24.7.2023

«1922» - Temporary exhibition in the Museum of Industrial Olive-Oil Production of Lesvos

«1922» - Temporary exhibition in the Museum of Industrial Olive-Oil Production of Lesvos

The exhibition is extented until December, 16 2024

Fate had it that I was born in the Orient, but the wheel of Fortune, constantly turning, tore my land from its very roots and threw me out on foreign land, among people who spoke the same language as me but had quite different customs. Just as a sea-weary bird finds a rock on the open sea and sits there for its wings to dry, I find myself in this place.

F. Kontoglou, Aivali, My Homeland, 4th edition, Athens,
“Astir” A. and E. Papadimitriou, Athens 1983

The temporary exhibition "1922", presented by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) in the Museum of Industrial Olive-Oil Production of Lesvos, as part of the commemoration of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, begins with an excerpt from the book by Fotis Kontoglou.

The exhibition traces the Asia Minor Campaign and the Catastrophe, the uprooting, the resettlement in Greece, the integration of refugees and the preservation of memory, as well as the significant contribution of the Asia Minor refugees on the island of Lesvos. The five exhibition units include iconic texts by great authors such as Fotis Kontoglou, Dido Sotiriou, Elias Venezis and the writers Stratis Myrivilis and Asimakis Panselinos from Lesvos, highlighting the dynamic relationship between history and literature.

Rare archival material and photographs, personal objects and sacred relics reveal moments of life before and after the tragedy of 1922. Other outstanding features include audio testimonies of refugees, letters from soldiers and the portable icon of Saints Constantine and Helen from the church of Zoodochos Pigi in Ayvalık, which was saved at the very last moment from acts of vandalism.

Contributors include private collectors Stratis Anagnostou, Zacharoula Ioakeim, Maria Kiachagia, Stefanos Koumpasaros, Gerasimos Mpekiaris, Argyris Chatzimallis and Antonis Chatzicharalampous, the Public Law Entity for Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Municipality of West Lesvos, “Rhododendron” Cultural Association of Parakoila on Lesvos, the Pelopi Folklore Collection on Lesvos as well as national bodies and publishing houses.

The exhibition “1922” concludes PIOP’s exhibition programme on the Asia Minor Catastrophe, starting in 2022 on Chios (“across the sea” in the Chios Mastic Museum) and continuing in Volos (“from Asia Minor” in the Rooftile and Brickworks Museum N. & S. Tsalapatas). The three temporary exhibitions were realized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Federation of Refugee Associations of Greece (F.R.A.G.).

Duration: 26 July 2023 until 17 June 2024

Extension to December, 12 2024
Opening hours: Daily, except Tuesday, 10:00-18:00 (until 15/10), 10:00-17:00 (from 16/10)
Closed: 1 January, Good Friday (until 12:00), Easter Sunday, Friday after Easter (local feast day), 1 May, 15 August, 25-26 December

See the creative team here

 Under the auspices of

PIOP | Museum of the Industrial Olive-Oil Production of Lesvos
Aghia Paraskevi, 811 02 Lesvos
Τ: 22530 32300 | www.piop.gr