Lecture will focus on museum architecture in Greece
Eleni Bastéa enjoys talking about architecture.
In fact, her next lecture will be “The Unbearable Heaviness of Antiquity: Museum Architecture in Modern Greece.”
The event is part of the Albuquerque International Association’s monthly lectures.
“I’m going to discuss some of the very recent museums,” she says. “And the Acropolis Museum in Athens. It gets many, many visitors each year. It’s an interesting modern building.”
Although Bastéa will focus on the architecture, she will also discuss the politics behind displaying the antiquities.
“There are many in Greece,” she says. “But other antiquities are in other countries. I can see the reason for having some of the cultural heritage in other museums. I also can understand why Greek politicians want to see the antiquities returned.”
Bastéa says that in the illustrated lecture, she will take viewers on a visit to some of the country’s best museums, ranging from large and famous, like the Acropolis Museum, to lesser-known ones, such as the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki and the Palace of the Grand Master on the island of Rhodes.
She will delve into the buildings that house these museums and consider how the exhibit designs bring the past to life.
“At the same time, we will reflect on how we, as visitors, influence and are influenced by these presentations and interpretations of historical epochs,” she says. “At the end of our journey, we will come to understand better how the past, venerable though it is, always depends on today’s context for its interpretation.”
Bastéa travels abroad at least once a year and visits museums.
Many of the museums she visits are suggested by friends.
“I will go visit Germany and France, and the recommendations come in,” she says. “It’s very interesting to see what these countries are doing within museums. There are also a lot of archaeological sites that aren’t in the big cities, and I take a short day trip. It’s fun to just visit and learn something new.”