International Museum Day Celebrations: Exploring Museums, Sustainability, and Well-Being in Greece

n May 18, International Museum Day celebrates the theme of "Museums, Sustainability, and Well-Being."

Museums all over the country are opening their doors with free entrance and organizing special events to allow the public to get acquainted with their work, enjoy their collections, and learn new and exciting things about the country’s history and culture. It’s an opportunity to initiate youngsters into the joys of museums and much more. The Goulandris Museum hosts special tours and workshops for young children and teens. They are also hosting a concert with the De Profundis string ensemble. Atopos focuses on environmental conservation and offers an artist-in-residence program featuring Lily Consuelo Saporta Tagiuri and botanist/food scientist Manos Bazanis. They are holding a tasting with edible plants that grow in water-scarce environments and providing a hands-on introduction to starting your seed library.

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens presents “Poetry, Language, and Revolution” with a poetic recitation of the “Dialogue” of Dionysios Solomos. The National Gallery is organizing a tour of its garden with the experts who designed it. The National Archaeological Museum is interested in the climate crisis and its potential contribution to major natural disasters in the prehistoric Aegean.

The Foundation of the Hellenic World dedicates the day to Darwin. This is just a fraction of the great things planned for International Museum Day. It’s also a stellar opportunity to explore the lesser-known archaeological museums scattered across the country.

The full program of events in Greece, organized by the local branch of the International Council of Museums, is available on its website. Unfortunately, the information is only available in Greek, but it provides a comprehensive overview of the activities happening on this special day.