Despite the successful move of sculptures to the New Acropolis Museum, controversy continues over the proposed demolition of buildings that block the view in front of the building.

From:
Reuters

Greece hoists Parthenon sculptures to new home
Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:00pm BST
By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece on Sunday began moving the ancient sculptures from the temples of the Athens Acropolis to a new museum, designed specifically to prod the British Museum into returning its own prized collection of Parthenon marbles.

Dozens of bystanders, some in tears, watched as three cranes relayed a massive stone slab from the 2,500-year-old Parthenon. It was carved with four youths leading bulls to sacrifice to the goddess Athena.
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More coverage of the move of the first frieze panel to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens.

From:
The Australian

Agence France-Presse
Greece’s Acropolis statues on the move
From correspondents in Athens
October 14, 2007 07:28pm

THREE giant cranes have begun the painstaking task of transferring hundreds of iconic statues and friezes from the Acropolis to an ultra-modern museum located below the ancient Athens landmark.

The operation started today with the transfer of part of the frieze at the northern end of the Parthenon.
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Following a practice run, the first sculpture has been moved to the New Acropolis Museum successfully.

From:
International Herald Tribune

1st of Acropolis sculptures successfully transferred by crane to new museum
The Associated Press
Published: October 13, 2007

ATHENS, Greece: The first of the Acropolis’ ancient sculptures was gingerly plucked from the top of the Parthenon temple and successfully transferred Sunday to a new museum at the foot of the hilltop citadel.

Culture Minister Michalis Liapis called the meticulously choreographed, 90-minute operation — the first of many in coming weeks — a “historic event of global significance.”
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The move of sculptures to the New Acropolis Museum has been covered by a wide range of international News sources, even before the actual event has taken place.

From:
Washington Post

Greek Officials Practice for Art Move
Published 10/11/2007 – 11:51 a.m. EDT
(AP) By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Associated Press Writer

A practice run for what will be the biggest antiquities removal project in modern Greek history _ moving some 4,500 ancient masterpieces into the new Acropolis Museum _ went successfully Thursday, officials said.

The real nail-biting will be on Sunday, when cranes begin shifting the first of the antiquities _ which are insured for $566 million _ from the ancient citadel to the new museum some 400 yards away, an operation that will take at least six weeks.
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More coverage from various sources on the successful trial run for the move of sculptures from the Acropolis to the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Kathimerini (English edition)

Friday October 12, 2007
Test for Acropolis move a success

A test run for an ambitious project to relocate thousands of treasured antiquities from the Acropolis to the new Acropolis Museum was completed successfully yesterday, officials said.

The exercise was in preparation for the real test on Sunday, when cranes will start moving the first of some 4,500 ancient artifacts into the museum designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi and due to open fully to the public late next year.
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Karen Knight of the Marbles Reunited Committee, pointed me to this article on Enlightenment Museums by Mark O’Neil, the head of Glasgow Museums. In it, he tackles & proceeds to deconstruct Neil MacGregor’s idea of a Universal Museum originating in the Enlightenment, looking at the many contradictions & fallacies that prop up this way of thinking.

From:
University of Leicester – Department of Museum Studies

Enlightenment Museums – Universal of Merely Global
Mark O’Neill
Head of Glasgow Museums

Abstract

This article tests the case set out by the 2002 Declaration, signed by many of the great museums of the world, and elaborated by Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum (BM), that these are universal institutions whose displays enable visitors ‘to see the world as one’ and hence promote a more tolerant society. I argue that while a universal museum could be invaluable in a world full of conflict and misunderstanding, the credibility of the idea is undermined by its being deployed chiefly as a defense against repatriation claims. MacGregor’s accounts of the Benin Bronzes, the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles and the Rosetta Stone are examined as to whether they provide historical, ethical or epistemological support for the idea of the universal museum. I review the current display practices of ‘universal museums’ and argue that they are as likely to confirm prejudice as to promote tolerance. I conclude with an alternative view of what a universal museum might be – one which is open about the conflicted histories of some objects, which acknowledges historical context as well as aesthetics, explores violent as well as peaceful cultural encounters and reveals the Imperial as well as the Enlightenment history of collections.
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A feature film (as opposed to documentaries etc) will for the first time contain a sequence filmed on the Acropolis. Greece has always sought to preserve the reputation of its monuments in a way that has long since been abandoned by many other countries, evidence of the significance that the ancient sites still hold for them.

From:
Reuters

Acropolis not too old for Hollywood debut
Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:41am BST
By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – On Saturday, a rare event will occur in the history of the 2,500-year-old Acropolis of Athens, and it involves Nia Vardalos, the writer-actress who became the face of Greek culture through her worldwide indie smash “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

Vardalos and her indie romantic comedy “My Life in Ruins” will shoot at the ancient Greek temple, marking perhaps the only time a Hollywood production has even been allowed to shoot at the venerable site. “Ruins” has already shot at the Oracle at Delphi and ancient Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games.
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More coverage from various sources of the move of artefacts to the New Acropolis Museum, due to start in a few days time.

From:
International Herald Tribune

Greek officials practice moving antiquities to new Acropolis Museum
The Associated Press
Published: October 11, 2007

ATHENS, Greece: A practice run for what will be the biggest antiquities removal project in modern Greek history — moving some 4,500 ancient masterpieces into the new Acropolis Museum — went successfully Thursday, officials said.

The real nail-biting will be on Sunday, when cranes begin shifting the first of the antiquities — which are insured for €400 million (US$566 million) — from the ancient citadel to the new museum some 400 meters (yards) away, an operation expected to take up to three months.
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The trial run of the move of sculptures to the New Acropolis Museum has now completed successfully – barring bad weather, everything is on track now for the first sculptures to be moved on Sunday.

From:
Athens News Agency

10/11/2007
Dry run for transfer of antiquities to new Acropolis Museum completed

A dry run for the transfer of artifacts and antiquities from a small outdated museum atop the Acropolis to the new ultra-modern Acropolis Museum on Makrygianni street, some 400 metres away and off the Acropolis’ south side, was successfully completed at the site on Thursday in optimum weather conditions, ahead of the actual transfer operation on Sunday.

Three large industrial cranes set up on the renowned archaeological site — one within the remains of the classical-era theatre of Dionysus and one adjacent to the Acropolis Museum — successfully manoeuvred a container carrying a 2.5-ton block of marble from atop the Acropolis hill to the new glass-&-steel facility.
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The trial run of the move of sculptures through a relay of cranes to the New Acropolis Museum is scheduled to take place later this week, wit the first actual sculpture to be moved on Sunday.

From:
The Guardian

Treasures Moving to New Acropolis Museum
Tuesday October 9, 2007 8:16 PM
By ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press Writer

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – One of Greece’s most modern buildings is about to become home to some of the country’s most treasured antiquities.

In a painstaking operation set to start Sunday, more than 4,000 ancient statues, friezes and other artifacts will be eased off the Acropolis and transported by a series of three cranes to the glass-and-concrete structure near the foot of the ancient hill. The operation is expected to take 10 months.
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More coverage of David Hill’s meeting with Greece’s culture minister last week.

From:
International Herald Tribune

Campaigner urges Greece to fight for Marbles for new Acropolis museum
The Associated Press
Published: October 5, 2007

ATHENS, Greece: Greece should use the opening of its new Acropolis museum to ratchet up the pressure on Britain for the permanent return of the Parthenon Marbles to their homeland, the head of an international campaign said Friday.

The 2,500-year-old sculptures and friezes were removed from Greece in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin and successive British governments have refused to return them despite a campaign launched by Greece in the early 1980s.
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As the opening of the New Acropolis Museum draws closer, more attention is focussing on Greece’s attempts to secure the return of artefacts held abroad. This highlights one of the key roles of the new museum – to bring about the return of the Elgin Marbles by the British Museum.

From:
Washington Post

Greeks Go for All the Marbles In Effort to Get Back Artifacts
A New Museum’s Goal: To Press the British to Return Parthenon Sculptures
By Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 7, 2007; Page R12

ATHENS — On Saturday, huge cranes will begin lifting ancient statues, carvings and architectural fragments off the Acropolis, down to a new museum built at the base of the most famous citadel in the world. For the vast majority of these stone remnants of the great age of Athens, it will be the first time they have ever left this rocky summit.

Even as the forces of history washed over this city for millennia, making and unmaking it according to the dictates of three major religions and at least a half-dozen empires, these stone gods and heroes, which once decorated its temples and public spaces, have remained close to their original home. That makes them the lucky ones.
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