Tessie Giannakina

She was born and raised in Thessaloniki. She is the co-founder of the non-profit organization olipoli and is responsible for cultural management and communications. Her goal and vision, through the design of cultural initiatives, is to connect them with public space, local communities, and the natural environment.

She studied English Language and Literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Bologna, and holds a Master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management from the International University of Catalonia in Barcelona.

She has worked in Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, Argentina, and Bolivia, implementing projects in the cultural, social, and technological sectors. Her collaborations include the NGO PERA (as coordinator of the Neighborhood Room of the 4th Municipal District of Thessaloniki), the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the Thessaloniki Science Festival, and the Local Alliance for Integration program; the Antoni Tàpies Foundation and the Sónar Barcelona – Music, Creativity & Technology festival; the Cultural Emergency Response program of the Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam; and the Tophane Heritage Project of the Netherlands Institute in Turkey, based in Istanbul.

In 2022, she conceived the audiovisual performance "From Asia Minor to Northern Evia," presented as part of the Ministry of Culture’s program “All of Greece, One Culture”, for which she directed and managed communications and production. That same year, she designed and directed the North Evia Festival, a five-day music festival that took place in Northern Evia in 2022 and was repeated in 2024, as a cultural response to the devastating wildfires of 2021.

In 2023 and 2024, she curated the music and cultural projects Home Concerts and Art Studio Concerts, which were successfully implemented in Thessaloniki. From 2025 onward, she continues with the organization of independent concerts focusing on contemporary traditional music.

Since 2021, she has been co-responsible for the design of the Anopolis World Music Festival and serves as its general manager and head of communications, with the festival taking place in public spaces and monuments of Thessaloniki’s Upper Town. Since 2022, she has also been part of the European programs management team at the NGO Callisto, an environmental organization dedicated to wildlife and nature conservation, based in Thessaloniki.