Why Remember?: Tracing the Past – conference organised by the Peace and Conflict Culture Network with London College of Communication.
Sarajevo, 8-9 July 2023.
Located between the Western and Eastern worlds, Asia Minor has a tumultuous and complex history shaped by centuries of conflict and cultural exchange. In modern times, the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 ended with a brutal massacre of Greek populations by the Turkish army and was later formally settled by an agreement of an exchange of populations between the two countries. Memories of the Greek populations that lived across the coast of Asian Minor and their rich cultural heritage have been threatened with extinction as, in the aftermath of the devastating events of the war, over a million Greeks who survived the massacre sought refuge in Greek territory, namely Athens, Macedonia, Thrace and Eastern Aegean Sea islands.
This paper examines the role of lesser-known collections in keeping the light of memory alive for future generations, with a specific focus on the dress collection of Faros, a Cultural Association in Varvasi, Chios Island, Greece. The collection was started to be created in the mid-1980s and mainly consists of dress and textiles that Greeks brought to Chios when they were forced out of Turkey. Through a traditional display of ensembles and objects of significant sentimental value, visitors get a glimpse of what people who had to flee their homes carried on their way to an unknown motherland.
The collection provides a valuable case study of how regional cultural institutions can help shed light on underrepresented cultural heritage that holds significant intercultural value. The display allows visitors to make personal interpretations, thus creating a deeply personal museum experience. This paper explores how such experiences can be starting points for a post-conflict society to heal and move forward while building a tolerant, peaceful, interculturally understanding and more inclusive future for the local communities and wider populations of Greece, Turkey and neighbouring countries.
Image attributes: Refugees arrive in Piraeus, Athens, in a ship, 1922. Petros Poulidis Collection, ERT Archive0000016383 / ΚΤΠ2–IMG–1.1.42.131. Copyright © ERT.