Fotis Flevotomos is a visual artist with parallel interests in access and multisensory practices in museums. Since 2012 Flevotomos has been experimenting with the iPad. An aspect of his research focuses on digital color and the effects of backlit screens on his art making process.
His museum work combines elements of verbal description, participatory discussions, performance pieces, audiobooks, touch tours and story-telling. He has conceived and leads “Seeing with the Senses,” a Benaki Museum access program for visitors who are blind or partially sighted. He has also designed such programs for the Selis Manor Center in New York, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.
Flevotomos studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece, and art and music theory at the University of Essex, UK (MPhil). In 2012 he received a Fulbright grant and was hosted by the New York Public Library to explore the connections between art and low vision and contribute to the NYPL’s initiatives and services for patrons who are blind or have low vision.
His drawings have been published in journal Leonardo (MIT Press), the NYPL blogs and other popular news and culture websites.
He is currently working with curator Lydia Matthews on the design and development of a walkshop and open house event inspired by the lives of Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor in Greece.
- Personal Website:https://www.fotisflevotomos.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fotis_flevotomos
Posts by Fotis Flevotomos:
- The New York Public Library Blogs https://www.nypl.org/blog/author/1207
Articles/Features About Fotis’s Work:
- Fotis Flevotomos, video portrait by Eirini Steirou (produced by the Fulbright Foundation in Greece, 2018) https://www.fulbright.gr/en/fulbright70/984-fotis-flevotomos-greek-
- Fulbrighter at the Library: Fotis Flevotomos Studies the Connection Between Art and Vision, NYPL post by Brigid Cahalan, Library Sites & Services/Outreach (2013) https://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/12/09/fulbrighter-library-fotis-flevotomos-art-and-vision
- Looking for a Face: Musings of an Artist with Low Vision, short video by Raed Rafei featuring Fotis Flevotomos’ use of the iPad as a drawing tool (produced by Raed Rafei, 2013) https://vimeo.com/66090166
- Sensory Garden, short video by Eirini Steirou featuring a visit of members from the Lighthouse for the Blind in Greece to the National Garden (produced by the Benaki Museum, 2016) https://youtu.be/rVg3DpG8opA
- SNFCC Through Different Eyes, short video about the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center’s programs for visitors with visual impairments (produced by SNFCC, 2015) https://youtu.be/eVd0CCaijFM
The work of the Siena Art Institute's Greek resident artists' is co-sponsored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.