The historic building that made traditional handkerchiefs in Metaxourgeio is being turned into a museum

On track to convert to museum and cultural space is the historical building of the printing and dyeing workshop of the “Hellenic Handkerchief Craft (BEM)” in Metaxourgeio.

The Central Council of Newer Monuments gave a unanimous positive opinion on the restoration studies of the BEM building designated as a monument, and on the positioning of the functions of the versatile cultural space as a museum of printing and dyeing art and the production of BEM handkerchiefs and a textile handicraft center.

The procedures for the restoration of the BEM began in January 2021 with an autopsy by an echelon of the Ministry of Culture headed by Lina Mendoni. Followed by cleaning the building and the recording of the archival wealth of the workshop (plans, samples, prints), by the Directorate of Newer Cultural Heritage, while the necessary studies were then matured. At the same time, the investigation of collaborations and synergies of the BEM with other institutions of the modern culture, such as the Center for the Study of Modern Ceramics – Foundation of G. Psaropoulos, the Historical Folklore Museum of Larissa, for the production of new printed fabrics, and the Menti textile industry – annex now the Benaki Museum – in order to create the conditions for the development of the Handicrafts Center, which will be organically connected with the Museum of Modern Greek Culture and will cooperate closely with the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources. In December 2021, the Council of Museums of the YPPOA, gave a unanimous opinion on the building program, which provides for a permanent exhibition, archive space, administrative offices, craft workshops, multi-purpose spaces, periodical exhibition space, dining area and shop.

As the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, stated, “the restoration of the building, which housed a unique example, in the Greek area, of a printing and dyeing workshop of stamped traditional handkerchiefs with continuous operation for more than a hundred years, is on track for implementation. Consistent with our planning, we work systematically so that the building of the former Greek Handkerchief Industry, inextricably linked to the unique art of printed fabric, functions as an Annex of the Museum of Modern Greek Culture, in direct connection and synergy with its new museum facilities in Monastiraki, and to develop into a lively Handicraft Center, in the historic neighborhood of Metaxourgeio. By restoring and transforming it into a versatile cultural center, it can function as an essential intervention to revive the traditional printing and dyeing technique, in direct connection with modern artistic creation, modern industrial design, production and the sectors of the creative economy, contributing catalytically to the upgrade of the wider area”.
This particular study aims to restore the original characteristics of the building and highlight its character, turning it into a versatile cultural space.

Basic compositional elements in the architectural study are the preservation of the form and development of the wings with minimal functional interventions, the “open space” of the inner courtyard and the construction of a lighted space on the inner side of the building, where the machinery is located. The property is a complex of buildings that were built in different phases during the 20th century. The poor state of preservation of the complex is due to the lack of maintenance, for a long time, and mainly to the fact that these are constructions that were formed in various phases of the operation of the craft, with a poor structure and construction materials.
It is placed exhibition space for the history and development of the printing and dyeing art, the BEM workshop from the end of the 19th century to the last decades of the 20th century, archive/reception space for researchers. In wing B, with a total area of ​​608 sq.m. cloth craft workshops, periodical exhibitions and multiple activities, areas of functional uses of the complex, shop, reception area, multi-purpose room, screenings and periodical exhibitions, foyer, dining, leisure and viewing areas are located.
The building built around 1900 and housed the printing and dyeing workshop of the Oikonomopoulos Brothers, after the business was transferred from Syros, where it was founded in 1879. It is characterized as historical preserved monument together with the equipment and other movable objects. The building is a unique surviving sample of pre-industrial production of stamped headscarves, with authentic traditional designs from all over Greece, which were channeled in and out of Greece during the first half of the 20th century. After 1945, the BEM printing house applied the printing of its products with the silk-screen printing method.

The craftsmanship stopped working in the mid-1990s and the property became the property of the Greek State. From the craft’s mobile equipment are kept wooden stamps (stamps, forms) for the production of stamped handkerchiefs, screen printing matrices in crates, designs of traditional handkerchiefs, samples of designs as well as utensils, tools and raw materials for making dyes, samples of threads, handkerchiefs and packaging materials , paper material etc.

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