circle's tenth anniversary included statements with respect to our association's work, as well as plans and hopes for the future. Today, the Photography Circle has more than ever to offer its members and the artistic community. The best proof of this is the continuous recognition we enjoy on the part of members who have left us for whatever reason, as well as from photography aficionados who do not share our artistic views. Naturally, the generous hospitality and space we enjoy at the Benaki Museum also proves how widely our work is recognized. Our hopes and plans for the future remain the same as set out a decade ago, although some small adjustments have been made. Our communication with photography and photographers abroad seems to be improving step by step. The quality of photography at the Photography Circle, by comparison to the work carried out a decade ago, has improved overall in my opinion and is certainly not afflicted by stagnation. Our cooperation with the Benaki Museum is a new achievement, but at the same time it is also a new goal for us to develop a more long-term and productive relationship. The only area in which we have lost ground is publishing, where the cost factor, a lack of support on the part of sponsors or lack of sponsors altogether, insurmountable distribution problems and indifference on the part of the public have thus far prevented all serious attempts at creative photography publications from ever seeing the light of day. This shortcoming has been at least partially remedied by the Photography Circle's website (www.photocircle.gr), which offers a wealth of information, text and photographs, making it - and of this we have proof - the most popular and frequently visited photography website in Greece.

One thing is for sure: above and beyond any kind of anniversary celebration, the world and photography itself will continue to exist, with or without the presence of the Photography Circle. However, it is also very probable that the prevailing circumstances in the world at large and the world of photography will change imperceptibly, but radically, by virtue of every individual and even more through every collective effort that deviates from the inevitable and predictable course of events. The Photography Circle is and will continue to be a series of optional curves entertaining an utterly inevitable and infinite straight line.