Admission to the Acropolis Museum will be free on 28th October. This is to celebrate Ochi day (Οχι looks strange written in English), when Greece refused the Axis powers entry into the country. There will also be a special presentation taking place on the day, called “The Other Gods of the Acropolis”.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Tuesday October 22, 2013
Acropolis Museum offers free admission on October 28 national holiday

Admission to Greece’s landmark Acropolis Museum will be free of charge on Monday, October 28, in celebration of “Ochi Day,” a national holiday commemorating the country’s refusal to allow the Axis powers’ entry into the country on October 28, 1940.

The museum will also be offering 10 separate presentations for adults titled “The Other Gods of the Acropolis,” with one in English at 1 p.m. and another in French at 5 p.m., as well as eight workshops for children on “Myths in Images” aimed at 8-12 year olds.

Parties interested in attending the special events must book a spot in advance on tel 210.900.0900.

Opening hours on October 28 will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In addition to the articles I posted earlier, Marbles Reunited has written a report on the event held in Brussels earlier this week, and Tom Flynn has also posted a transcript of his talk.

The report that follows is based on my notes taken during the event. I have not tried to capture everything, just the key points. I am hoping that my comments do not misrepresent what the speakers were saying – some it was from the live translation there, and some of it was from the responses to questions afterwards, rather than from the original speeches.

After introductions by Krister Kumlin & a brief video, Tom Flynn was the first speaker, and pointed out, that when considering the acquisition of obviously looted artefacts “Most museums now know better”. The thing is of course, how to get museums to act retrospectively – to apply the rules that they would use now to actions that they made well before their current rules and guidelines came into force.

He also added, that “Nowadays, the social network acts as a critical filter to the acquisition of disputed artefacts”. This is a good point, as museums nowadays have a far greater interaction with the public than perhaps ever before. People’s opinions mean more to them than they ever used to, and as a result, it is important to let museums know if what you think they are doing is morally unacceptable.

German MEP Jo Leinen had a simple message – drawing on the words of another German politician, he quoted Willie Brandt “we have to unite what belongs together”.

The Spanish MEP, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez took a slightly different viewpoint from some of the other speakers, looking at this action by Britain, in the context of other actions that occur within Europe. He felt that it was particularly important that the countries of northern Europe, in some way recognise that although they might be economically the powerhouses of Europe today, they still owe so much culturally to the Mediterranean countries in the South of Europe. He stressed a message that Campaigns such as Marbles Reunited have also long emphasised, that “It is not about sending the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, but about reuniting them”.
Read the rest of this entry »

The New Acropolis Museum is giving free admission from tomorrow evening until Sunday, to celebrate both World Tourism Day and European Heritage Days. There will also be a series of talks during these days, taking place within the galleries.

From:
Acropolis Museum

World Tourism Day & European Heritage Days
Friday, 27 September – Sunday, 29 September, 2013

The Acropolis Museum celebrates World Tourism Day on Friday 27 September 2013 and European Heritage Days on Saturday and Sunday 29 & 30 September 2013 with Gallery Talks about the Museum masterpieces and the colors of the archaic statues, held by Archaeologist – Hosts.

On Friday 27 September the Museum will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and admission will be free for all visitors between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. On this day, the second floor restaurant will remain open as usual until 12 midnight.
Read the rest of this entry »

As an interesting postscript to the article about the decline in the number of visitors to the New Acropolis Museum. On the same day, many articles were published highlighting the increase in numbers to Greek archaeological sites.

Now, I have not seen the raw data for Either the New Acropolis Museum or the Acropolis & have no idea of the exact date ranges being used, but it looks as though things could be starting to increase again, with more tourists coming to Greece once more.

From:
Europe Online

Acropolis getting crowded as Greek tourist numbers rebound
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
02.09.2013

Athens (dpa) – The good news for Greece‘s tourism industry – a record 11.5 million tourists are expected this year reports the country‘s National Tourism Organization – is bad news for the country‘s best-known landmark, the increasingly crowded Acropolis.

“It‘s leading to terrible crowding,” local archaeologist Eleni Stylianou told dpa on Monday. The crush gets worst in the morning, when hordes of tourists stream out of their cruise ships.
Read the rest of this entry »

The author of this piece has, I suspect, taken a deliberately provocative approach to the subject matter. After all, magazine editors like nothing more than articles that stir up a heated discussion about a subject.

It does raise some interesting points though. Since its opening year, the visitor numbers at the New Acropolis Museum have declined. I believe that this is down to a variety of factors. Firstly, any new facility (whatever it is – shops, museums, hotels) tends to get an initial rush of interest – because of the fact that it is new. People rush to it, wanting to see it – particularly if the construction process has been going on for some time (works relating to the building of a new museum at the Acropolis Museum site had been underway since before 2000) and if it has made the headlines (which the New Acropolis Museum managed to on many occasions, regularly attracting controversy). After this initial honeymoon period, visitor numbers are likely to decline. Once people have visited something once, they are not so desperate to visit it again (afterall, there are many more things to see in the world, that they have not yet seen). Museums around the world regularly try to attract people back with temporary exhibitions, programmes of lectures & re-organisation of their exhibits, putting some in storage and others on display.

Secondly, there was an increase in admission charges – the museum initial made a very minimal charge, which later increased – this was always a planed decision.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly from the perspective of people in Greece today, is the financial crisis. The museum could not have opened at a worse time, as during the period immediately afterwards, the financial storm clouds that had been brewing on the horizon unleashed wave after wave of bad news for Greece. Budget cutbacks meant that there were reductions in the amount that could be spent on publicity for the new museum. People saw pictures of rioters ripping apart the cobbles of Syntagma & tear gas grenades being thrown by police in Exarchia and may well have re-considered their trips to Greece that they were planning. Still more may have cancelled the days in Athens at the start or end of their trip & instead just passed through the airport, taking a more direct route to the peace of the islands. Strikes have plagued many of Greece’s museums and archaeological sites & featured regularly on the news around the world. Although the New Acropolis Museum has been largely unaffected, most people who see pictures of picketed gates to museums are not aware of this. The financial crisis has also had in impact on the economies of many other countries outside of Greece. Across Europe & further afield, unemployment has risen, along with prices of food and petrol, while wages have stagnated. For many people with less money available, holidays abroad, particularly short weekend breaks are something that they have cut back on. Speaking from the point of view of someone in the UK, the current GBP:EUR exchange rates make Greece a far more expensive place to visit than it ever used to be, No longer does Athens feel like a cheap destination, but instead has prices comparable to London.

However, notwithstanding all the above provisos, the New Acropolis Museum has seen a decline in its visitor numbers over time & they are lower than some predictions hoped they would be.

Perhaps more importantly (maybe I should have mentioned this at the start of the article), I have always found arguments (from the British Museum) relating to visitor numbers to be a red-herring, distracting people from the actual discussion in hand. If maximising the number of people that see an artefact is of primary importance, then perhaps everything should be shipped to Beijing or Mumbai? But then again, should visitor number be used to over-ride compelling moral arguments for the return of the sculptures?

At past press conferences at the New Acropolis Museum, Professor Pandermalis has made no secret of the decline in numbers. He has in fact emphasised them with the hope that at least some of the journalists present might write articles in a way that inspires people to come & visit the museum. He has also outlined strategies for how they hope to increase the numbers over time.

From:
Museums Journal

Greek Drama at the New Acropolis Museum
James Beresford
Issue 113/09, P17, 01.09.13

Opening to international fanfare in June 2009, the €129m New Acropolis Museum has become the embodiment of the Greek desire to see Elgin’s marble trophies returned to Athens. However, the paying public has been less-than-impressed with the museum, which has failed to attract the visitor numbers that were predicted.

In 2006 journalist Tom Flynn noted: “The old Acropolis Museum currently attracts around 1.5 million people each year. The Greeks hope their New Acropolis Museum will at least double that figure.”
Read the rest of this entry »

The Acropolis might not be able to open late due to health & safety restrictions, but the nearby Acropolis Museum is not only open until midnight (free admission after 9pm), but also has a free concert in the courtyard outside the building.

From:
Acropolis Museum

August Full Moon
Wednesday, 21 August, 2013

The Acropolis Museum celebrates August Full Moon on Wednesday 21 August 2013, with famous melodies of the Greek and world repertoire, performed by the historic Army Band of Athens, in the Museum’s entrance courtyard at 9:30 p.m.
Read the rest of this entry »

At the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy, Professor Simon Critchley spoke out in support of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens.

He adds his name to the many academics, archaeologists, historians & museum professionals who already support this cause, yet the British Museum seems to care little & is still intent on maintaining their current course steering as far away from restitution as possible.

From:
Greek Reporter

Critchley Says Parthenon Marbles Are Greece’s
By Maria Arkouli on August 9, 2013

Simon Critchley, a professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City, brought the house down at the 23d World Congress of Philosophy meeting in Athens when he said the Parthenon Marbles stolen from the Acropolis nearly 200 years ago and now in the British Museum should be returned to Greece.

Critchley, who is British, was speaking to an audience on the banks of the Ilissos and had them cheering when he said, “I never understood why England has the Parthenon Marbles. The Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece and to Athens and they must return to their homeland”.
Read the rest of this entry »

The New Acropolis Museum continues to go from strength to strength, topping the lists as the most popular museum in Greece – no mean feat, when you consider the number of other museums of global importance within the country.

From:
Greek Reporter

More than 2M Visit Museums and Archaeological Sites
By Maria Korologou on August 14, 2013

The significant rise in tourism can interpret to an extent the rise in the number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites around Greece. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), in the period January-April 2013, visitors to museums reached 833,105 in total presenting a rise of 19 percent in comparison with the same period in 2012, while at archaeological sites the number of tourists was over one million this year and reached 1,147,841 presenting a rise of 35,4 percent.
Read the rest of this entry »

In my mind, I have a picture of the Acropolis Museum celebrating its birthday – perhaps in a big party to which all the other museums are invited. Each year, it excitedly waits in hope of a giant cake in the shape of the Elgin Marbles – but it never arrives & it is left to celebrate on its own, hoping that the next year will be better.

Don’t get me wrong – it is still an amazing museum & should be on the itinerary of any visitor to Athens. But, to jump back to the previous analogy, if it was a cake, it would only have half the icing on – there are patches everywhere with no icing, and everyone wonders when these bits will be finished.

From:
Greek Reporter

Acropolis Museum’s 4th Anniversary
By Christina Flora on June 18, 2013

The Acropolis Museum opened its gates when the great economic crisis started affecting Greece. But it had the luck to be embraced by the Greek and international public, giving it the chance to operate for four years without public subsidy.

The Acropolis Museum celebrates its fourth birthday with optimism for the future. On Thursday, June 20, the exhibition venue and the restaurant will remain open from 8am to midnight, while admission will be reduced to three euros for everyone.
Read the rest of this entry »

Its hard to believe that this Thursday marks the fourth anniversary of the opening of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. While the museum goes from strength to strength however, during this time, there has been little real progress with the issue of the Parthenon Marbles.

The museum was originally built to house the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum – and to remove the arguments that Greece had nowhere to house the sculptures. However, since the opening, the financial turmoil that has engulfed the country has meant that there has been little progress in moving the issue forward at all.

While the country has many very important issues to focus on, it is a shame that this museum (which is in many ways, a game changer in the case & Greece’s strongest argument) has not been used to full effect. At the moment it is still new – so now is the time when the argument is strongest, otherwise it eventually just becomes accepted as part of the status quo of the situation.

Hopefully big things will happen before the next anniversary celebration comes around…

From:
Euronews

Acropolis Museum fourth birthday
17/06 12:57 CET

On Thursday 20 June 2013, the Acropolis Museum celebrates its fourth birthday. The exhibition areas will remain open from 8 a.m. until 12 midnight. The restaurant will be open during the same hours. On this occasion, admission will be reduced (3 euros) for all visitors.

Visitors will have the opportunity to discover, together with Museum Archaeologist – Hosts, untold stories of the surviving blocks of the frieze, with the aid of 3D presentations on special screens installed in the Parthenon Gallery.
Read the rest of this entry »

The New Acropolis Museum has made it to third place in a list of the top fifty museums in the world. One wonders whether it would make it to the top spot if it it housed all the surviving Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
Huffington Post

The Parthenon Marbles: A Piece of History Still Orphaned
Posted: 05/28/2013 1:03 pm

Last May 18th, on the occasion of International Museum Day, a list of the top fifty museums of the world, as published by the Sunday Times, came to my attention. It was both with great joy and sadness that I saw the Acropolis Museum of Athens in third spot, right behind the Smithsonian in Washington and the British Museum in London.

For, the Acropolis Museum, founded on the passion and spirit of Melina Mercouri, the renowned Greek actress and Minister of Culture, patiently awaits the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their rightful resting place. It was brilliantly designed in minimalist architectural style in order to reflect the facade of the Parthenon that is visible through its glass structure and bears silent witness to Greece’s Golden Age.
Read the rest of this entry »

As in other years, the New Acropolis Museum is going to have free admission & various special events to celebrate International Museums Day on May 18th.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Friday May 17, 2013
Celebrating International Museum Day around Greece

Museums around the country celebrate their past, present and future this weekend as a number of local cultural institutions take part in festivities marking this year’s International Museum Day.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) established International Museum Day back in 1977 in an effort to raise public awareness with regard to the key role played by cultural organizations in societies. The annual celebration usually takes place around May 18.
Read the rest of this entry »