With great success, the opening of Mystery 15 The Living Museum exhibition took place on Sunday 30 March, at the former IRIS factory and the Archaeological Site of Elefsina. This multidimensional exhibition by the internationally recognized visual artist and Emeritus Professor of the School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens, Vana Xénou, explores the historical and contemporary identity of Elefsina and is one of the major projects of the artistic programme for 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture. Through this large retrospective exhibition, the city is revealed as an open museum, a place of continuous initiation, where the past is not a static narrative but an active process of transformation.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki, the President of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis, Deputy Minister of Culture Iason Fotilas, the Deputy Regional Governor of Western Attica, Kleanthis Varelas, Mayor of Elefsina Georgios Georgopoulos, the General Secretary of Contemporary Culture Eleni Doundoulaki, the Ambassador of France Laurence Auer, the General Director of the Acropolis Museum Nikolaos Stampolidis, Emeritus Professor of NTUA Panagiotis Tournikiotis, as well as many other political and state officials, academics, artists, and art lovers.
At the renovated IRIS factory and the Archaeological Site of Elefsina, a significant number of artistic works by Vana Xénou showcase the explosive result of three decades of research, study, and creation, with a focus on Elefsina, which was the largest sanctuary of the ancient world and the city where, in modern times, the industrial core of the country was established.
Impressive creations such as the dominant sculptural Persephone – Daughter and the large-scale painting of the same title, the installation Elefsina with 26 bronze sculptures, Emerging Gaia, the 20 Columns, Nyctis, the 15 Marble Inscribed Plates, the Ancestors – and the Ancestors in the Depths of Mythical Thought – in these two spaces, shape affinities and continuities. The real and the mythical, the descent and the emergence, death and transmutation, the sacred and the initiatory lead to an initiation experience.
Elefsina and the Work of Vana Xénou – Speeches and Greetings
The event was opened with a brief greeting by the person responsible for the artistic project from the side of 2023 Eleusis, Georgia Voudouri, and followed by speeches from state representatives and the curator of the exhibition, Takis Mavrotas, who focused on the multifaceted artistic and research work of Vana Xénou.
In his speech, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Iason Fotilas, emphasized the transformative experience that the exhibition provides: “This exhibition is of exceptional importance, not only for the work of Vana Xénou but because it establishes a new relationship between place, history, and art. Centered on Elefsina, a place with the stratifications of centuries, her work reveals the deep connection between myth and contemporary reality. Here, memory is not a static narrative but a living mechanism of transformation.”
The Deputy Regional Governor of Western Attica, Kleanthis Varelas, in his greeting, highlighted the tangible positive evaluation of the city: “In our visit two weeks ago with the Regional Governor and the Mayor of Elefsina, Mr. Chardalias and Mr. Georgopoulos, to all the cultural spaces of Elefsina, we saw what has been achieved in the context of the European Capital of Culture, and we are here to support its continuation.”
The Mayor of Elefsina, Georgios Georgopoulos, emphasized among other things: “Through this exhibition, Elefsina is revealed as an open museum, where the past connects with the present, functioning as a living bridge between the city of Mysteries and modern life. Mrs. Xénou’s work invites us to recognize once again our city not only as a place of memory but as a living field of cultural creation, constantly transforming and renewing itself.”
The CEO of 2023 Eleusis, Nana Spyropoulou, mentioned: “Mystery 15 TheLiving Museum is one of the last major projects of the official artistic programme of 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, as it was designed for the year of the title, which was implemented with the decisive contribution of the Recovery Fund. It also symbolizes our commitment to a deep and long-term vision for the city of Elefsina.”
The curator of the exhibition, Takis Mavrotas, described the richness and diversity of Vana Xénou’s artistic and research work: “Here in Elefsina, with its ancient history and Mysteries, which for two thousand years was one of the five sacred cities, the cosmogonic thought of the sculptor is reborn based on the search for beauty and myth. Works of painting, both small and large in size, along with sculptures from the last thirty years of her hard work, reveal her visionary world.” He added, “Her work impacts human consciousness, as it is part of the human experience, and the way it appropriates public spaces, where she integrates her sculpture into a defined environment, expands the collective experience and memory. It is a human-centered work strengthened by the concept of mystery.”
Lastly, Vana Xénou said, “This is a demanding and multidimensional exhibition project, for the many faces, the multiple narratives of Elefsina, which recognizes the dual identity of the city, which was one of the largest sanctuaries of the ancient world, while at the same time, the modern Greek state establishes the industrial core of the country.” In her essay “Why Elefsina Today? From Melancholy to Vision,” she calls to the Depths of mythical thought, where the past offers an opportunity to turn inward: “My journey in the ancient Greek experience is not a return to the past, but a return inward. The question ‘Why Elefsina today?’ seems to rest on the search for creativity in the sources – or rather, in the eternally active forces of primordial beings that the mystics offered through their rituals as a ray of light.”
Information
Location: IRIS and Archaeological Site of Elefsina
Duration: 30 March – 31 May 2025
Opening Hours – IRIS: Wed. – Fri. 18:00 – 21:00, Sat. and Sun. 13:00 – 21:00
Free Entrance
Exhibits at the Archaeological Site will only be accessible during opening hours.
With the support of the Ephorate of Antiquities of West Attica.
The project Mystery 15 The Living Museum is realised in the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with funding from the European Union – Next GenerationEU.
