Thirty multi-disciplinary artists showcase their work throughout Isternia, transforming the village into a vibrant canvas. Zig Zag Festival 2022 reinterprets Tinian natural history through art, offering new perspectives on environmental issues. Art installations, music events, and guided tours highlight local nature, fostering engagement between artists, locals, and visitors.

Exhibition concept

«Dialogues on Change: Mapping the Materials of the Future»

"Civilization and the life of nations are governed by the same laws as prevail throughout nature and organic life." - Ernst Haeckel

The ancient Greek concept of the four elements -Air, Earth, Fire, Water- dates back to the pre-Socratic era and influenced European thought through the Renaissance. Early ontologies saw these elements as fundamental forces, combining to create both visible and invisible aspects of the universe. Modern science, however, replaces this view with atomic theory, classifying over a hundred chemical elements into compounds, while solids, liquids, gases, and plasma echo the classical elements. In art, the four elements appear allegorically and are linked to mythological deities -Earth to Kyveli/Rhea, Water to Poseidon, Air to Hera, and Fire to Zeus- serving as inspiration for environmental-themed works. The term ökologie, introduced in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, originally referred to the study of an organism’s “natural house” (oikos), focusing on evolutionary biology, genetics, and ethology, and highlighting interactions between organisms and their environments.

Discovering Isternia

Isternia, the whitewashed village perched on the mountain at an altitude of 310 meters, is located in the western part of the island, known in Tinos as “Exo Meria”. It is situated 25 km from the port of Tinos and 2 km from Pyrgos, the birthplace of Giannoulis Halepas (Yannoulis Chale- pas, 1851 – 1938, Greek sculptor and significant representative of Modern Greek art). Isternia is the second most important center of marble sculpture in Tinos after Pyrgos, from which many great marble sculptors emerged (G & I. Vitalis, L. Sohos, L. Lameras).

Program «Book of Change»

#IsterniaZigZagHunt

Verses from environmentally themed poems, accessed via QR codes, form a path of discovery through Isternia, culminating in a prize draw.

Marble demonstration

Tinian sculptor Onoufrios Despiris demonstrates the tradition of marble sculpture at his studio.

Talk/ reading

«Poetry and environment, readings» Haris Vlavianos
Poet-translator, essayist, professor of Political History/ International Relations at the The American College of Greece.

Digital Collection of artwork and texts

Artists and cultural visionaries offer new perspectives on daily life, contributing works and texts to an online cultural collection.

Sustainable kitchen

Video demonstrations unveil the hidden tastes and natural riches of Tinos, guided by Isternia’s tavern owners.
Anna Rigou showcases the stuffed Tinian Artichoke, a local favorite.
Kyrillos Paraskevas provides insight on local meats and his famous recipe for goat in parchment paper.
Panagiotis Agathos now an Isternia local, shares his magical garden above the Aegean.

Classical and Contemporary music

Songs born in “confinement,” fusing traditional rhythms with electric instruments, loops, and effects in an experimental, improvisational psychedelic performance. Music: Stratos Sterianos, Lyrics: Elena Hadjisavva / Stratos Sterianos

«say_it_olo» A spark of copper on wood. Back to the roots. Don Stavrinos (synths, trumpet), Nefeli Stam (bass, vocals), and Stefanos Chytiris (drums) unite for a free-improv performance with dancer Anna Apergi.

Christina Basili, Cello, Nafsika Peppa-Triantari, Choreography and poem recitation of "The poison-flower", John Boyle O'Reilly. With the support of the Austrian Embassy Athens

Music by composer-guitarist Timotej Kosovinc, featuring pieces from The Good Moment, with guest cellist Cristina Basili.