After Mr. S’s decision to call for V’s, S’s and L’s apartment on Zaimi Street, number 54, for his own personal use, until then the apartment had been their workshop – an anxiety was caused. What could happen during the time that was left until the delivery over of the place to its owner?
Through a number of discussions and suggestions that had been laid on the table concerning a heroic exit from their hideout, the idea for a joint exhibition – activity won the bet. Discussions started again about the realization of this particular proposal, as many artists as possible were informed, the date of the opening of the joint relative exhibition was set, those who had responded composed smaller groups which would present their work every week, a press release was written and sent, invitations were printed, skirts and shirts were ironed, and the attempt called “on account of an eviction – Zaimi Street, 54” that had been on foot, was brought to completion after a month and half. Few days after the closing of this attempt on Zaimi Street, in which 50 artists had taken an active part, we realized the sensation that was created to the people who had attended and heard of this event, people who belonged to the broader area of art and shared a willingness for creative action. Thus, a feeling surged up within us, that something so spontaneous and open to participation and organizing should be kept on.
Not as repetition of a successful recipe, but as a chance for further discussions about the possibilities of our interventions as a team, as well as our limitations as individuals, as a chance, eventually, to receive constructive criticism and to express our views on various issues, at the same time, so as to abandon the indoor – usually protective – place of the workshop and discover the reason which would lead us to deal with ideas and everything else that surrounds us according not only to our position but also to any connections may exist. Around the Spring of 1998, the first ideas were presented. An excursion and an overnight meeting in Athens, as a way to experience an urban mechanism in a different manner, the functions of which are so stereotypically solidified in the mind and sense of each one of us. Our desire with this activity was to give to all participants the chance to gather material, different for each one of them – concerning painting, sound, photography, video etc. – elaboration of which would present us with a new conception of this city. After a month of meditation and individual or joint work, the presentation of the material gathered would take place in a place especially formed, with an interior purpose to organize an exhibition with our proposals.
Another idea concerned the creation of works of art inside the shop windows at the shopping centre of Athens, where the citizens of the capital city would have the chance to watch a different use of the show – cases in shops with consumer goods.
In this way the citizen, apart from the part he had already played, that of the consumer

of products, he/she would come upon the following question: Why should the image, the sound and the sense be consumed?And most probably, upon another thousand and one questions which usually arise out of art – especially when this is found in places where, according to the everyday life’s practice, shouldn’t have been.
In this way, after a lot of talks and conversations upon similar speculations about the space and time of the city, the autumn came. At that time, the need for a more frequent contact with each other led us to settle on a place for our meetings, loosely and spontaneously in the beginning, consciously and regularly on a weekly base in the end.
The place was a café called “Rue Verte” at the corner of Zaimi and Tositsa Streets, where we used to meet every Tuesday night. In this meetings – which have been taking place continuously and without any breaks – many ideas were suggested and percolated, ways to bridge the opposing views were found, a constructive criticism, as well as strong dissents and disagreements between the participants were preserved, enriching with all possible ways the inner potential of each one of us. In addition, from Tuesday to Tuesday the need to materialize as many ideas as possible, which had been presented and discussed in our meetings until then, became more intense, we even could characterize this need commanding. Finally the necessary time and place was given in order for our plans to be put in practice.
Thus, we are rushing at the present Route 49, with the number implying the number of the participants.
The Route begins on Saturday May 22 and finishes on Sunday June 6. This is going to be beginning of a series of works, activities and comments which will bear the experience of all the previous stages that each one of us and all of us together have passed, until we reach the end of these attempts.
The Route 49 is not the total of the people who were informed and showed some interest – these people were more than 150 – but a series of situations, which have reached, until the day we are writing this chronicle, a completed shape and are pursuing now a chance to be materialized.
Route 49 is not a team with an official identity or a statute. It is a dynamic corporate disposition which does not serve a specific ideological guideline, but a common intention for everybody to support openly – whatever that may mean – in his/her own way, the relation opposite of this human cession we call city.

The wayfarers
May 22 1999

Text from the catalogue

Participants:
Mantha Zarmakoupi, Christina Nakou, Melina Desfiniotou, Jimmy Efthimiou, Kriton Papadopoulos, Andreas Vais, Dimitris Meratzas, Lambros Tsamis, Alice Moutousi, Urban Void, Yiannis Yiannoulis, Eleni Stroulia, Silvia Diamadopoulou, Eleni Polichronatou, Nikos Papadimitriou, George Skavaras, Maria Boukaouri, Andreas Sitorengo, Maria Tourlidou, Agelos Spiropoulos, Karatransavagardia, Kostas Dallas, Paressia Pasipoularidou, Rika Krithara, Zafos Xagoraris, Maro Mihalakakou, Theodora Bassakou, Alekos Anastasiou, Andreas Voussouras, Adriani Ventouri, Georgia Kapetanaki, Pavlos Nikolakopoulos, Lenia Ikonomou, Maria Ilia, Andreas Liberatos, Chryssanthos Sotirakopoulos, Nikolas Evgenios, Takis Germenis, Yiannis Koutroulis, Nikos Makarounas, Dimosthenis Avramidis, Georgia Damopoulou, Michalis Prkridis, Georgia Kolaxi, Leonidas Karabinis, Lena Konstadara, Vassilis Iliakopoulos, Kostas Tiligadis, Vassilis Vlastaras