Demetris Koilalous was born and is based in Athens; Between 1980 and 1989 he was based in the UK where he studied “Town and Country Planning” in Edinburgh and “Geography” in London. He took up photography in 1982. Ηe works as a freelance photographer since 1990, specializing in portrait & theatre photography. He has collaborated with many public & private organisations, central and local government institutions, banks, museums, national, regional & municipal theatres.
Since 2004, he has been teaching photography in private and public institutions. His works are found in private, public and museum collections among which The Arab Image Foundation, HeadOn Photo Foundation, CENTER Santa-Fe, and the Museum of Photography of Thessaloniki. His work has been exhibited in festivals museums & galleries in Greece, France, Ireland, USA, Australia, Malaysia, Wales, Georgia, Portugal and Lithuania and has received numerous awards and distinctions.
His first book «CAESURA ; the duration of a sigh», was published by KEHRER-Verlag in July 2018 and has received numerous distinctions.
ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΚΟΙΛΑΛΟΥΣ bio.pdf
| 2019 | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” Benaki Museum, Athens, GREECE |
| 2015 | “Lebanese Notebook; AntiParadise” Chios Photo Festival, Chios, GREECE |
| 2022 | MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY OF THESSALONIKI | “Landscape Stories” | Thessaloniki, GREECE [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] |
| 2019 | CITY OF ATHENS ART CENTRE | “Any More Odes?” | Athens, GREECE [“Heterotopia”] |
| IMAGO LISBOA | “Novas Visões na Fotografia Contemporânea”, Lisbon, PORTUGAL, [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE PARIS | “3eme Biennale des Photographes du Monde Arabe Contemporaine” | Paris, FRANCE [“Lebanese Notebook; AntiParadise”] | |
| 2018 | HEAD-ON PHOTΟ FESTIVAL | Sydney, AUSTRALIA [“Heterotopia”] |
| MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF CRETE | “Critical Archives III Identities” | Rethymno, Crete, GREECE [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| 2017 | LM GALLERY | “Local Stories” | Piraeus, GREECE, [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] |
| KUALA-LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL PHOTO AWARDS 2017 | "Family" | [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| APERTURE SUMMER OPEN | “Freedom” | New York, U.S.A [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| ROOSTER GALLERY | Vilnius Lithuania, [“Heterotopia”] | |
| CENTER SANTA-FE | Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A. [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO 2017 | Tbilisi, GEORGIA, [“Heterotopia”] | |
| KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO 2017 |Tbilisi, GEORGIA, [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| PHOTOIRELAND | "The Recount of Conflict" | Pallas Projects Studios | Dublin, IRELAND [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| CARDIFF INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY | "Zeitgeist" | Millennium Centre, Cardiff, WALES [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| “LES BOUTOGRAPHIES” Rencontres Photographiques de Montpellier | Pavillion Populaire | Montpellier, FRANCE [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] | |
| 2016 | ATHENS PHOTO FESTIVAL | “Misplaced-Displaced” Benaki Museum, Athens, GREECE [“CAESURA-the duration of a sigh”] |
| 2015 | THE CHIOS MASTIC MUSEUM (permanent exhibition) | commissioned by Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation | PIOP |
| 2012 | PHOTOMED FESTIVAL | “Trois Photographes Grecs au Moyen-Orien d’ Aujourd’hui” | Toulon, FRANCE [“Lebanese Notebook; AntiParadise”] |
| MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY OF THESSALONIKI | “Oriented and Disoriented in the Middle East” | Thessaloniki, GREECE [“Lebanese Notebook; AntiParadise”] | |
| 2010 | ARCHAELOGICAL MUSEUM OF THESSALONIKI | 21st Photobiennale of Thessaloniki | "Topos Thessaloniki, GREECE [“déjà vu” (projection)] |
| 2009 | MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY OF THESSALONIKI | “Earth/Tracks” | exhibition for Prix Pictet Awards | Thessaloniki, GREECE |
| 2023 | PRIX PICTET | “HUMAN” Nomination | “HETEROTOPIA” |
| 2019 | PRIX PICTET | “HOPE” Nomination | “CAESURA- the duration of a sigh” |
| Buschlen Mowatt Nichol Foundation 🔹 Grand Winner | “HETEROTOPIA” | |
| 2017 | CENTER-Santa Fe | New Mexico, USA Exhibitor’s choice 🔹 1st Award | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh |
| Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards “Photo Stories” 🔹 1st Award | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| FOTOFILMIC “Solo II exhibition Award” 🔹 Runner Up | “HETEROTOPIA” ▸Juror: Alec Soth | |
| Renaissance Photography Prize (2017) 🔹 Finalist | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| PDN “Storytellers” 🔹 Runner up | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| Life-FRAMER “Series Award” 🔹 Runner up | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| YICCA International Awards 🔹 1st Prize ● for “HETEROTOPIA” | |
| Head On Photo Festival “Mobile Prizes” Sydney 🔹 1st Prize | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| Head On Photo Festival “Portrait Prizes” Sydney 🔹 2nd Prize | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| Life-FRAMER “Still Life” 🔹 1st Prize | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” | |
| Life-FRAMER “Youthhood” 🔹 Runner up | “CAESURA-the duration of a sigh” |
| BOOKS | |
| 2024 | "ATHENS 42 days • The Undisclosed City", Demetris Koilalous, author Stavros Alifragkis, with texts by Titos Patrikios and Edgar Allan Poe | KEHRER VERLAG | Heidelberg, GERMANY, 2024 |
| 2021 | “Unravelling Persuasion” Demetris Koilalous and other authors, ❖ AKKADIA PRESS, The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar, QATAR 2021 |
| 2018 | "CAESURA-the duration of a sigh", Demetris Koilalous, Bill Kouwenhoven, ❖ KEHRER VERLAG Heidelberg, GERMANY, 2018 |
| EXHIBITION CATALOGUES | |
| 2019 | Exhibition Catalogue, TRANSEUROPEPHOTO, publisher La Fabrica, 2019 |
| Exhibition Catalogue, IMAGO LISBOA, Lisbon, 2019 | |
| Exhibition Catalogue, 3eme BIENNALE DES PHOTOGRAPHES DU MONDE ARABE CONTEMPORAINE, Institut du Monde Arabe, publisher Silvana Editoriale, Milan 2019 | |
| 2018 | Exhibition Catalogue, HEADON PHOTO Festival, 2018 |
| 2017 | Exhibition Catalogue, LIFE FRAMER, Life Framer, 2017 |
| Exhibition Catalogue, KOLGA, Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, 2017 | |
| 2016 | Exhibition Catalogue, ATHENS PHOTOFESTIVAL, Hellenic Centre of Photography, Athens, 2016 |
| Exhibition Catalogue, BOUTOGRAPHIES, Rencontres Photographiques de Montpellier, Montpellier, 2016 | |
| 2012 | Exhibition Catalogue, 21ST PHOTOBIENNALE OF THESSALONIKI, Thessaloniki, 2012 |
| RESEARCH | |
| forthcoming | Kelley Tialliou PhD Thesis "New Cosmopolitan Visions of Greece in Global Contemporary Art" |
| 2022 | Demetris Koilalous (speaker) “THE DURATION OF A SIGH” Evangelismos General Hospital, 27th Annual Conference of Lifelong Medical Education Seminar | Athens |
| Demetris Koilalous (Artist Talk) “THE DURATION OF A SIGH” | MOMUS / Museum of Photography of Thessaloniki [Artist Talk - part of exhibition “Landscape Stories”] | Thessaloniki | |
| 2021 | Kelley Tialiou “Greece as New Babel: Displacement and the Cosmopolitan Aesthetics of Demetris Koilalous” NUEVA BABEL University of Barcelona, Faculty of Geography & History | Barcelona |
| 2019 | Demetris Koilalous (speaker) “THE DURATION OF A SIGH” 1st TEDX CHIOS, theme: Apoplous (Setting Sail) | Chios |
| 2018 | Demetris Koilalous (speaker): “Mobilities in/of Crises: Critical Investigations” The French School of Athens part of the program “Balkan Futures” | Athens |
| 2019 | Lucie Photo Book Prize Awards 2019 | First book 🔹 Finalist |
| Moscow International Fotography Awards 2019 | documentary book category 🔹 GOLD winner | |
| Month of Photography of Los Angeles | documentary book category 🔹 shortlisted | |
| Belfast Photo Festival | documentary book category 🔹 shortlisted | |
| Tokyo International Foto Awards 2019 | documentary book category 🔹 SILVER winner | |
| Le Prix de la Photographie de Paris 2019 | documentary book category 🔹 honorable mention | |
| Gomma Photography Grant 2019 🔹 shortlisted | |
| 2016 | Gomma Photography Grant 2016 🔹 shortlisted |
