For a burning flame. Antiquities and Memory, Thessaloniki – Macedonia [1821-2021] Exhibition at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki Quarter
The periodic report For a burning flame. Antiquities and Memory, Thessaloniki – Macedonia [1821-2021] was inaugurated on July 15, 2021 and is the participation of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the most important milestone in modern Greek history, the outbreak of the struggle for national independence.
Almost 100 years pass from 1821 to 1912, when Macedonia is integrated into the independent Greek state. A century of anticipation, where the flame of the uprising becomes a flame that continues to burn for years for the Greeks everywhere. The exhibition attempts to illuminate this important but relatively unknown page of Greek history, focusing on the role of antiquities as a material being and a spiritual legacy in the formation of collective memory.
Antiquities, collectors’ works, relics and archival material are presented together with textual sources, visual and audio material, in an exhibition narrative that includes the years of the Revolution, but also the years before and after it, in the great historical route of Thessaloniki.
The 117 objects of the exhibition are intertwined with the personal stories of anonymous and anonymous, reflecting the events, ideologies and spirit of the time and try to answer a series of questions:
– What changes mark the transformation of Thessaloniki after the Ottoman conquest?
– How did its walls preserve them, and then reveal the mnemonic traces of its turbulent history?
– How did travelers and travelers see in Levante Thessaloniki its ancient Greek monuments?
– What role did the antiquities play in the pre-revolutionary processes and the liberation visions of the Macedonian area?
– What is the fate of the revolutionary movements and the fighters of the Macedonian space?
– What is the action of the Greek community in the years of anticipation for liberation?
– The museum experience is enriched by the development of a separate section entitled With their own voice, which runs through the entire exhibition with the logic of short stories. These are audio files, representative of each exhibition unit, which through small excerpts of testimonies of people of the time, convey the atmosphere and aroma of history.
The celebration of the anniversary gives the opportunity to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki to organize an exhibition that helps us to reflect the history of the city through the adventures of its monuments and the collective memory.
The organizations and collectors that participate by borrowing objects in the realization of the exhibition are the following:
National Archaeological Museum, National History Museum, George Konstantinidis Collection (historical family archive), Costas Stamatis Collection (engravings), Vassilis Nikoltsiou Collection (historical war relics). Many other organizations and collectors have given permission for the use of optical material.
Along with the exhibits, a short 7-minute film is shown that transmits through the image, the narration and the audio environment the atmosphere and the messages of the exhibition.
During the exhibition, in collaboration with the Cartographic Heritage Archive (General Archives of the State-Historical Archive of Macedonia), the educational program entitled A map, a coin, a story for freedom was launched. The Map of Greece by Rigas Velestinlis turns into a board game for students of 5th – 6th grade, offering an imaginary journey to the places and people who inspired the Revolution. Children are asked to follow paths, observe symbols, play with coins, comment and tell their own stories.
Information
The exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual catalog in Greek and English, which will be published.
Exposure duration: 1July 5, 2021 – 17 July 2022
Days & Opening Hours: November 2021- March 2022: 9:00 to 16:00 | April 2022 – July 2022: 8:00 to 20:00
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Manoli Andronikou 6 Google Map access directions
Ticket prices: in detail here
Health protocols:
– Upon entering the Museum you must display valid vaccination certificate, or disease certificate and
police ID or driver’s license or passport or other proof for the required control identity. Minors from 4 to 17 years old can, alternatively, submit a statement of negative self-test (self-test) of the last 24 hours.
– Keeping distances of one and a half (1.5) meters between people. One (1) person per 2 sq.m.
– Mandatory use of protective mask in all indoor and outdoor areas.
– Group tours are allowed. When visiting groups with a guide, the distances and the prescribed measures should be strictly observed, the use of wireless tour should be used and the use of common devices (tablets, headphones, etc.) should be avoided.
– Visits groups of up to 30 people, according to the operating regulations of the Museum, and only after a timely telephone consultation (2313310301).