Greece Marks International Museum Day with Free Admission, Events

View of the sculptural adornment of the east side of the Parthenon (pediment, metopes, frieze), Photo Source: Acropolis Museum

Museums across Greece celebrate International Museum Day on Thursday (May 18) with free admission and events in efforts to raise awareness about their importance as a means of cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

An initiative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Museum Day is celebrated every year worldwide with more than 35,000 museums in some 145 countries participating in the event for a day, a weekend or a whole week. The Thisseio-based Greek branch of the ICOM was founded in 1983 and has over 500 members.

This year’s theme is: “Museums and Contested Histories: Saying the Unspeakable in Museums”.

Honored Museum for 2017: Municipal Museum of the Kalavrita Holocaust

On the occasion of International Museum Day 2017, the Greek branch of ICOM this year will honor the Municipal Museum of the Kalavrita Holocaust and hold a special event in its courtyard on Friday, May 19, at 7pm.

The museum was founded in 1986 and is housed in the primary school of the city, a listed building constructed in 1906 by a donation of the Greek benefactor Andreas Sygros. The Museum constitutes the main symbol of the city and safeguards a large number of documents and artefacts, associated with the events of the Holocaust of December 13, 1943, in Kalavrita, chronicling the lives and destinies of the locals.

Museum-hopping in Athens

Benaki Museum, Athens

With Athens collecting rave reviews for its diverse museums, International Museum Day will be an ideal time to visit each one. Indicatively, the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) made it into The Guardian’s list of Top 10 new museum openings around the world in 2017.

The multi-awarded Acropolis Museum  and the Benaki Museum in Athens were among the world’s 41 most incredible museums to visit before you die, according to the The Telegraph.

Events marking museum day on May 18 include workshops, lectures, video screenings, kiddies interactive happenings and themed tours.

For a complete list of all the museums in Greece, press here.