This is a very serious subject that requires a lot of research, archives, insight and time. Here, for the moment, I can only give a glimpse of my approach to this vast subject, a very subjective approach, since I am involved personally in this very subject.

Basically, I am an Agnabia, a stranger, as my Greek name Polyxene implies. I was born and raised in Alexandria of Egypt, in the end of its cosmopolitan era. Αs I was growing, my Hellenistic country was getting dispersed around the whole world, leaving me with a sense of constant nostalgia for Alexandria-lost; a birthplace which I now retrieve in the contemporary planetary dimension.

IADIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE WEB BASED COMMUNITIES 2007 - ISBN: 978-972-8924-31-7 http://www.iadis.org/confman_wbc2007/accepted.asp  

(abstract*)This study reports on the feedback taken with a questionnaire from artists who are members of a Virtual Community (VC) for the contemporary arts industry. The web portal (www.contemporaryart.gr),  which this paper discusses, provides a unique service by bringing artists, general public, customers, galleries and collectors together online for the promotion of contemporary art. It supports the newly created society of “Independent Artists Network in Action” and envisions creating a global forum for the contemporary arts online and offline, by offering new boundless possibilities for artistic expression, communication, autonomy and promotion of the artists and their artwork. The results indicate that the study sample is aware of all the characteristics that transform a simple gathering of people into a VC, focusing on information exchange, socialising and helping others. The results of this study may be useful for practitioners and researchers designing VCs in arts.

*for a full version of this paper please contact the author (Gregory Petropoulos) at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it