Rare artifacts from our folk tradition, usable and decorative, objects that are connected with jobs and habits that have almost disappeared or have changed in character with the passing of the years and the changing conditions, all are displayed every year, from July 15 to September 15 in a small traditional house in the “heart” of Artemonas, one of the most picturesque villages of Sifnos. Many of these come from Constantinople and Alexandria, which used to be two important cultural and commercial centres of the Greek world, with important sifnian activity. Items with great actual and sentimental value that have been preserved mainly by the love and care of the Sifnian women, and which are on exhibition after a decision of the Cultural Association, so that the need to maintain them would become evident to all. This exhibition teaches us to walk through the present and into the future with a respect for the past, our companion and guide being how much of its beauty we can hold on to, and this creates a new vision: the creation of a permanent folk museum in Artemonas, to keep the memory alive for the old, and the lessons current for the young.
From the beginning of August to 15 September, at least, there are two important exhibitions with works of art from the collections of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museumand the archives of the Benaki Museum. The first one includes works of painting and sculpture, of figurative or abstract art, created by well known Greek painters and sculptors, while the second one hosts exhibits from the photographic archive, the collection of etched art, or from broader collections of the Museum, which present an aesthetic, ethnographic and historical interest. The exhibitions are organized by the Municipality of Sifnos with the cooperation of these two cultural “colossi” of our nation, and are supported by the Cultural Association of Sifnos.
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