International Museum Day is coming up this Sunday
Free entrance to all museums, guided tours and workshops are some of the activities offered by museums this Sunday in celebration of International Museum Day. May 18 was first established as International Museum Day in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The Greek branch of ICOM, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has decided upon the Benaki Museum as this year’s honored museum, but events will also take place at the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, the Numismatic Museum and the Museum of Greek Children’s Art, among others. The theme of this year’s celebrations is «Museums and their Friends.» The Benaki Museum (1 Koubari, Kolonaki) is hosting a round-table discussion on museums and their «Friends» organizations on Sunday at 7.30 p.m. with Angelos Delivorias, director of the Benaki Museum, and representatives of «Friends» of other museums. Guided tours of the museum’s exhibition halls and a concert will take place after the discussion. The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum (12 Kallisperi, Acropolis) has planned guided tours of its permanent exhibitions on Sunday, as well as video projections related to jewelry. Two workshops, one on pearls and the other on jewelry design, are to be held Sunday morning and afternoon and a children’s play will also be performed. Visitors can also learn more about the volunteers program run by the museum. The Numismatic Museum (12 Panepistimiou) has decided to hold its events tomorrow instead of Sunday. Museum personnel will give guided tours of its permanent collections and the building itself, which was the former residence of German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, best known for his excavations of Troy and Mycenae. The museum’s garden will host various activities related to the minting and conservation of coins, as well as on the conservation of the museum’s wall frescoes. Commemorative coins will be issued in a revival of the ancient method of minting and actor Manolis Mavromatakis will recite extracts from Emil Ludwig’s biography of Schliemann. Activities start at 10.30 a.m. and will run to 2 p.m. Finally, the Museum of Greek Children’s Art (14 Kydathinaion, Plaka) will host special workshops on Sunday in which children will be introduced to some of the museum’s collections and take part in a discussion. They can then create their own group collections by deciding on a theme and constructing the exhibits. The workshops start at 11 a.m., last 45 minutes, and will be repeated every hour. Admission to all museums throughout Greece will be free on Sunday.
