In the special area of ​​Drama, in Gallery 13, the book is also marked as an art object. And typography, with its manual practice, evokes emotions. Paper also celebrates all the traditions and techniques that enrich the experience of the user and reader.

There, at this meeting point, at 13 Mitropolitou Agathangelou Street, the exhibition, which is already running (and will run until October 7th), takes us to the heart of classic typography, woodcuts and engravings. Every bibliophile enjoys being in such a space of osmosis of ideas around a book and enjoying the beauty and art of traditional typography.

The exhibition is organized around Dionysius Solomos and two monumental editions of the “Hymn to Freedom”, which become an occasion to talk about the relationship between prints and books. “This exhibition aims to highlight the material nature of the book as an object of high aesthetic culture,” says Dimitris Gaudas, book historian, bookbinder and founder of Gallery13.

“This exhibition aims to highlight the material nature of the book as an object of high aesthetic culture,” says Dimitris Gaudas.

The gallery is located in the historic center “where in the interwar period a group of small two-story buildings in the area formed the New Agora of the city of Drama,” says Mr. Gaudas. Along with the gallery, there is also a traditional bookbinding workshop, as he systematically deals with historical bookbinding as well.

The emphasis this exhibition places on the book as an artistic object and on typography as an element of culture is particularly important. The two publications presented at the exhibition are artistic products (“monumental” according to the organizers) of the “Diatton” printing house with the works of our national poet. One version (“Hymn to Liberty”) includes engravings by Yiannis Kyriakides (copy 24/100) and another version (“Dialogue”) includes woodcuts by Manolis Charos (copy 16/80). Both editions are printed on 100% cotton Italian Amalfi paper using the classic typographic method hand-printed by Nikos Vozikis from Diatton editions.

Of particular importance is the gallery’s collaboration with the Public Drama Library for elementary school students to visit to see how classic typography works. As its founder says: “Students have a unique opportunity to create a typographic essay using a printing press. In addition, during the visit, they receive a copy of the Piraeus Bank edition of the “Hymn to Liberty”, which is decorated with images of the fighters from the woodcuts of 1821 by Yannis Psychopadis. Printed in the form of a pocket book by the method of classical printing in the printing house of the editors “Diatton”.

Gallery13 has a rich program of exhibitions that also demonstrate a broader reflection of the relationship between books and fine arts. This will be followed by exhibitions of Thodoris Lalos, Joanna Cossacks and Greek engravers, which marked the beginning of cooperation with the Union of Greek Engravers.