The City Museum will host two periodic exhibitions with the cooperation of the city’s cultural institutions and the grant of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, entitled: “Meta-movement II. Representations on the occasion of the Asia Minor refugees in Volos” and “FROM THE HOMELAND: Documents and memories”.
Volos was the city that received the largest number of Asia Minor refugees in Thessaly and Central Greece in general. The refugees settled in Volos and, making up about a quarter of the population, contributed drastically to shaping its character.
Their presence was a catalyst in all areas of the city’s operation: economy, trade, industry, infrastructure, sports, culture, even in the culinary wealth of the region, with the well-known throughout Greece image of the Volio tsipouradis.
The general contribution of refugees to the development and evolution of the city has been a constant point of reference for the Museum of the City of Volos, since the first day of its operation with the large exhibition “Volos – Nea Ionia: so far so close”. This was followed by the realization of a large number of periodical exhibitions and events of Asia Minor content and the continuous cooperation with the local Asia Minor associations. An important part of the material gathered from these actions and collaborations is included in last year’s publication “Memories of Refugees: The Asia Minor refugees in Volos”, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
In 2022 and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor disaster, the City Museum will host two periodic exhibitions with the cooperation of the city’s cultural institutions and the grant of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, entitled: “Meta-movement II. Representations on the occasion of the Asia Minor refugees in Volos” and “FROM THE HOMELAND: Documents and memories”
The exhibition “Meta-movement II. Representations on the occasion of the Asia Minor refugees in Volos” is a visual approach to the 100 years since the Asia Minor disaster and the settlement of thousands of refugees in the city of Volos. It takes place with the cooperation of the Directorate of Archives, Museums and Libraries of DOEPAP – DIPETHE of the Municipality of Volos and the Art Association of Volos and its operation at the Museum of the City of Volos begins on Friday, September 9 at 8:00 p.m.
21 visual artists participate in the exhibition, dealing with issues related to the violence experienced by the Hellenism of Asia Minor, the role of the allies in this conflict, the violation of human rights, the psychological upheavals that were caused, the difficulties of the transition to the new homeland, the urban environment that welcomed them.
The title meta-movement with the two compounds, the first in Latin and the second in Greek, wants to identify mobility in all its manifestations, but also the late movement of the present, the research of visual arts, the evaluation and interaction with what came before.
Sources of research and inspiration were the history of the place, which is presented in the permanent exhibition of the City Museum, the oral testimonies of ancestors and the vivid photographic depictions of events and people.
The visual works vary in form, techniques and materials and constitute a cultural “journey” of memory, which connects the city’s past with modern reality. After all, the issue of war and refugees continues to plague humanity with incredible intensity and the danger of becoming familiar with it these days seems greater than ever.
The exhibition is accompanied by an elegant 48-page catalog with photographs of the works, texts by the creators themselves for each, as well as short biographies of the participating artists.
Their works are exhibited by the artists: Lila Agrafioti, Giorgos Ananiadis, Arkoudogiannis Eurydikis, Gutenswager Errika, Giakmoglidou Nektaria, Olga – Maria, Kamosou Elpiniki, Kassaveti Katerina, Kafida Ioanna, Kratidis Anastasios, Vanda Mavroidis, Nikolo Vivis, Klio Papaioannou, Podias Anna, Nikos, Priovolou Voula, Teka Antigoni, Terlidou Ioanna, Samara Katerina, Hatzitheodorou Elena and Hatjinikolou Maria Andromachi.
The exhibition will last until November 6, allowing, in addition to its presentation to as many visitors as possible, the expansion of the Museum’s educational activities on the themes of the city and immigration.
The exhibition “FROM THE HOMELAND: Evidence and memories”, which presents authentic evidence from life in Asia Minor and oral testimonies of first and second generation refugees, will be held at the Museum of the City of Volos between December 9, 2022 and March 26, 2023.
It is another derivative of the long-term and close cooperation of the Directorate of Archives, Museums and Libraries of DOEPAP – DIPETHE of the Municipality of Volos with the local associations of Asia Minors Cultural Center of Asia Minors of Nea Ionia Magnesia “IONES”, Cultural Association of Asia Minors of Ionia Magnesia Province “To Englezonisi” and the Association of Cappadocians of Magnesia.
Volos functioned as a place of urban resettlement for refugees, as well as in three main residential cores on the outskirts of the city, in the neighborhoods of Iolkos, Old Port Authority and Nea Ionia. some 14,000 refugees settled in, unexpectedly increasing the city’s population by 30%. More than 80% of the refugees were Asia Minor, many of whom were pushed there after a short stopover in the northern Aegean islands, Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
Forcefully uprooted from their place, those who could brought little with them, hoping for years that they would one day return, which never happened. However, the oral testimonies of the grandparents of the first generation of refugees, who tirelessly talked about the homeland and life there, were handed down to their family and collective memory.
The 100-year anniversary of the Asia Minor disaster is an occasion, but also an opportunity to collect what has still been saved from the intangible and material cultural heritage of the first generation of refugees.
With this purpose, targeted contacts are made to gather evidence that the refugees brought with them from the homeland, such as original photographs, clothes, accessories, sequins, embroideries, pictures, gospels, jewelry, amulets, tamas, items of daily use, identity certificates, professional tools, toys, decorative items, coins – banknotes, small furniture.
At the same time, there is a gathering of oral testimonies from the refugees of the next generations related to their family, the memories that have been handed down from generation to generation about the history of the family, the daily life in their place of origin, as well as the journey to Volos, the new homeland.
Information
MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF VOLOS
17 Feron, Palia
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10.30 – 13.30 and Wednesday & Friday afternoons 18.00 – 21.00
Monday closed.
Tel. 2421029878, mail: [email protected], website: http://www.vmoc.gr/
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