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National Hellenic Museum

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The finished National Hellenic Museum

The National Hellenic Museum (formerly known as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center) is located in Chicago’s Greektown on the corner of Halsted and Van Buren Streets. The National Hellenic Museum was the first institution in the United States dedicated to displaying and celebrating the cultural contributions of Greeks and Greek Americans. The museum has just recently finished a massive expansion and relocation initiative, complete with a move to new facilities.[1] The official opening of the NHM took place on December 10th, 2011 and proved to be a marked event within the Greek community of Chicago.[2][3]

History

The literal and ideological corner of Greektown

The National Hellenic Museum was founded in 1983 as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center with the goal to promote understanding of and appreciation for the rich cultural traditions of ancient and contemporary Greece as well as a focus on the Greek-American immigrant experience. In 1992, the HMCC opened the doors of its first museum facility, located on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. In July 2004, the Museum relocated to its current location at 333 South Halsted Street, in the heart of Chicago's Greektown.

In 2009 the museum re-branded itself the National Hellenic Museum, with a new slogan: "the newest thing in ancient history" a new logo incorporating the Greek key design, and created a new mission statement: "Connecting generations through Greek history, culture, and art."

New Facility

A Construction on the new museum facilities as of January, 2011

In the fall of 2005, the Museum began demolition on the site of the new National Hellenic Museum which will be built as the cornerstone to Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Greektown Redevelopment Plan. The new museum was built at the corner of Halsted and Van Buren streets in the heart of Chicago's iconic Greektown neighborhood and will be a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) facility featuring permanent and rotating exhibition halls, a library and archival research center, classrooms for children of all ages, an events hall, an art preparation space, and an oral history center featuring the HOMER project. The new National Hellenic Museum was designed by architect Demetrios Stavrianos, a Principal with RTKL Associates, Chicago and opened its doors to the public recently on December 10, 2011.[4]

View from the rooftop terrace

The first floor’s 10,000 square feet (930 m2) will include the Calamos Great Hall, a 5,300-square-foot (490 m2) space for temporary arts and artifact exhibitions, the Mathews Grand Lobby, and the Dr. Mary Dochios Kamberos special events hall. The first floor also will hold the museum store and a special events hall for lectures, shows, and other small events.

The second floor will include the Halikias Family Exhibition Hall, the museum's permanent exhibitions, and an education center with classroom space and an art studio which will serve Chicago-area school children of all ages.

The third floor will house the Gus and Mary Stathis Library and archives, the Frank S. Kamberos Oral History Center, an oral history recording studio, and staff offices. A rooftop terrace will feature three gardens and provide dramatic views of the Chicago skyline during the summer months.

The HOMER Oral History Project

The National Hellenic Museum’s oral history project captures the Greek immigrant experience in America through the process of interviewing and recording the life stories of individuals of Greek descent. Approximately 450,000 Greeks came to America between 1890 and 1920 as part of the flood of Eastern European immigrants. Today, Greek Americans have a presence throughout the entire United States.

The HOMER Oral History Project currently has just over 200 separate oral histories, spanning hundreds of hours of film and audio tape, from Greeks and Greek-Americans from all over the United States.

Collections

NHM Antiquities Group

The National Hellenic Museum’s collection spans thousands of years and multiple periods of art history from 1200 BCE through today. The collection features artifacts of the Greek-American immigrant experience including, handmade textiles, traditional costumes, and musical instruments, as well as original photographs.

The National Hellenic Museum displays various artifacts from its collection on a rotating basis throughout the year through exhibitions designed to showcase their uniqueness.

Library and Archives

The National Hellenic Museum’s Library and Archives includes approximately 10,000 books, serial publications, and other documents. The library’s book collection is composed of books on Greek history, culture, language, and religion, including rare volumes such as 17th and 18th century manuscripts. The Archival Collection includes Greek-American newspapers, magazines, archival records, among other printed materials.

Many of the National Hellenic Museum's archival collections include hand-written letter collections, early-modern manuscripts, and one of the largest archives of Greek-language newspapers in the United States.

Exhibitions

The National Hellenic Museum hosts a variety of exhibitions each year, spanning the breadth of Greek history, culture, and art.

Presently the National Hellenic Museum is host to the "Gods, Myths and Mortals: Discover Ancient Greece," a rotating exhibit geared toward stimulating youth interest in Greek culture.[5] The exhibit boasts a variety of interactive displays and educational pieces, all of which fit comfortably in the National Hellenic Museum's massive temporary exhibit hall.

Additionally, the NHM is in the process of completing its permanent exhibit. Housed on the second floor of the museum, this display presently illustrates many of the processes inherent to museum maintenance, curating and exhibit set-up. The curator and staff at the NHM saw this transitional period as the perfect opportunity to show the public the behind-the-scenes processes of museum upkeep. Therefore objective of this "temporary" permanent exhibit is to act as a segue into a more comprehensive and fulfilling permanent exposition while still teaching about how the museum operates.

Past exhibitions have included:

  • Macedonia: 4000 Years of Greek History and Culture
  • Vignettes of Greek Folk Art
  • Windows to Heaven: The Life and Works of Shirley Kontos
  • Marika’s Koukles: A Collection of Hand-Crafted Regional Greek Dolls
  • Nourishing Culture: Greek Immigrants and Food in Chicago, 1880–1920
  • Road to Rembetika : the roots and evolution of Rembetika music in Greece
  • Olympic Games: Then and Now
  • Inheritance: New Works by Thomas Xenakis
  • A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek: A Hands-on Educational Experience
  • Crete: Portrait of a Changing Culture, Photography by Nancy Backas
  • Growing Up Greek: A Long Way from Athens
  • Dachau: April 29, 1945 An Orthodox Christian Memorial
  • Katoufs: From Royal Times to Nursery Rhymes
  • The Eruption of Thera: Opening the Door to Myth
  • Defenders of Democracy: The U.S. Response to Greece’s Role in WWII, A Modern Thermopylae
  • Greeks in the Diaspora: 15th-21st c.
  • Cyprus Revealed: The Golden Green Leaf in the Wine Dark Sea
  • Sacred Art
  • Anamniseis: Highlights of the Permanent Collection
  • Zoe Thanatos: the Expressionist Art of Diane Thodos
  • The 1821 Greek War of Independence
  • Percy Jackson & the Olympians: A Look Inside the Lightning Thief

Events

NHM 2010 Fall Gala Save the Date

Along with smaller events which take place on a weekly or monthly schedule, such as cocktail receptions, dinner receptions, brunches, meet-and-greet events, and holiday-themed events, the National Hellenic Museum has a few marquee events which it hosts each year including:

  • Annual Fall Gala - The National Hellenic Museum's signature yearly event, held at various locations. In 2010 the Fall Gala was held in the Chicago Hilton ballroom in downtown Chicago. The event includes dinner, music, dancing, live and silent auctions, speeches by the museum president and executive director, and cocktails.
  • Passport to the World - 3-day annual event showcasing Greek culture with performances, traditional crafts and workshops. Conducted in cooperation with the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier, Chicago.
  • Kouzina - Annual event where chefs from the Chicago area prepare Mediterranean influenced dish in the appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert or beverage categories. Even also includes music and cocktails.
  • Grand Opening - The official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the National Hellenic Museum took place on December 10, 2011.[6]

References

  1. ^ Alexa Ganakos, Greektown Chicago: Its History - Its Recipes, 2005, p. 197.
  2. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/9185354-423/national-hellenic-museum-debuts-with-plenty-of-greek-heritage.html
  3. ^ http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/2011/12/national-hellenic-museum-to-open/
  4. ^ Chicago Tribune, "New Hellenic museum to rise in Greektown," http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-17/news/ct-x-c-hellenic-museum-0317-20100317_1_new-museum-one-of-a-kind-museum-greektown-community
  5. ^ http://www.cmom.org/explore/exhibits/gods_myths_mortals_discover_ancient_greece
  6. ^ http://usa.greekreporter.com/2011/11/29/national-hellenic-museum-of-chicago-to-open-in-december/

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