National Hellenic Museum
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The National Hellenic Museum is the second oldest American institution dedicated to displaying and celebrating the cultural contributions of Greeks and Greek-Americans. Formerly known as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, the National Hellenic Museum is located in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
’s
Greektown Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. History The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Ista ...
, at the corner of Halsted and Van Buren Streets. The National Hellenic Museum has recently undergone a modernization program that cumulated in the museum moving to its current building in December 2011. The official opening of the NHM took place on December 10th, 2011 and proved to be a marked event within the Greek community of Chicago. Created to promote understanding of the rich cultural traditions of
ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...
and contemporary
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, as well as a focus on the Greek-American
immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
experience, the National Hellenic Museum has become a fixture in the Greek Community in Chicago.


History

Founded as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, in 1983, the National Hellenic has a rich history in Chicago. In 1992, the HMCC opened the doors of its first museum facility, located on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. This was two weeks after the Hellenic Cultural Museum in Salt Lake City opened as the first museum dedicated to preserving Hellenic customs, heritage, history and way of life. In July 2004, the Chicago Museum moved to a new location at 801 S. Adams Street in Chicago’s Greektown In 2009 the museum re-branded itself the National Hellenic Museum, with a new
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
incorporating the Greek key design, and created a new
mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...
: "Connecting generations through Greek history, culture, and art." In 2011 the museum moved to its current, purpose built facility at 333 South Halsted Street, in the heart of Chicago's Greektown.


New Facility

In the fall of 2005, the Museum broke ground at the site of the new facility, billed as the cornerstone to Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
’s Greektown Redevelopment Plan. The new building is contemporary facility, featuring permanent and rotating
exhibition hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
s, a
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and
archival research Archival research is a type of research which involves seeking out and extracting evidence from archival records. These records may be held either in collecting institutions, such as libraries and museums, or in the custody of the organization ( ...
center, classroom for children of all ages, and an oral history center featuring the National Hellenic Museum’s Oral History project. A rooftop terrace will feature three gardens and provide dramatic views of the Chicago skyline during the summer months. The new National Hellenic Museum was designed by architect Demetrios Stavrianos, an Executive Director with KTGY Architecture + Planning, in Chicago, IL. The new facility was completed in 2011 with the grand opening taking place on December 10, 2011.Chicago Tribune, "New Hellenic museum to rise in Greektown," http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-17/news/ct-x-c-hellenic-museum-0317-20100317_1_new-museum-one-of-a-kind-museum-greektown-community


The Oral History Project

The National Hellenic Museum’s Oral History Project is an effort to document the Greek immigrant experience in America through the process of interviewing and recording the life stories of individuals of Greek descent. Approximately 450,000 Greeks came to America between 1890 and 1920 as part of the flood of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
immigrants. Today, Greek Americans have a presence throughout the entire United States. The Oral History Project has more than 300 individual histories as of 2015, spanning hundreds of hours of
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
audio tape An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
, from Greeks and Greek-Americans from all over the United States.


Collections

The National Hellenic Museum’s extensive collection spans the thousands of years of Greek history, with pieces from every period of history from 1200 BCE through today. The collection prominently features artifacts of the Greek-American immigrant experience including, handmade
textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
,
traditional costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
s, and
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s, as well as original photographs.


Library and Archives

The National Hellenic Museum’s Library and Archives includes well over 10,000 books, serial publications, and other documents. The library’s collection is composed of books on Greek history,
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
,
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, and
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, and includes such rare volumes as 17th and 18th century manuscripts. The archival collection includes years of Greek-American newspapers, magazines, and archival records, among other printed materials. The National Hellenic Museum's archival collections include hand-written letter collections, early-modern manuscripts, and one of the largest archives of Greek-language newspapers in the United States.


Exhibitions

The National Hellenic Museum hosts a variety of
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
s each year, spanning the breadth of Greek history, culture, and
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. Current Exhibitions *Lives Afloat: The Greek Refugee Crisis through the lens of Tasos Markou 2015-2017 *George Kokines: Layers Revealed *Change: The Story of Coins *Reaching for the American Dream: The Legacy of Greek Immigration *The Story of Greek Independence Past Exhibitions *Sweet Home Chicago: The Story of America's Candy Capital *Aegean: Creation of an Archipelago *Transcending Boundaries: The Art of Anthony Quinn *The Street is My Gallery, a visual display of street art in Athens *Monumental, a hands-on exhibit about Greek architecture *The Periklean Akropolis: From Antiquity To Modernity *The Greek Monsters *From Memory: Giorgios Rigas *Threads of Tradition *The Holocaust In Greece *Gods, Myths, And Mortals


Events

Along with smaller events which take place on a weekly or monthly schedule, such as cocktail receptions, dinner receptions,
brunch Brunch is a meal eaten between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., sometimes accompanied by alcoholic drinks (typically champagne or a cocktail). The meal originated in the British hunt breakfast. The word ''brunch'' is a portmanteau of ''breakfast'' a ...
es, meet-and-greet events, and holiday-themed events, the National Hellenic Museum has several marquee events which it hosts each year. *''Annual Gala'' – The Gala is the National Hellenic Museum's signature yearly fundraising event, and is held at various locations. The event includes dinner, music, dancing, live and silent auctions, ethnic performances and entertainment, in addition speeches by the museum director and honored guests, and cocktails. *''Kouzina'' – Chefs from the Chicago area gather at the National Hellenic Museum to put on a showcase of
Mediterranean cuisine Mediterranean cuisine is the food and methods of preparation used by the people of the Mediterranean Basin. The idea of a Mediterranean cuisine originates with the cookery writer Elizabeth David's book, ''A Book of Mediterranean Food'' (1950) ...
. Dishes include various
appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the ...
s,
salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...
s,
entrée An entrée (, ; ) in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world (apart from the United States and parts of Canada) is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America, it is generally synonym ...
s,
dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...
s, and
beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...
s. The event also includes music and cocktails at the museum.


References


External links


National Hellenic Museum's official webpage

Greektown Chicago's official webpage
{{Authority control Greek-American culture in Chicago Museums in Chicago Museums of ancient Greece in the United States Ethnic museums in Illinois European-American museums Cultural centers in Chicago