PALIMPSEST Project Info-Day Municipality of Ioannina’s Cultural Centre

On the stage of the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Ioannina, students from four Primary Schools (1st and 2nd Experimental, 7th and 26th) and two High Schools (2nd and 3rd) presented dramatized texts based on the stories collected from their grandparents, relatives and older people in reference to their place, the City of Ioannina and their near villages. In stories of the past, different generations meet and interact.

This meeting is essentially the “yeast” for our transnational project, which was presented in the hall “B. Pyrsinellas”, in the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Ioannina. In the presentation of the project during the Info-day it was highlighted that the project seeks to re-integrate cultural heritage elements into the city using digital technologies and to develop an interactive, open-air museum experience in public spaces.

“In the city of Ioannina, there is a lot of information from the past, lost layers that we thought were permanently erased. Fortunately, we can recover them with the help of the older ones who collaborate with the younger ones, “said Polyxeni Mantzou (Prof. DUTh), communications manager of the project.

The first stage of the program was the collection of stories, with the processing of the material being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team. According to Xenophon Bitsikas (Prof. UoI) and the Project’s Manager, the project is currently developing a software and digital platform, while the appropriate points in the city of Ioannina are being sought for the implementation of artistic interventions. The next stage is the intangible visual installations (either a sound or projections), which will be activated by visitors-users.

The stories-narratives will be processed by visual artists. The selection of artists will be done through an art competition. The stories will return to the city through art and with the help of new technologies. It should be noted that the platform that will be created will be interactive, it will be able to welcome other stories-narratives about the city and its people.

“Our museum will be made up of intangible stories that have been collected and interpreted,” said Prof. Mantzou, an open-air museum in public places, not a building.

Sofia Triantou, member of the PALIMPSEST Team with great experience in implementing European programs, spoke on behalf of the Region of Epirus at the presentation of the Palimpsest project. Ms. Triantou placed special emphasis on the participation of the educational community in the implementation of the project, thanking all those teachers who collaborated.

The mayor of Ioannina, Moses Elisaf, and the deputy governor of the Region of Epirus, Costas Siaravas, addressed a greeting and spoke of an “innovative project”.