The Museum exhibits – masterpieces of world heritage – and the Museum as an example of high contemporary architecture are the undoubted stars of the Acropolis Museum opening.
The artistic segment of the opening takes place in the Museum’s surrounding area: large-scale outdoor projections of animated sequences appear on the exterior shells of the Museum and its neighbouring buildings, transforming them into receptive, interactive urban membranes. Points at which the sculptural world of the 6th – 4th centuries BC and contemporary Athens can meet and mingle.
The projections draw their inspiration from the Museum’s architectural and conceptual principle of reflection between the Acropolis and the surrounding city. The projected images seek to multiply these reflections.
Statues, and scenes taken from pottery are set into motion, coming to life in a series of animations played in a loop lasting an hour. Their aesthetic alludes to the first attempts to record and study motion during the early years of cinema. This artistic approach connects and parallels the emergence of two extraordinary periods in the history of anthropocentric world art: Classical sculpture and cinema. By interacting with or magically masking the structural and decorative elements of the buildings, the projections prompt a series of architectural games at the interface between the projected image and the façade “screens.”
Creative team
Conceived and Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari
Story Development Athina Rachel Tsangari, Matt Johnson Production Costas Kephalas
assistant Directors Anna Nikolaou, Maria Hatzakou researcher – archivist Kyriacos Karseras
Original Music – Sound Design Stavros Gasparatos
Αnimation DeSign antidot design studio, HAOS FILM, Nomint, Oval Image