The exhibits come from the collections of the Benaki Museum – one of the three museums that received relics of the communities during their relocation to the Greek area.
The exhibition “Asia Minor: Brilliance · Destruction · Uprooting · Creation” opened tonight at the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street and will be open to the public from tomorrow.
The exhibition is co-organized with the Center for Asia Minor Studies, one of the most important scientific institutions for researching the history and culture of Asia Minor, which hosts the unique Oral History Archive compiled based on the testimonies of more than 5,000 first-generation expatriates from Asia Minor.
This grandiose exhibition for the centenary of the Asia Minor Disasterencompasses the before and after of the Catastrophe and the drama, attempting to synthesize the life of Asia Minor Hellenism before the end of its glamor and brilliance, as well as its arrival in Greece after the uprooting, and the struggle of its gradual integration into the new homeland.
The journey through the chronicle of Hellenism in Asia Minor is divided in three sections: It starts from the western coast of Ionia with a focus on cosmopolitan Smyrna, but also Ayvali, Vourla and so many other famous Greek communities, urban and rural. The transition to this first section is made with a symbolic bridge, where the names of the donors of the exhibition and an animation from postcards of the time, to begin to unfold the wealth of exhibits and documents.
An urban house of Ionia, with portraits of the tenants and their personal belongings, works of art – the Aivalio captain of Kontoglou – manuscripts and testimonies of Seferis and Venezis, paintings by Sikiliotis and so many other great Asia Minors, declare their presence. The atmospheric exhibition is enriched with views of cities, streets and houses, documents from famous schools, photographs from graduating classes.
Next is Cappadocia with its shocking relief landscape and churches, the southern provinces with their elaborate official costumes, the Karamanlid icons, the unique relics, the famous carpets from Sparta of Pissidia. We cross the Pontus, through Trebizond, monasteries and churches, we pass through Kiutachia and the pottery workshops in Bithynia and so many more famous communities. Then we travel to Constantinople, the beacon city of Hellenism, through the Patriarchate and education. The journey of the first unit ends at the great crossroads, Eastern Thrace.
The second section focuses on in the events of the period between 1908 and 1922. Military uniforms, armaments, the flag of the Port Authority of Smyrna, war documents, photographic and film material, maps, pictorial documents, bring to life the period at the beginning of the 20th century, with top events the change of regime and the Greek deputies in the Ottoman Parliament, the first persecutions, the end of World War I and the conditions that followed, the landing in Smyrna and the period of Greek administration, Greek Thrace and at the same time the period of the Asia Minor Campaign until its tragic end. And then, the settlement in Greece, the struggle for survival and integration, the great contribution of the Asia Minors to the development of Greece.
The third section includes the chronicle of the settlement of the expatriate Asia Minors and presents the exhibits in specially designed scenes of the refugees: photos from the reception, scenes of daily life, the difficulties, state welfare, help from the West, the management of the exchange of populations, the work of the Refugee Resettlement Committee, the refugee settlements and refugee slums from all over Greece, refugee associations and clubs, the role of sports, arts and letters, rebetiko. The presence of Asia Minor Hellenism in all aspects of Greek society.
The journey through the chronicles of Hellenism in Asia Minor comes to life through 1,100 exhibits and over 500 photographs. And indeed, as the curator of the art historian exhibition, Evita Arapoglou, said “every part of the exhibition, every display case, could be a topic for a separate exhibition”.
The exhibits come from the collections of the Benaki Museum – one of the three museums that received relics of the communities during their relocation to the Greek area.
The historical archives of the museum save important testimonies from the course of the Asia Minor Campaign and the settlement of the refugees, while exhibits of the Ghika Gallery document the contribution of Asia Minor to the civilization of the 20th century.
88 holy metropolises, museums, archives, bodies, institutions, companies and sports clubs, custodians of the history and culture of Asia Minor Hellenism, as well as 93 individuals, who contribute treasures from their personal collections and archives, are lending objects and documents to the exhibition. .
The preparation and research of the exhibition began in the fall of 2018 and is curated by Evita Arapoglou (vice-president of the Center for Asia Minor Studies, member of the Board of the Benaki Museum) in close collaboration with the director of the Center for Asia Minor Studies, academic Paschalis Kitromilidis, and the researchers of the Center, the scientific director of the Benaki Museum, Giorgis Maggini, and the curators of the museum, as well as many more scientific collaborators
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
