The results of a five-year research project into cultural material produced in the Mediterranean islands have been shared at a conference in Sydney by visiting Greek archaeologist Dr Anastasia Christophilopoulou.
The senior curator of the ancient Mediterranean at the University of Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum gave a lecture at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum on Thursday evening, based on a large project undertaken entitled ‘Being an Islander: Art and Identity of the large Mediterranean islands.
The conference, titled “Islands and Communities: Stories of Insularity and Maritime Heritage from the Mediterranean to the Great Ocean,” explained the project and its goals to clarify what defines island identities in the Mediterranean, using case studies from Crete, Cyprus and Sardinia. .
Dr Christophilopoulou revealed that this line of inquiry began around six years ago, initially with a much smaller group of researchers than it ultimately involved, with the aim of finding more information about the collections of objects they owned in Cambridge.
“In many university museums, including the one here in Sydney, the objects come from very old excavations,” the classical archaeologist said. Neos Cosmos.
“That means the way they were searched and the type of information you have about them is very limited. Sometimes you won’t even know where they came from, what we call in archeology its “place of discovery.”
Dr Christophilopoulou explained that as the project developed and they began to associate much of this material culture with places around the Mediterranean, they themselves began to question its value and its relevance today.
“We really wanted to understand why this is important for today’s challenges and investigations,” she said.
They designed themes to explain these objects, such as how they were made, what they meant to people, what kind of ritual and symbolic qualities they possess, what kind of ideas they can tell us about their ideologies, etc.
“This is how we ended up with a project that encompasses 4,000 years of history, because we asked these questions in ancient materials, but we also asked how/why they are relevant today,” a- she declared.
“It turned out to be very successful because we ended up seeing many groups and communities, including all the Greek and Cypriot diasporic communities, come forward and tell us that they wanted to be involved in this project. This was also what we wanted, for them to actively participate in our work.
She revealed in her speech that the five-year research project (2019-2023) culminated in a major exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum as well as a documentary titled ‘Being an Islander’ by Dr Christophilopoulou and Dimitrios Bouras.
This award-winning film was produced in 2021 to disseminate the core ideas of the project, with filming undertaken in Cambridge, Athens and on the island of Sifnos (which served as a research model) between July and November 2021.
It was launched in Greece on October 28, 2022 during a special event on the island of Sifnos, honoring the participation of community members who made it possible.
Dr. Christophilopoulou also mentioned that the exhibition features a virtual reality environment, recreating the distinctive Neolithic settlement site of Choirokoitia, in combination with the documentary to evolve the methods of presenting museum collections.
“We thought all of these questions and inquiries were part of our ongoing process of questioning what museums should be looking for and doing today,” she said.
“The method of displaying objects with a label or sign is a very old storytelling method that we still use today and, although it is effective, there are many different ways to engage people, including especially young people, with a museum collection. »
She explained that the pandemic has highlighted ways to move forward and adapt.
“The museums were closed, but did that mean their role had ended? The reality was no, but they had to reinvent themselves.
We can recreate a virtual exhibition and a virtual museum. You can tell the same type of stories as with your own exhibition, but include innovative methodologies.
One of the benefits of this change, Dr. Christophilopoulou said, is to make the experience of visiting an archaeological site more accessible.
“In many ways, these different methodologies also allow us to engage with people with disabilities, people with mental health conditions, people with issues that create barriers to their daily experience of a museum.
Speaking about the VR environment they created for the ‘Being an Islander’ project, the classical archaeologist said:
“We adapted this to a person sitting in a wheelchair and the experience was like walking around the neighborhood. You’re not just giving them access to the archaeological site, but you’re giving them an experience that goes beyond their disability and that was really important.
In addition to Sydney, Dr Christophilopoulou will also speak on this subject at the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne this Saturday at 10.30am.
The event is free but reservations are essential.
Further information can be found here.
