Repository of DUTH

«1912-2022 My fortune and my garments (Ta rouha mu kai ta kala opoios ta vri as ta pari)»: (Bachelor thesis)

Κωνσταντοπούλου, Μαργαρίτα/ Konstantopoulou, Margarita

The role and identity of the modern museum has been redefined in recent years, from simply a depository for works of arts and objects to a cultural institution which plays an important role in the development of society, addressing contemporary issues and participating in intercultural dialogues, such as the refugee crisis. The refugee crisis is one of the humanitarian crises that are presented at global level and is a huge challenge for the societies that are called to face it. Museums are able to create new approaches around the affair of the refugees and to be a “bridge of culture” for a smoother integration of socially vulnerable groups into society. In this research, an attempt is made to approximate the project “My fortune and my garments“ that took place on October 5th 2022 by the Ethnological Museum of Thrace – Angeliki Giannakidou, in Erithropotamos, Evros. The purpose of the present thesis is to study the reasons that a museum is led to the construction of such an action with protagonist the “other”, the refugee. In particular, it will be investigated whether the institution of the museum can contribute to the undoing of social inequalities and the flourishing of intercultural dialogue with an emphasis on diversity and acceptance, while an attempt will also be made in search of initiatives of a similar nature done by European museums. It will thus be examined how the museum mediates the creation of a new image of refugees, far from the one that is usually projected in the mass media. The present study was analyzed on the basis of the literature that is related to issues dealing with the social role of the museum, identities, memory and multiculturalism, while the action “My fortune and my garments“ was studied through the interview that was taken with the curator of the action and the director of the Ethnological Museum of Thrace, Angeliki Giannakidou.