By occupying the role and position of a female artist, I responded to the exhibition “Fulbright POLYMORPHIA,” where Fulbright Alumni Artists were invited to create work in support of the Fulbright Foundation.

I am interested in the way institutions operate and the language that is being created and performed for them or in them. Is there a way, while existing in them, to create and be in such ways where you can create more opportunities, diversity, and accessibility for people?

Certificate of Appreciation was an interactive piece. I installed a white desk in the middle of the gallery, where I created my temporary office. On the desk, there was the brass desk label with my name and occupation (Angeliki Chaido Tsoli - Artist), the pile of the certificates, a pen, colored pastels, and a red rose in a ceramic vase.

Dressed in a suit, I sat at the desk during gallery open hours, engaging in conversations with visitors. I was selling the “Certificates of Appreciation” as unique art objects. Whoever was interested was able to purchase a personalized, named certificate signed by me, the artist. They also had the option to choose the color of the pastel I would use to sign the document.

All the funds from the sales went to the Fulbright Scholarship program. As Greece has faced tremendous and devastating financial austerity measures, I wanted to create a site-specific response to this exhibition.