The Region of Crete, as part of the Parallel Event “Women – Cultural Heritage – Creation” of the Crete Festival 2026, presents the art exhibition “From Silence to Transformation”, featuring works by artists Mantalena Melissourgaki Wozniak and Loula Metaxa.

The exhibition opens on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, at 19:00, at the Multipurpose Space – Gallery of the Municipal Art Gallery of Heraklion, 8 Chrysostomou Street, and will remain open to the public until 28 September 2026, with free admission.

Through painting and art installations, the exhibition explores issues of gender-based violence, trauma, silence, memory, awareness, equality and transformation, creating a space for artistic and social reflection. Here, art becomes a means of expressing what often remains unseen or unspoken, as well as a space through which pain can be transformed into memory, knowledge, strength and creation.

The exhibition “From Silence to Transformation” forms a symbolic and experiential journey. It does not simply present individual works, but invites visitors to move gradually from the recognition of violence and trauma towards awareness and, ultimately, towards the possibility of transformation.

The first section is dedicated to femicides, as an extreme expression of gender-based violence, bringing to the fore the need for no form of violence to remain invisible, unspoken or socially silenced. Artistic creation functions as an act of remembrance, but also as a reminder of collective responsibility towards violence and the social conditions that allow it to be perpetuated.

The focus then broadens to other social and human traumas: war, child abuse, fear and exclusion, experiences that can leave deep marks on the body, memory and human existence.

A central point in the journey is the “Room of Consciousness”. Here, the aim is not the easy overcoming of trauma, but its recognition. For something to change, it must first become visible, be acknowledged and be given a voice. Awareness thus becomes the first rupture in silence and the starting point of a process of change.

The final section is dedicated to transformation. Without idealising trauma or proposing a simplistic narrative of “redemption”, it highlights transformation as a complex and ongoing process. Trauma may not disappear, but it can be given new meaning and repositioned within one’s personal story: from wound to memory, from silence to voice, and from an experience of pain to knowledge, strength and creation.

The Parallel Event “WOMEN – Cultural Heritage – Creation” is held under the auspices of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the General Secretariat for Equality and Human Rights, strengthening the institutional character and momentum of the initiative.

Parallel Events

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of parallel cultural, educational and social activities, broadening the dialogue around art, violence, trauma, prevention, equality and empowerment:

• 17 & 18 September 2026 — Guided tours by the artists featured in the exhibition, 12:00–14:00 and 18:00–21:00
• 21 September 2026 — Educational workshop for primary school children, 11:00–12:30
• 23 September 2026 — Talk by psychologist Vasiliki Velivasaki and journalist Andriani Angelidaki, 19:00
• 24 September 2026 — Art workshop with EOPAE — National Organisation for the Prevention and Treatment of Addictions, 18:30
• 25 September 2026 — Talk by the Association of Women’s Organisations of Heraklion, Crete, 18:30
• 25 September 2026 — Educational workshop for primary school children, 11:00–12:30

Exhibition Information

Title: “From Silence to Transformation”
Artists: Mantalena Melissourgaki Wozniak, Loula Metaxa
Opening: Wednesday, 9 September 2026, at 19:00
Duration: 9–28 September 2026
Venue: Multipurpose Space – Gallery of the Municipal Art Gallery of Heraklion, 8 Chrysostomou Street, Heraklion
Opening hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00–14:00 & 18:00–21:00
Weekends and public holidays: Closed
Admission: Free

Municipal Art Gallery of Heraklion Information:
Tel.: 2810 339067 & 2810 288487
E-mail: artgallery@heraklion.gr