[InTime News]
Artwork that had been removed from Athens’ National Gallery in mid-March, with the consent of the artist, Christophoros Katsadiotis, after being vandalized several days earlier by an ultra-conservative MP who claimed the pieces were offensive to Orthodox Christianity, will return to public view on May 5, the gallery has announced.
The return of the artwork, which was removed to defuse tension, will be followed, a day later, by an academic convention organized by the National Gallery. Titled “The Freedom of Art: Facts and Challenges,” the event will take place at the Onassis Stegi amphitheater.
Four pieces of art by Katsadiotis were attacked on March 10 by far-right Niki party MP Nikolaos Papadopoulos, who stormed into the National Gallery and, with the assistance of another person, forcibly tore the pieces from the wall and threw them to the floor, causing significant damage.
The ultra-conservative MP had slammed the pieces in a ranting Facebook post a day earlier.