More than 1500 visitors to date have passed through the doors of the iconic Sydney Town Hall to admire the ‘1821 Greek Art Exhibition’ organised by St Basil’s NSW/ACT and curated by Captain Nikolaos Roussos.
The official launch, held on Sunday evening to coincide with the Greek Revolution commemorative events was a great opportunity for distinguished guests to come together and explore the Athens War Museum’s rare exhibits and traditional costumes from the collection ‘Heroes Made of Metal’ by the internationally renowned sculptor Nikos Floros.
Attending the event that was mc’d by Chairman of St Basil’s Homes NSW/ACT James Jordan were Archbishop Makarios of Australia and a number of distinguished guests including Press Counsellor Costas Yiannakodimos representing the Consul General of Greece in Sydney Christos Karras, Mr Andrew Chryssavgis representing the High Commissioner of Cyprus Martha Mavrommati, Parliamentary Secretary Peter Poulos, Georges River Mayor Nick Katris, Bank of Sydney CEO Miltos Michaelas and boxing champion George Kambosos.
Numerous speeches were given on the night about how Greek Orthodox faith, history language and culture are intertwined to form one’s national identity and the importance of upholding those values and passing them on to future generations while students from St Spyridon, All Saints and St Euphemia Colleges performed the Greek and Australian national anthems.
“I hope people will keep the flame of our history alive,” said Archbishop Makarios in his speech making a special mention on the current situation in Ukraine.
“It is not possible to think of modern Greece as being separate from the Church or a Greek not having that spiritual and religious aspect to their lives.”
Press Counsellor Mr Yiannakodimos conveyed a message from the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who praised Greeks in Australia for “being the living piece of the Greek nation despite the challenges that have occurred during the years.”
“Wherever I happen to be on Greek National Days, my thoughts are always with the diaspora and its Hellenic communities where the vision for Independence was created and rooted,” read the Prime Minister’s letter.
Secretary General for Greeks abroad Ioannis Chrysoulakis, NSW Minister for Multiculturalism and Seniors Mark Coure, Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore and sculptor Nikos Floros also addressed the attendees via video messages.
Last speakers for the evening were Mr Poulos who gave a passionate speech about history, his heritage and the contribution of Greek migrants in the state’s multicultural fabric and exhibition curator Captain Roussos.
After the formalities concluded the Archbishop enjoyed a tour of the exhibition by Captain Roussos and socialised with the attendees.
1821 Greek Art Exhibition
Exhibition dates: March 13 to April 3, 2022
Open 7 days, 9:30am – 4:30pm
Venue: Sydney Town Hall, 483 George St, Sydney NSW 2000.
Admission is free.
