FELLOWS

Barbara Mamatis

2018/19 Athens

Barbara’s smile brings a colourful, optimistic flair to the Greek Solidarity Association. As an elected member of the Board of Directors and a Communications, Fundraising Officer, she represents patients suffering from Lysosomal storage diseases.

Born in Tunisia and raised In Athens, she studied International, European Studies in Panteion University. She acquired a strong, versatile professional experience in Communications (EY, the European Commission), a valuable asset which helps her raise awareness on rare diseases as an MPS patient and advocate, inspirational speaker, writer and finally a certified Therapeutic Pilates Instructor.

Her early passion to create distinguished artworks, lead her to organise personal art exhibitions and prove that Art is a powerful, healing medium. Her work highlights the importance of creative empowerment and gives people opportunities to communicate the emotional and cultural impacts of living with a rare disease.

Keen to use unique opportunities like START, Barbara aims to enhance her international project management competencies in the sociocultural field. In Greece, she will utilize this experience to form her vision called Rare Art Agency Project - RAAP. Sounds like she will “RAAP” her way through, empower and give a “strong voice” to artists living with a rare condition. Stay tuned!

Project Title

The Rare Art Agency Project - RAAP

The project is raising awareness through promoting artistic creations of people living with rare diseases.

The initiative focuses on the creation of an Art Agency in Athens, Greece, which will be responsible for promoting and selling through various Art exhibitions and galleries, the work of adult artists living with a rare disease. The initiative aims to create in Greece a strong community of active artists, creatively empower them, give them the financial motivation to further cultivate their artistic skills, promote the healing importance of creation and raise awareness on their diseases through sharing and presenting their personal stories and achievements. This initiative will not only empower people who live with a rare condition but will also
empower society itself. These achievements will inspire and bring hope, as people with rare diseases are exceptional role models and their struggles for equality need to be promoted in every possible way.

Host Institution

Diablog Vision e.V.

Diablog Vision e. V., German-Greek Encounters, is an not-for-profit organisation based in Berlin, which works for national and vocational education, including student's support, and for international understanding and tolerance in all fields of culture.