Manthos Santorineos

Dr. Manthos Santorineos (Athens Greece 1954)
Digital media artist - researcher
Emeritus professor at Athens School of Fine Arts
Director of FournosLab
Co-founder of the Fournos Multivalent Communication Network (1993) and the Mediaterra festival (1999)
Manthos Santorineos, digital artist and researcher, has been found, studied and collaborated in spaces that contributed to the development of the field that we now call digital art, from the beginning of the formation of this space, in the 80s until today (Paris 8 University, “Department Art et technologie des images” ATI, CICV, in France, Department of Art and Technology at the Ileana Tounta Center, Center for Digital Culture Fournos, Mediaterra Festival in Athens - in the venues of Athens he was a co-founder). His adventure starts from the analog-electronic image of Video Art and reaches the modern XR (extended reality) environments.

Manthos Santorineos studied in Paris at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, earning a diploma in visual arts in 1979. He pursued postgraduate studies (Maîtrise) at the University of Paris 8, focusing on “The Position of the Artist in Society in Relation to Technological Development” in 1983, and completed a PhD in the Department of Art and Image Technologies (ATI) with the research topic “An Approach to the Field of Research and Art in the Digital Age, through the Study of Artificial Systems of Human Memory Organization” in 2006.
From the beginning of his career, he has been involved in the intersection of art, scientific knowledge, and technology, creating conditions for an ideal coexistence of these fields.
Since 1984, he has actively promoted digital culture through various initiatives. In Greece, he pioneered the spread of digital civilization by founding specialized spaces, based on his model concept of “The artist's laboratory in the digital age” (Santorineos 1986) such as the Art and Technology Department at the Ileana Tounta Center for Contemporary Art (1987), the Fournos Multivalent Communication Network (1993), and the Mediaterra International Festival and Conference (1999-2007).
He has also had an intense academic and research career as a professor, including the creation and direction of the Multimedia/Hypermedia Laboratory (undergraduate course) at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2000), and the co-founding and co-direction of the Greek French Master’s Course “Art, Virtual Reality, and Multi-User Systems of Artistic Expression” (Athens School of Fine Arts and Paris-8 University, 2012 - 2020).
This interdisciplinary master’s program was the result of six years of research and experimentation between the two institutions, particularly through the Delphus project workshops at the Athens Fine Arts Laboratory in the historical city of Delphi.
For his contributions in Greece and France, he was honored by the French Republic with the “Ordre des Palmes Académiques” in 2013.
His practice is characterized by his engagement with the evolution of media. He has directed films and TV shows (1985-95). His early works are video art and multimedia projects, while his later works focus on interactive installations, virtual and augmented reality, and net-based projects. These projects have been presented at festivals, museums, and art centers in Greece and abroad.
His artistic work explores the relationship between humans and nature through technology, the concept of memory, and the search for a new synthesis in life and art.
Ιn 2020, after concluding his career as a professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts and receiving the title of emeritus professor, he established the research laboratory Fournos Lab within the Multivalent Communication Network Fournos.
As of 2024, Fournos Lab has achieved several milestones, including creating two major extended media exhibitions at the historic Alphaville cinema. These exhibitions address contemporary issues in digital culture. (AI or the New Alphaville and Inside the Image) Additionally, the lab has published a book with a specific focus on Artificial Intelligence.
Fournos Lab’s primary objectives involve researching and developing projects related to interactive storytelling using cutting-edge human-machine communication technologies. The lab also explores the impact of modern automation, robotics, and information technology on society. Ultimately, it aims to propose actions that contribute to a better future.
The lab’s output includes theoretical texts, artistic works, educational tools, and practical initiatives.