INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY

Date: 18 May 2025

FREE ENTRANCE

Each year on May 18, International Museum Day is dedicated to a theme related to museums and the safeguarding of cultural heritage. The theme for the 2025 celebration is “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”.

In today's world, shaped by continuous transformation, our understanding of the world is evolving. Museums are redefining their roles and creating new ways of operating and communicating with the public. This year's celebration focuses on the following key topics: Intangible Cultural Heritage, The Power of Youth, and New Technologies.

The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki will participate in the celebration with the opening of the art exhibition “Φύσει μέν ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος… / Man is by nature…” by American visual artist Darryl Keith Babatunde Smith. His eight paintings are inspired by ancient artifacts exhibited at the museum and focus on humanity and its relationship with the earth and nature. The artworks reflect the artist's interpretation of ancient Macedonian culture as encountered through the museum's permanent exhibitions, expressed using his signature metallic stylus and a palette applied on iconography wood panels.

By hosting this exhibition, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki aims to cultivate a meaningful and reciprocal dialogue between ancient and contemporary art, one that transcends superficial comparisons and benefits the museum itself, the artworks (both ancient and modern), the visitor, and the artist’s relationship with the museum.

EVENTS PROGRAM

Observing DKBS | Friday, May 16

Students from the School of Fine Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) will have the opportunity to directly interact with American visual artist Darryl Keith Babatunde Smith, observing and conversing with him as he completes two of his artworks live, within the museum’s permanent exhibition “The Gold of the Macedonians”.