“Culture is an expensive project,” says Greek Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni. This is especially true for Greece, which has 6,000 years of built and artistic heritage.
“Those who, in previous governments, suggested that culture did not need a lot of money were wrong,” said the minister.
Greece’s ancient and Byzantine past constitutes a universal heritage and forms the heart of the national identity and its massive tourism industry.
Up to 35 million tourists visited Greece in 2022 after the last two years of global Covid lockdown.
“In 2022, Greece benefited from an incredible tourism boom, firstly thanks to diaspora Greeks who returned after the pandemic forced two years of border closures, and a sharp increase in the number of visitors non-Greek,” Mendoni explains.
The New Democracy government of which she is a part “believes that Greece is ready to welcome even more visitors”.
“Tourism and culture have systematically extended the tourist period beyond the summer and, to a large extent, there are now hotel reservations throughout Greece until the end of the year,” Mendoni explains. Neos Cosmos.
Culture at the forefront, from crises to renewal
The history of Greece since ancient times can be characterized by crisis and revival. After the financial crisis of 2010-2016, Athens emerged as a new center for contemporary and cutting-edge art. An activist response to economic collapse, past governments, and historic political dysfunction have all breathed new life into arts, culture, and a new startup ethos. The last two years of lockdowns and border closures linked to the Covid pandemic have also given a boost to new creativity and culture.
“The economic crisis and the pandemic crisis have been the catalysts for an explosion of very high quality contemporary creative developments,” explains Mendoni.
Mendoni believes that contemporary and heritage culture “needs a lot of support”.
“In the Greek institutional framework, it has been legislated that the State, through the Ministry of Culture, has the primary responsibility to protect, maintain and promote Greece’s vast cultural heritage,” the minister underlines.
“My ministry mainly deals with the preservation of Greek cultural heritage.”
Some actors in the Greek contemporary art scene (mainly in Athens) see a tension between contemporary culture and heritage culture when it comes to funding. It is not difficult to understand that the cost of maintaining Greek heritage is exponential. New archaeological discoveries surface regularly and maintaining existing sites is both costly and necessary.
However, Minister Mendoni sees no tension between support for heritage and contemporary arts.
“The government facilitates the conditions of support and financing allowing contemporary artists to express themselves freely and present their works, in Greece and internationally.”
“The export of contemporary Greek culture and arts, outside the borders of Greece, is something we want and promote, but it also comes with a significant cost. »
For Mendoni, heritage and contemporary culture need support “beyond what the State provides and the programs of the European Union”.
“There must be a series of synergies with the various foundations of the private philanthropic sector and for these institutions to partner with the State in the case of Greek cultural heritage, as well as with the expressions of contemporary Greek culture, in the different areas. such as theater, cinema, dance, music, etc.
Philanthropic institutions such as the Onassis Foundation, Benaki Museums and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation have intervened in the space to support the contemporary and often in partnership with the state.
Mendoni is clear that the state must be “independent in its support of contemporary art”.
“We do not impose any kind of restrictions on contemporary artists; nor are we responsible for the conservation or presentation of contemporary arts, as in the case of our cultural heritage, ancient and Byzantine civilization. The responsibilities we have as the Ministry of Culture are immense.
A quick shopping trip on Athens’ Ermou Street might find you walking into a fashionable clothing store and discovering that you’re standing on a thick glass floor overlooking the remains of a Mycenaean village dating back from 750 BC. Just 200 meters away you’ll find a new Byzantine church dating back to the 1600s, and a little further down the street the 2000-year-old Keramikos Market is next door. In less than three square kilometers, more than 5,000 years of civilization rub shoulders with the hustle and bustle of modern Athens.
Ancient cities, theaters and other examples of Greece’s ancient past are discovered almost daily.
Hellenes – the endless diaspora
Hellenic civilization extended beyond the Greek state. Rooted in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), we extend to the Indus (Pakistan and India) in the form of the Indo-Hellenic Empire, ancient Pontos on the Black Sea (Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia) and across the Middle East.
“There are scientific research teams from our universities and the ministry working with their peers in Lebanon, the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Israel and elsewhere. There are archaeological missions in which the Greeks play a role and the ministry invests financially. to support these missions.
Earlier this year, Mendoni led a National Archaeological Museum exhibition at the Victoria Museum titled Open Horizons: Ancient Greek Travels and Connections, which linked the ancient and continuing diasporic journeys of the Greeks from the Black Sea to Egypt and the 20th century, Australia. The project was a collaboration between the Victorian and Greek governments, the Greek community of Melbourne, the Victorian Museum and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
The Minister of Culture is keen to create more links between Greece and its diaspora.
She was impressed by the collaboration with Museum Victoria and believes the exhibition is of major importance.
“Our exhibition at Museum Victoria was of particular importance to us, it confirmed the love and passion for Hellenic civilization, not only among the diaspora but also among the general Australian public.”
Link between tourism and culture
Greek tourism and culture are closely linked, says Mendoni.
“Tourism is linked to culture and civilization and, under my leadership, we now have ancient sites and museums open for longer – so that visitors can visit the sites without time constraints. »
Mendoni’s mission is to see more archaeological sites and museums “open longer and accessible to people over 65 and those with reduced mobility.”
“We are aware of the silver economy, as well as that of our citizens and visitors with mobility problems. »
“I have been heartened to know young couples, with young children in strollers, who have visited the Acropolis thanks to the new elevators and special paths we have built, as well as for visitors with reduced mobility.”
Greece’s digital transformation is moving forward at breakneck speed. The minister advocates digital ticketing at all archaeological sites, “which means that visitors do not have to wait to buy a ticket on site”.
Mendoni is more than a minister, his academic degrees are Classical Philology and History and Archeology from the University of Athens. She then completed a pre-doctoral course at the Maison de l’Orient in Lyon and subsequently obtained her doctorate in archeology with distinction from the University of Athens. As if that were not enough, she received a scholarship from the British Archaeological School in Athens for postdoctoral study in ancient Greek onomastics at Oxford and still holds a senior research position at the Institute of Historical Research. Hellenic national. Foundation.
Cultural bridges between Australia and Greece
Australia’s First Nations art was a revelation for the Minister of Culture. Mendoni is now committed to showcasing the work of indigenous artists in Greece.
“I want to have First Nations art in Greece. I was overwhelmed by its power and beauty, as well as how it seems to have a visual relationship with ancient Mycenaean art. I felt the depth of the First Nations and its impact on contemporary forms.
Minister Mendoni is committed to seeing Greek civilization – ancient and Byzantine – represented across Australia.
“Greek Civilization is not just for the diaspora, but for all Australians who love not only ancient and contemporary Greece. »
The minister highlights the “stable working relationship with Melbourne museums”. When she was in Melbourne earlier this year, she entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Victorian government, and her department is now preparing the project.
“There have also been discussions with our Australian peers about the exchange of contemporary culture,” adds Mendoni.
Mendoni is acutely aware that Greek cultural heritage is at the center of the nation’s soft power. The cultural bridge can be used to connect Greece with its neighbors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, as well as North America and Australia.
The relationships it has forged through culture with the Greek diaspora are of crucial importance to the nation as it navigates its future in the often tumultuous geopolitical waters of the Eastern Mediterranean.
