Main Anniversary Exhibition 1821-2021

The John S. Latsis Public Foundation is participating in the “Bicentennial Initiative 1821-2021” of the National Bank of Greece and Foundations for the celebration of the Hellenic rebirth and will be the main funder of the Main Anniversary Exhibition of the National Historical Museum which will be inaugurated at its headquarters in March 2021, as part of its anniversary programme for the 200 years since the beginning of the Greek Revolution. At the same time, the Museum’s additional exhibitions in eight regions of the country will be funded by the public benefit foundations: Eugenides Foundation, B & M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music, Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, Lambrakis Foundation, A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and Bodossaki Foundation.

The mission of the National Historical Museum (NHM) is to collect, rescue, study and showcase relics and testimonies related to modern Greek history. Today it is one of the main repositories of historical relics and research sources in the country. More specifically, in regard to the Enlightenment-Revolution-Constitution of the Greek State period, with emphasis placed on 1821, the NHM stores the largest number of significant exhibits. Given the above, the NHM is playing a central role in the upcoming anniversary by developing a set of activities with national reach that highlight the multifaceted Struggle for National Independence, which will culminate with the presentation of the main exhibition.

Through the anniversary programme entitled “ΕΠΑΝΑCYΣΤΑΣΗ '21”, the Museum aims to encourage reflection, dialogue and contemporary cultural creation by reintroducing the relics of its collections to today's public.

The John S. Latsis Public Foundation will fund most of the Main Anniversary Exhibition, which will describe the entire historical period of the Greek Revolution and will highlight the preparation, the outburst, its radiance and legacy through the Museum’s rare relics and archive material. The exhibition will portray the role of the Revolution within the international context; it will focus on its events and protagonists, as well as on the role of the Struggle in the formation of the Greek state and the national identity. Furthermore, it will be the first time that an anniversary exhibition for the Greek Revolution of 1821 will be enriched with original interactive educational exhibits and digital applications.

The exhibition will be displayed as a single narrative that approaches the Revolution from a contemporary perspective and will be developed in seven thematic units:

1. Before it stroke '21. Background and preparation
2. People and events of the drama
3. The time of the sea
4. Politics and diplomacy
5. Reflections of the Greek times
6. A society at war
7. “This is what we fought for”

"The National Historical Museum has been characterised as an "Ark of National Memory". Its existence places him at the forefront of the 200-year celebration of Greece being an independent State. Through exhibitions and activities, it gradually creates the mosaic that attributes the struggles of our people for survival and freedom. The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation embraced and shared with the Museum the idea of showcasing the valuable content of this “National Ark” in the exhibition organised at its premises in 2021 as a flagship event of the 200-year anniversary celebrations since the Revolution in 1821. The exhibition aims to be aesthetically appealing, provide information in a pleasant manner, utilise digital applications and, at the same time, to be insightful and multi-faceted.”

Efthymia Papaspyrou Director, National Historical Museum