The Shock Wave in Greece
Louisa Gouliamaki, Angelos Tzortzinis & Aris Messinis / Agence France Presse
First the shock wave hit Athens, then spread to other major cities in Europe. If one European Union member state was in financial difficulties, surely it could draw the others down with it. In the space of two years, the European Union produced three bailout plans for Greece and the country announced seven austerity plans. Demonstrators took to the streets, with some protests looking like scenes of civil war. Louisa Gouliamaki, Angelos Tzortzinis and Aris Messinis, Greek photographers in the Athens bureau, worked in relay, providing daily coverage of politics and social unrest in the country.
Aris Messinis
Aris Messinis, 35, has worked as chief photographer for Agence France-Presse in Greece since 2006. He covered the war in Libya during the “Arab Spring” revolution and won the 2012 Days Japan jury award for his picture of a man playing the guitar in the midst of a battle in the town of Sirte. This year he also won a Fotoweek DC award.
Louisa Gouliamaki
Louisa Gouliamaki, 43, was born in Poland of a Greek father and Polish mother and lived there through the coming of age of the Solidarity trade union movement. She moved to Greece in 1985 where she studied at the faculty of Fine Arts and Design and the department of photography in Athens. She covered the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo and has worked for AFP since 2005. Her awards this year include a China International Press Photo (Chipp) and two Pictures of the Year International.
Angelos Tzortzinis
Angelos Tzortzinis, 28, is a professional freelance photographer who has worked with the Agence France-Presse since 2007. He has covered events from the earthquake in Haiti to the plight of illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean, by way of the “Arab spring” revolution in Egypt and Libya. He received two Pictures of the Year International awards in 2011 and 2012, along with a Chipp and a Lumix award.
The Shock Wave in Greece – Louisa Gouliamaki, Angelos Tzortzinis & Aris Messinis
From september 1st to september 21st
Couvent des Minimes
Rue François Rabelais
66000 Perpignan – France
