Lia Nalbantidou’s “urban secret garden” is currently “flourishing” in Athens, at the Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre (until March 21st 2020). Photo project “Urban secret garden – A reading”, which started out as an act of improvisation during the photographer’s morning walks, illustrates the history of Thessaloniki. It is comprised of modern-day (2010-2014) photographs that portray Thessaloniki’s urban landscape, as well photos included in Lia Nalbantidou’s family archive (1950-2018). Frames and images following the steps of a long walk, from winter to summer and from dusk till dawn, going through the Upper Town (Ano Poli), the port, Ladadika and the city’s coastal front all the way to the Kodra camp, Karabournaki and “Macedonia” airport.

Lia Nalbantidou is currently showcasing her works, along with other artists, in Germany, at the Kunstmuseum in the city of Bochum, within the framework of the project “Layers / Επίπεδα / Schichten”, an artistic collaboration between Thessaloniki and the Ruhr valley that focuses on the diversity and the complexity of geographical and social spaces.