I was fortunate enough to see a preview screening of Promakhos a few months ago. It is now going to be possible for the public to see it, in both Sydney & Melbourne as part of the Greek Film Festival.

The Sydney screening will be followed with a Q&A session with David Hill, chair of the International Association of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Promotional image for the Promakhos movie

From:
Greek Film Festival

CLOSING NIGHT EVENT: Promakhos
Greece/USA/UK, 2014, 91mins (Drama)
Director Coerte Voorhees and John Voorhees

Someone needs to stand up for Greece, make a case for her…”

For over two centuries, the legality behind the removal of the Parthenon Marbles from the Acropolis has been the subject of much controversy and passionate debate. Very credible cases against the British Museum have been put forward by a number of lawyers – including the father of this film’s makers – however, Greek governments have steered clear of any involvement.
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Sydney’s Nicholson Museum will be exhibiting a Lego reconstruction of the Athenian Acropolis on 6th – 7th July.

From:
Timeout Sydney

Lego Acropolis
06-07 Jul
Nicholson Museum’s next monumental (Lego) show

Having conquered the Lego Colosseum, the Nicholson Museum have engaged master builder Ryan McNaught (Australia’s only registered Lego builder) to recreate the 5th Century BC Acropolis of Athens, alongside the later Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a large stone amphitheatre built in 161AD. McNaught’s creations will be the centrepiece of this exhibition, which also features ancient Greek archaeological artefacts from the Nicholson Museum’s collection, including sculpture, pottery, and photographs of the Acropolis from the 1890s. There’s also (of course) a designated Lego construction site, for budding builders.
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The International Organising Committee Australia for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, has launched their new website. The IOCARPM is one of two committees in Australia, whose sole aim is to campaign for the return of the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens.

From:
ABC (Australia)

Push to return Parthenon Marbles to Greece
Updated March 15, 2012 09:10:50

There has been a renewed call from a committee of Greek Australians for the British government to return the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

The marbles are Greek sculptures that were part of the Parthenon, but have been held in London’s British Museum for nearly 200 years.
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There will be a lecture in Sydney about excavations made last summer of the ship, the Mentor, that carried some of the Elgin Marbles from Greece to the UK.

From:
Radio Symban

Public Lecture, Wreck of the Mentor: The Mentor shipwreck, its cargo of Parthenon Marbles, 1800’s salvage and 2011 excavation
06/12/12

In 1802 the small brig Mentor was wrecked on the island of Kythera, Greece. Its stated cargo consisted of 17 crates of the Parthenon Marbles en-route from Piraeus to England via Malta. Over the next two years Lord Elgin spent a small fortune recovering the Marbles using Greek sponge divers. It was long suspected however that there were other undocumented antiquities aboard the vessel which were not recovered. Previous archaeological investigations had been inconclusive.

In July an excavation led by Dr. Kourkoumelis of the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities, Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Greece with three Australian volunteers recovered a number of ancient coins as well as personal items belonging to the crew. The similarities of the Mentor wreck-site with the Queensland wrecks of the HMS Pandora (1792) and Foam (1893) contributed to the decision to excavate in the area most likely to contain the long anticipated antiquities.

The talk is being generously supported by the Kytherian Association of Australia, in conjunction with the Sydney Friends of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens. Excavations have been supported by the Nicholas Anthony Aroney Trust & Kytherian Association of Australia. Refreshments are being sponsored by Fardoulis Chocolates. www.choc.com.au.

Theatre 101
New Law School Building
Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney
Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 7pm for a 7:30pm start
by Cos Coroneos and John Fardoulis

For more information about the Mentor project see: http://www.krg.org.au/mentor

Cost: A five dollar donation to the project would be appreciated!

Following on from the recent expression of support for the return of the Elgin Marbles by the NSW state Arts Minister, the State’s Premier is also adding her endorsement to the campaign.

From:
Athens News Agency

12/24/2010
NSW premier supports return of Parthenon Marbles

Australian politician Kristina Keneally, premier of New South Wales, announced during an event for Greek-Australian media on Sunday that she has become an honorary member of the Australians for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles Committee and supports their return to Greece.

According to the radio station SBS, Keneally said the demand for the marbles return was “fair” and that they would be returning to their “rightful home”.

“The government of New South Wales is proud to support this demand for the return of the Marbles to Greece and its people,” she said.

Scotland is due to hand back some more Aboriginal artefacts to Australia following negotiations with Glasgow City Council. This follows earlier previous returns made by museums in Edinburgh.

From:
The Herald (Scotland)

Aboriginal remains reclaimed
Phil Miller, Arts Correspondent
10 Dec 2010

Glasgow’s museums are to return the skeletal remains of three indigenous Australians to their home country.

The executive committee of Glasgow City Council yesterday agreed that the remains, including skulls, be returned to the Australian Government, in the latest of a series of repatriations in the last 10 years.
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