Athens is a vibrant city, living and breathing arts and culture! Home to some world renown museums, Athens has a reason to celebrate International Museums day on May 18th with a number of events hosted in local museums and free admission to cultural sites-public museums!
Put on your favorite What Athens! t-shirt featuring Athens city map, your smile, comfortable shoes and get ready for an International Museums Day to remember!
Check out a few highlights :
NATIONAL ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The National Archeological Museum (NAM), celebrating its 150-year anniversary, has a special place in this year’s festivities as the honored museum chosen by ICOM. To celebrate, there will be events held in the museum from May 16 through to May 22, with the highlight on May 18 through a theatrical reading of the 24 rhapsodies of Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Dimitris Maronitis and directed by Nikos Hatzopoulos at “Vomos”, the museum’s main hall. Amid ancient artifacts, the spirit of a marathon Homeric voyage will be conveyed, through acting and musical accompaniment, from 10:00-24:00, in collaboration with the National Theater. A brief interruption to the event from 18:00-20:30 for speeches by NAM’s charismatic Director Maria Lagogianni and archeologist Petros Themelis, culminating with a concert by the ERT National Orchestra in the presence of Culture Minister Aristidis Baltas.
Apart from events on Museum Day, there will be a presentation on how technology is being used for the preservation of antiquities (12:00-12:30 on May 20), and a guided tour around the impressive buildings surrounding the museum by architect/archeologist Panagiotis Tournikiotis (12:00-14:00 on May 22).
INFO: 44 Patission Street, Exarcheia | Tel. (+30) 213.214.4891 }
ACROPOLIS MUSEUM
At the foot of the Acropolis, the impressive museum turns its gaze to the Parthenon sculptures with a new video featured at the atrium of the Parthenon Gallery. Archeologists will meet with visitors with talks, titled “The history of the Parthenon Sculptures in recent years”, in English at 10:00 and Greek at 12:00, 17:00 and 19:00 on May 18. On the same day, children up to 12 years can join in the stories, games and art activities to learn about the relationship of ancient people with felines and lions in the workshop “Tracing the Lion” (in Greek and English).
INFO: 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens • Tel. (+30) 210.900.0900. Access: Akropolis Metro Station }
BYZANTINE AND CHRISTIAN MUSEUM
The Byzantine and Christian Museum comprises 25,000 artifacts from different parts of Greece, Asia Minor and the Balkans The Byzantine and Christian Museum comprises 25,000 artifacts from different parts of Greece, Asia Minor and the Balkans.Visitors will be treated with a walk through Villa Ilissia where the museum is housed beginning from the bright stillness of its enclosed courtyard to the inner store rooms that people aren’t usually privy to.
One of the loveliest buildings in Athens, it was built by Sophie de Marbois-Lebrun, known as the Duchess of Plakentia. She commissioned her favorite architect Stamatis Kleanthis to construct the building that was to be her winter palace in 1837 when she decided to settle permanently in the city, following the untimely death of her daughter. The story of the intriguing lady and the exquisite building will be detailed at 12:00 and 18:00 on May 18 and 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00 on May 22.
INFO: 22 Vas. Sofias Street • Tel. (+30) 213.213.9500}
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
To appreciate the full potential of this museum and all that it can become, a sneak peak is being offered through a performance, titled Lagune, by the Flux Laboratory of Switzerland. Takes place 20:00 on May 19.Reservations needed.
INFO: Flanked by Frantzi Street and Kalliroe and Syngrou avenues. Access: Fix Metro Station. • Tel. (+30) 210.924.2111}