History

The HELLENIC PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (EFE) was founded in 1952 by a group of intellectual people of the time, the pionners Eleni Vlachou and the lawyer Kostas Papakyriakou, the publisher and journalist respectively. EFE was the first organization in Greece with the aim of promoting artistic photography and the work of artistic photographers. The 70 founding members of EFE shared a common passion for photography and were amateur and professional photographers, journalists, scientists, traders, entrepreneurs, such as Kostas Papakyriakou, Takis Tloupas, Giorgos Marakidis, Voula Papaioannou, Nikos Mavrogenis, Petros Brusalis, Spyros Meletzis, Pavlos Mylof, Nikos Kydonievs, Aris Konstantinidis, Dimos Paridis, Dimitris Charisiadis, and others.

The first offices of EFE were housed on Voukourestiou Street. Then they were transferred several times, to parts of the center of Athens. Since 2016, the EFE offices have been housed at 12 Pontou Street in Ilisia, in a comfortable and fully equipped space, which contains exhibition, event and seminar rooms, an archive, a dark room, a library, a photography studio and other auxiliary spaces. The EFE has also collected an important photo archive, which is a rare example of the cultural and artistic heritage of Greece. The historical value of the archive is precious, as it photographically captures a large part of Greek history during the 20th century.

The Hellenic Photographic Society, with its systematic work, highlighted photography and amateur cinema as arts of a high artistic level. With classes, lectures and seminars, presentations by older and newer photographers, recorded slide shows, amateur films, gatherings, tours, photographic and film product launches, competitions, exhibitions, Audio-Visual and its magazine , the EFE very quickly established itself in the Greek space as an important cultural organization focused on photography and amateur cinema.

Just two years after its foundation, EFE became a member and official representative of Greece in the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP). In 1963  organized the FIAP conference and the "VI COLOR BIENNALE" in Zappeion. In 1971  organized the "VIII COLOR BIENNALE" in Zappeion. Due to the fact that in 1991 Xenophon Argyris, member and chairman of the Board of Directors (1985-1988) of the EFE, was elected president of the FIAP for the four years 1991-1995 was a proof of the important work of the members as well as of the increasing recognition of the EFE.

EFE, from 1954 and for 39 years, published the quarterly magazine Hellenic Photography, officially recognized by FIAP and with pan-Hellenic circulation. In order to effectively promote the photographic work of its members, EFE proceeded from 2021 to create the "Hellenic Photographic Society" publications. Within a short period of time, numerous books were published that achieved significant publishing success.

Since 1954, EFE has been successfully conducting Panhellenic Competitions that contributed to the spread of artistic photography. Its first major event was the 1st Panhellenic Photography Exhibition in Zappeion, as part of the Athens Festival, under the aegis of the then Minister of the Presidency of the Government, Konstantinos Tsatsos, on September 26, 1956. Among its major events, the celebration of the 150 years since the invention of photography (1839-1989) and the participation in the celebration of Thessaloniki, the cultural capital of Europe for 1997 was included, with a large retrospective exhibition of award-winning photos of the members, from the years 1953-1996. Also, in 1991 the EFE organized the "Photographic Meeting 91", which was placed under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture and took place at the Cultural Center of the University of Athens.

In recent years, the EFE has developed an important International Activity in the context of its cooperation with photographic organizations abroad by sending exhibitions and promoting the work of its members and at the same time hosting exhibitions from abroad. Photos of the members were exhibited in European countries such as England, Spain, Norway, France, Germany, Finland, Latvia, Russia as well as Latin American countries,  Asia and Australia as well and the activity continues. As part of the International Festival, exhibitions and presentations of works by important international photographers are also organized every year.

With the successful international photography competitions added since 2018, it has established itself in the International space and in this field. The educational seminars and workshops complement the work of EFE, which does not ommit to renew itself and adapt to the needs of the modern era.

Also with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of its establishment, which it celebrated in 2022, its historical past and contribution to the Greek photography scene were shown