The ancient Greek civilisation and its contribution to the world for thousands of years was celebrated at the official opening of the exhibition Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys, that took place at the Melbourne Museum on Thursday.
Amongst those who addressed the audience were Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Archbishop Makarios, Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, Victorian Minister of Culture, Danny Pearson, archaeologist and Director of the National Archaeological Museum Dr. Anna-Vassiliki Karapanagiotou and Director of the Melbourne Museum, Lunley Croswell.
They all agreed that the exhibition -a result of the collaboration between the Archeological Museum in Greece and Melbourne Museum- was exceptional and highlighted “the unique gifts” of Greece to humanity.
Daniel Andrews noted once again, that “We are all, more or less Greek” and “Melbourne is one of the great centres, internationally, of Hellenism.”
With Victoria being home to the third largest Greek population outside of Greece, Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Journeys aspires to offer Melbourne’s lovers of history and the generations of Greeks living here, the opportunity to see 44 treasures of the Ancient world, from the Early Bronze age through to the Roman period; artefacts that have never before left Greece.
The exhibition explores trade, spirituality and art in the Eastern Mediterranean cauldron, and aspires to show how crucial ancient Greece has been to humanity’s development.
Paving the way for future cultural collaborations between Greece and Australia
The Greek Minister of Culture & Sports, Lina Mendoni, who travelled to Australia to be present for the inauguration of the exhibition, also held meetings to pave the way for future cultural collaborations between the two countries, but also to advocate for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece.
During a meeting with the Victorian Minister of Creative Industries, Danny Pearson, they agreed that the issue of strengthening cultural exchanges between Greece and Australia was a priority, with the latter also stating that he wanted to see the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece.
The two Ministers will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Culture & Sport and the Victorian Government on the above issues, including specific provisions for actions to promote the concept of democracy.
Whilst in Sydney, earlier in the week, the Greek minister met with representatives of two of Australia’s national committees who support the repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures from Britain to Greece: The Australian Parthenon Association’s President, David Hill, and its Vice-President George Vardas, as well as Emmanuel Comino, President of the International Organising Committee – Australia for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles. During these meetings Ms Mendoni thanked them for their support and briefed them extensively on recent developments, regarding UNESCO’s important decision in favour of Greece’s request, and the meeting with Committees from around the world, planned in Athens in September, in order to coordinate them in joint lobbying actions to convince the British side.
Lina Mendonis received a warm welcome from the Greek community
The day before the opening of the “Open Horizons” exhibition, hundreds of Greek Australians attended the event held in honour of the Minister of Culture & Sport at the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, which was organised by the Consul General Manolis Kakavelakis.
Addressing those present, Lina Mendoni stressed the importance of promoting the Greek culture through collaborations such as the Open Horizons exhibition in Melbourne, and how important it is to make sure that the new generations maintain their ties with Greece and the Greek language.
The Greek Minister was also welcomed at the Greek Centre that day, by the members of the board of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM).
GCM president Bill Papastergiadis led Dr Mendoni on a tour of the centre and told her of plans following two years of lockdown, stating that “Language and culture are the backbone of the GCM’s core activities and it is important to bring to Australia artists and academics from Greece. But it is very important to discuss further opportunities that could be explored by community groups in Australia and the Ministry of Culture.”
On her part, Dr Mendoni promised to announce very soon, some very exciting projects, as they are looking forward to working closely with the Greek Community of Melbourne.
