Welcome Dr. Evlampia Tsireli, Artist-in-Residence

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Evlampia Tsireli as a new Artist-in-Residence.

Dr. Tsireli is an author and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of History and Archaeology, School of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). During her fellowship at AUTH, Tsireli will conduct research on the life and testimony of Samuel Profeta. Profeta, known to the Jews of Thessaloniki as “Uncle Sam", and an important figure in the community,  dedicated his life to working with children after war. Her goal is to produce a graphic novel based on Profeta's Ladino testimony in the Fortunoff Archive. This will be the first time that a Greek survivor's testimony is used as the basis for a graphic novel in Greece.

The novel will be published in Ladino and Greek. Tsireli hopes this recounting of Profeta’s lifestory and work can have a profound social and pedagogical impact on present and future generations in Greece. The novel will also center the Ladino language as carrier of Sephardic Jewish culture.

Dr.  Tsireli’s professional accomplishments as an author, her academic background in Theology, Biblical Archaeology, Jewish history, and her knowledge of Ladino, will serve her well in this effort.