Hydra & the Arts

Greek Cuisine & Traditional Dishes

The following are dishes commonly served in local tavernas. Dishes from the stove or oven are typically on display in a vitrina, or glass case, outside the kitchen. Ask what’s fresh or what the chef recommends! You can also ask … Continue reading

Alison Leslie Gold (Writer)

Alison Leslie Gold

Award-winning author Alison Leslie Gold has published fiction, nonfiction, and journalism, as well as written for radio and television. She presently divides her time between New York City and Kamini, Hydra.

Brice Marden (Painter)

Brice Marden on Charlie Rose

PainterAmerican painter Brice Marden and his wife, Helen Harrington, first visited Hydra in 1971. Since, they have returned annually, and the island is said to have greatly affected Marden’s work.

Dimitri Gassoumis (Painter)

Demetri Gassoumis

Born of an Hydriot mother, Demetris Gassoumis splits his time between the island and the States. Hydra landscapes make up the vast majority of his painting, and he also makes stunning shadow sculptures out of white paper.

Jacqueline Savidge (Painter)

Jacqueline Savidge, painter, Hydra, Greece

Jacqui came to live in Greece nearly 25 years ago. After living in Athens for two years she moved to Hydra, which has been her home and source of inspiration ever since.

Panayiotis Tetsis (Painter)

Panayiotis Tetsis

One of Greece’s most eminent painters, Hydra-born Panayiotis Tetsis takes the island as inspiration for many of his land- and seascapes and still lifes.

A Cultural History of Modern Hydra

Painter, sculptor, & engraver Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas

Since the 1950s, Hydra has drawn the interest of artists and intellectuals, gradually becoming a cosmopolitan cultural hub. A number of well-known Greek artists and intellectuals have been Hydriots, including painter Nicos Hantzikyriakos-Ghikas and poet Miltos Sahtouris. Others, like painters … Continue reading

Ann Rivers (Poet)

Ann Rivers, poet, Hydra, Greece

Poet Ann Rivers has lived on Hydra for nearly four decades. She has published several volumes of poetry.

David Fagan (Writer)

David Fagan returning to his African roots

David Fagan spent his formative years in Africa. After lunch on a Greek island day trip in 1983, he opted not to reboard the cruise boat but stayed, living and working on Hydra, pursuing his alternative lifestyle, publishing his first … Continue reading

Don Lowe (Writer)

Don Lowe gives a reading

Don Lowe has spent the last four decades on the island and has penned multiple works of fiction. He often entertains the locals with readings from his writings.

Michael Lawrence (Painter & Sculptor)

Michael Lawrence

Michael Lawrence has lived and worked on Hydra since 1992, painting landscapes and portraits, as well as whimsical interpretations of idea and experience, some inspired by the island itself.

Pauline Keaney (Painter)

Pauline Keaney in her studio

Pauline Keaney lives permanently on Hydra, whose landscape and scenery are sources of inspiration for her abstract paintings.

Alexis Averbuck (Painter & Writer)

Alexis Averbuck, Hydra Island Greece

Having relocated to Hydra in 2007, Alexis recent painting works to capture the specific luster of the island’s colors, moods, and natural environment.

Bill Pownall (Painter)

Bill Pownell

English painter Bill Pownall has been living and working on Hydra for decades, transforming its scenery into a symbolic language in his abstract paintings and creating evocative landscape collages.

David Irlam (Sculptor & Writer)

David Irlam, sculptor and writer, Hydra, Greece

David has been living on the Greek island of Hydra for over twenty years, during which time he has developed a keen interest in making items of art from the native olive wood.

Iris Kharami (Painter)

Iris Kharami

Descended from an old Hydriot family, the self-taught Iris Kharami has been painting for thirty years. She has had seven one-woman shows in Athens and two on Hydra, and her work captures island’s “grandeur and austerity.”

Natacha Best (Painter)

Natacha Best and Hart Porsche at Kamini

French watercolorist Natacha Best divides her time between Paris and Hydra, taking the landscape as the inspiration for most of her paintings. She has exhibited for more than twenty years throughout France, Spain, and Greece.

Roger Green (Poet)

Roger Green in Kamini, Hydra

English writer and poet Roger Green lives and works full-time in Kamini, regaling the locals with his parodic verse.