National Hellenic Museum
Additionally, NHM will present new works by Prince Nikolaos during EXPO CHICAGO, the international exposition of contemporary and modern art, from April 13-16 at Navy Pier. This exhibition marks NHM’s EXPO debut. Details will be announced soon.
The National Hellenic Museum (333 S. Halsted Street, Chicago) is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and include admission to all exhibits, with special discounts available for seniors, students and children. Admission to the museum is always free for NHM Members. Group tours are available for schools, professional associations, community organizations and others by scheduling in advance at info@hellenicmuseum.org. For more information on current exhibitions, events and memberships, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
“Greece’s past, present and future are intertwined and inextricably linked with nature. The recent pandemic has changed how we view the physical world and our space within it, and has forced us to go back to our origins to find inspiration,” says Marilena Koutsoukou, curator of Resilience. “As an artist, Prince Nikolaos is always drawn to open spaces, and nature has been an integral theme and presence in his work. With this exhibition, he turns his lens to the Greek earth. Like an archaeologist meticulously excavating, recording, and drawing conclusions, he attempts to deconstruct and explore our collective experience with a new normal, a shared belief that we must let go of our past ways and find ways to celebrate and protect nature, and eventually, ourselves.”
Among the featured works in Resilience is a photographic mosaic titled Sea Cred, created in collaboration with nonprofit environmental organization Parley for the Oceans to raise awareness of the plastic pollution of our oceans and bodies. The artwork is divided and printed onto 272 credit cards made of Parley Ocean Plastic® upcycled ocean plastic debris, inspired by the fact that humans could be consuming an average of 5 grams of plastic every week (the equivalent weight of a credit card) according to a 2019 study commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. The Resilience exhibition also features the North American premiere of Together, an immersive scene of life-size illuminated, embracing olive trees accompanied by sounds of Greek nature, which first premiered at the London Design Biennale in 2021.
Resilience is generously sponsored by the John S. Koudounis Family.
HRH Prince Nikolaos was born in October 1969, in Rome, Italy, to parents TM King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie. In 1975, the family settled in London, where Prince Nikolaos was home educated for six years. He then attended the Hellenic College of London. In 1988, he began his studies in international relations at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, focusing on Diplomacy and National Security. During his sophomore year, he took a sabbatical to join the British Army on a Short Service Limited Commission, serving as 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Upon his college graduation, Prince Nikolaos moved into TV production for Fox News in New York. He returned to London in 1995 to work in the foreign exchange options department of NatWest Markets. From 1997 to 2003 he worked in King Constantine’s Family Office. Since then, he has been active in business consulting.
An avid photographer for all his life, Prince Nikolaos has passionately dedicated himself to photography since 2013. In November 2015, he exhibited his work for the first time at Christie’s in London. In March 2016, his photography was featured at The New York Times’ Art for Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar. A selection of his photographs were also published in the book A Taste of Greece, published by teNeues. In June 2018, Prince Nikolaos had his first solo museum exhibition, titled “Phos: A Journey of Light,” at the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, Australia. The artist was then commissioned by LA Organic to produce a work, after the recommendation of Philippe Starck studio, which is currently exhibited at La Almazara, Spain. In November 2018, the artist was invited by Sotheby’s Jewelry to show 10 photographs from his series “Phos” to a select audience. Sotheby’s experts have dubbed prince Nikolaos’ photographs “Jewels from Greece.” In March of 2019, his collection titled “Celestial Choreography” was exhibited in Rundetaarn, one of the most iconic buildings of Copenhagen, to great critical acclaim. In October and November of the same year, his dual exhibition “Aegean Desert” opened up in Athens, Greece and Doha, Qatar, respectively. The exhibition, pairing images from the sea with images of the desert presented within site-specific art installations, was the first institutional collaboration between Benaki Museum of Islamic Art in Athens and Katara - Cultural Village Foundation in Doha. In June 2021, Prince Nikolaos exhibited his work “Together” at the London Design Biennale. There, he presented an enchanted, immersive scene of illuminated, life-sized olive trees reflected in mirrors and surrounded by sounds of Greek nature.
HRH Prince Nikolaos sits on the Board of Knightsbridge Schools International, established in 2008 to develop and operate a network of international schools around the world. He is an active member and Advisor to the Board of Axion Hellas, a Greek nonprofit volunteer organization supporting local communities in remote parts of the country. Prince Nikolaos and his wife Princess Tatiana (née Tatiana Blatnik) married in 2010. Three years later, they moved to Athens, Greece, where they currently reside.
The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) is a premier museum dedicated to sharing Greek history, art and culture, from ancient times to the present day, including the modern Greek American experience. NHM preserves the Hellenic legacy and makes this rich heritage relevant today through its collection of thousands of physical artifacts, oral histories, exhibits, educational programs and special events. Originally founded in 1983 and located in Chicago’s historic Greektown neighborhood since 2011, the NHM provides lifelong learning for the community and sparks inquiry and discussion about the broader issues in our lives and society. Museum hours are Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and include admission to all exhibits, with special discounts available for seniors, students and children. Admission to the museum is always free for NHM Members. For more information, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.