Australia

The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis had its first Australian public exhibition in 2021 as part of the 200 years celebration of Greece’s emancipation from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia. The exhibition was also granted a personal endorsement from the Head of Garrison at the time, Mr George Besiris, and more recently by the new Head of Garrison, Mr Ilias Karmiris and the Greek Presidential Guard, as well as the Hellenic General Staff of National Defense, The Consulate Generals of Greece in Melbourne / Sydney / Brisbane / Adelaide, The Ambassador of Greece to Australia and the 200 Years of Hellenism Committee. The subject matter was a fitting tribute to Greece’s celebrations and, in particular, to Greece’s favourite sons, the Evzones, known as the elite forces of the Greek Presidential Guard. The exhibition showcases a collection of photographs from Nick’s ten years (since 2016) photographing the Evzones, during which he has been granted rare, behind-the-scenes access to all areas of the Garrison and to all the ceremonial duties the Evzones carry out daily.

Over 7,000 people have attended The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis exhibitions across Australia so far.

The locations included St Spyridon Church Hall Sydney, The Hellenic Club of Canberra, Kytheria House Sydney, Oakleigh Grammar Conference Center Melbourne, The Holy Monastery of St Nectarios Adelaide, National Museum of Australia Canberra, Australian Maritime Museum Sydney, Hellenic Club Sydney, Greek Club Brisbane, All Saints Grammar Belmore Church Sydney, Let’s Go Greek Festival Parramatta, St Basil’s Greek Summer Festival.

The Evzones Collection Committee quickly agreed that making the exhibition available to the public was a worthy exercise, but they wanted to do more. They set out to raise as many funds as possible along the way to donate to causes like the Greek School in Canberra, AGAPI Care in Melbourne, The Greek Earthquake Appeal, Gymea Church Fundraiser for the less fortunate, Kytherian Association of Australia, Central Philoptochos of the Archdiocesan District of Adelaide, Greek Welfare Centre in Adelaide, Adelaide Medical Supplies, St Spyridon College, The Australian Maritime Museum’s Greek Migrant Wall, and now to the Soup Kitchen at Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Newtown. The exhibition across Australia has helped raise over AU$50,100. In Greece, the entire exhibition worth over AU$47,000 was kindly donated to the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic.

Notably, The Evzones Collection also caught the attention of Dr Lina Mendoni, Greek Minister for Culture and Sports, who, during her speech at a recent event held in her honour by the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, praised the exhibition for its professionalism, artistic merit, and cultural significance.
Whilst in Australia for the 1821 exhibition at Sydney Town Hall in 2022, Mr Nikolaos Roussos, History Museum Designer and Conservation Technician, invited the exhibition to the Athens War Museum. This is a world first for Greeks from the diaspora.