PRESS RELEASE
Ararat-Eskijian Museum
15105 Mission Hills Rd
Mission Hills CA, 91345
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 818-838-4862
SCREENING OF DOCUMENTARY “IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE ARGONAUTS” AND A TALK BY
NIKOS MICHAILIDIS AT ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM.
Screening of documentary “In the footsteps of the Argonauts” a talk by Niko
Michailidis PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Princeton University
will be presented on Sunday June 9th, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. at the Ararat
Eskijian Museum,, Hasmik Mgrdichian Gallery, 15105 Mission Hills Road,
Mission Hills, CA.
The lecture, and the screening reflects on the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire, the Greek communities of Pontos which managed to survive from the
genocidal policies of the Young Turks regime in the beginning of the 20th
Century, and how they were relocated in mainland Greece and in other
countries. The memories and experiences of that generation passed on to the
younger through oral narratives, creation of archives, personal memoir
publications, music, dance, and lectures organized and supported by an
extensive network of cultural associations that had been founded in Greece
since 1923.
The current generation of Pontian-Greeks, that grew up without having any
significant immediate contact with the elder members of the community who
were born and raised in Pontos, faces further challenges of memory loss and
struggles to maintain a sense of Pontian-Greek identity by making use of all
these diverse mnemonic practices. “Learning the history of the ancestors” is
central in their attempt to form their subjectivities. The documentary “In
the Footsteps of the Argonauts” constitutes such an attempt to learn, to
remember, and to belong. This lecture will serve both as an introduction to
the documentary and as a presentation of the current quest of younger
Pontian-Greeks to form a modern sense of identity that maintains lively
links with the past and with a geographic region that has been lost.
Admission free (Donations appreciated) Reception following the program,
Nikolai Michailidis will be playing a few traditional songs with the Pontian
Lyra (Kemenche).
For more information contact the Ararat-Eskijian Museum at 818-838-4862 or
[email protected]
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