Marieke van Hal (President) is Founding Director of the Biennial Foundation.
From 2001 to 2006 she worked as General Coordinator at the International Foundation Manifesta, where she was in charge of the development and production of three editions
of the European Biennial of Contemporary Art hosted in various cities across Europe.
In 2007 she was Director of the first Athens Biennial, where she initiated the European Biennial Network. Most recently (with Elena Filipovic and Solveig Øvstebø) van Hal organized the Bergen Biennial Conference (Bergen Kunsthall, September 2009), and co-edited The Biennial Reader (Hatje Cantz, 2010) the first anthology on large-scale perennial exhibitions of contemporary art. Art history graduate, van Hal is a research graduate in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art in London (2011).
Nikos Ververidis (Treasurer) is an entrepreneur and owner of several media production and communications companies. He is Founding and Managing Director of ArtnSports, a multi-faceted digital branding agency providing solutions for integrated digital campaigns, innovative communications strategies and content for Internet platforms and TV. ArtnSports’ products such as the culture magazine elculture.gr and the web-based television channel elctv reflect the company’s interest in art and culture at large. Nikos Ververidis lives and works in Athens, Greece.
Victor N. de Vries is an international marketing and hospitality business development specialist. He has been working in Sales and Marketing for Hilton Worldwide in the Middle East and Europe. He was Director of Business Development at the Hilton Athens and currently occupies the same position at the Hilton in Shanghai. De Vries opened the offices of Expedia.com in Amsterdam, and has many years of experience in matters concerning international marketing, sponsoring and e-commerce. He holds a BA in Management and an MA in International Marketing and Advertising (Solvay Business School, Brussels). He currently lives and works in Shanghai, China.
Venetia Giannisi is attorney at law specialized in commercial and corporate law to international and domestic clients operating in various industries. She has been working as a legal consultant for Greek and international companies, her field of expertise being mainly commercial and intellectual property law agreements. During the Athens’ Olympic Games she was lawyer for the production team of the opening and closing ceremonies. Having been a lawyer and associate at two law firms in Athens, Venetia Giannisi is currently Legal Manager of a major international shopping centers’ management company. She holds a LLB and an MA in Business Administration. She lives and works in Athens, Greece.
Maria Ververidou is Founding Director of Locomotiva, creative arts production and management company based in Athens, Greece. Locomotiva is specialized in the planning and implementation of artistic events and provides fundraising, (media) sponsorship and communication services for cultural organizations and corporate clients. Maria Ververidou was Coordinating Producer of the Opening Ceremony for the Athens 2004 Olympics. She graduated in Business Administration and European Audiovisual Management from the Media Business School in Madrid, Spain. She currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.