SHARING PERAMA is in memory of the early years of the construction of Perama, in the sixties, when Barbara Polla and her family spent a winter in this then deprived, working-class area and in tribute to the orthodox Father Georgios Dimitriadis, who took care of all its inhabitants, in particular of the poorest of them, and of the children for whom he had created a shelter where they were served meals, care and love. Georgios Dimitriadis was an exceptional man, a humanist of everyday life, a man with a social vision for both present and future, never tired to help, to give, and to distribute hope.

 

Barbara and her family were generously hosted in Perama by Georgios Dimitriadis, who became one of Barbara’s essential models for humanism, for her values, and thus determining much of her life. He offered them accommodation; in return Barbara and her brother would contribute to meal servings. The rest of the day, the family coexisted with the inhabitants of Perama, while AMI, Barbara’s mother, painted her visions of the shipyards and shipbuilding.

​

In the spring of '67, shortly after the military coup, Georgios Dimitriadis was imprisoned. Barbara was then abruptly confronted with the reality of politics, social injustice and prison. Since then, freedom has become an essential part of all her social and cultural endeavors.

 

Barbara, wanting to give something back to this place that shaped her, first created the Swiss Association SHARING PERAMA in 2017. The initial efforts concentrated on installing works by Robert Montgomery in the public space of Perama; indeed, Robert Montgomery is one of the few artists today who does, very specifically, “art for the people”, in the public space. The Greek Association MOIRAZOMASTE TO PERAMA became effective in 2019. The two associations then transformed gradually in a collective effort, finding zealous supporters who wish for its flourishing in many different fields of living culture.