'Raiments of the Soul' exhibition

From 6 September 2024 to 6 January 2025, at the initiative of the Papageorgiou Foundation and in cooperation with the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, the enriched landmark exhibition entitled ‘Raiments of the Soul’ will be hosted at the Thessaloniki Branch of the NBGCF/ Villa Kapantzi,  held under the auspices of Her Excellency Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic.

After travelling throughout Greece and abroad, where it won over the public at all its destinations, and particularly at the Acropolis Museum, where it was staged as part of the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, ‘Raiments of the Soul’ is now coming to Thessaloniki. This is a unique exhibition, where photographer Vangelis Kyris and embroidery artist Anatoli Georgiev present Greek costumes in a special way and from a unique artistic perspective, worn by contemporary people, through a process of osmosis between photography, fabric and the art of embroidery.

At the exhibition, which will remain in the city of Thessaloniki for four months, more than 70 costumes from the past will adorn persons from the present through a unique connection that highlights the wealth, imaginative variety, masterwork of details, and manufacturing skill involved in producing these garments. At the same time, through the penetrating gaze, posture and movement of the body, these garments become the narrative of the history of the land, its historical figures, the stories of societies and their everyday lives.

As noted by the creator and photographer Vangelis Kyris, “with a four square metre frame map as a background, I wanted to travel through space and time, where Hellenism flourishes. Through one’s gaze, I wanted to reach down to the soul and, together with Anatoli's embroidery, to give life to matter. This is a journey from the depths of the soul to three-dimensional matter, with photography as the centre.”

As regards the initiative to hold the exhibition in Thessaloniki, the President of the Papageorgiou Foundation, George N. Papageorgiou, stated the following: “This exhibition presents costumes as an expression of the soul. An expression of the soul of people, in the macro- and microhistory of Greek society. From the very first moment, this project attracted the interest of the Papageorgiou Foundation in enriching and re-presenting the exhibition in the city of Thessaloniki.” The Papageorgiou Foundation, always sensitive in relation to issues pertaining to health, education, science, as well as art and culture, took the initiative not only to present the exhibition in Northern Greece but also to highlight the cultural heritage and tradition of the region by researching, seeking and photographing new material, creating works- exhibits from Macedonia and Thrace, as well as with works which highlight the multicultural identity of Thessaloniki throughout the centuries.

This initiative, going beyond the initial presentation of costumes from the collections of the National Historical Museum, the Historical Museum of Crete and the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Heraklion, was accompanied by a substantial collaboration between agencies from Thessaloniki and Northern Greece: The Foundation for the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle & the Contemporary History of Macedonia, the Jewish Community and the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, the Folklore and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Thessaloniki, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Naoussa and the Folklore Dance Group of YMCA, opened their display cases, the cabinets and memories of the local communities they represent in order to render the staging of the exhibition with new exhibits feasible.

Organised guided tours and school visits will take place throughout the exhibition, which will be open to the public during the following hours:

Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00-17:00

Thursday-Friday 12:00-20:00

Saturday 13:00-19:00

Sunday 11:00-15:00

Admission to the exhibition is free for the general public.