The Historical Archives-Museum of Epirus is under construction. It tells the history of Epirus through individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Museum of Epirus portrays general administrators and great teachers, visionaries and villains, actors and activists, benefactors and professors, businessmen and athletes, musicians and poets, embroideries and artists whose lives tell the Epirus story. The Museum of Epirus’ Portraits presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left—and are leaving—their mark on our country and our culture around the world. They all link us to our past, our present and our future.
The Museum of Epirus, in the ground floor of building of General Archives of Epirus inaugurates a new communication policy with the creation www.epirotes.gr as the informative material and semiotic report of everywhere Epirus’ emigrants. The portraits of Epirus, the touch screen video next to each portrait and its public space eg. their action, the archival documents placed in special cupboard under every portrait indicate the specific cultural, economic and social conditions of Epirus around the world from 19th up to 21th c.
The public space includes:
• political space as the place of decision and political contribution
• economic space as the place of decision making in economics concerning the wide economic choices that each society should make
• social space as the place of decision-making in work, in education or in other economic or cultural institutions as elements of a democratic society
• the ecological space as the area between the society and the nature.
The portraits confirm the progressive path and its multicultural education that was developed in connection with the local conditions. The number of archival documents indicates the historical frame, the natural environment, the political and economic efforts, the relations between the church and the Greek communities, the “adoptive” policy of colonial governments and the liberal spirit.
One additional note concerning Historical Archives-Museum of Epirus is that in spite of the archival influence in planning and development the portraits in general can provide hierarchical display of data and require item-level descriptions. So the portraits become a place to publish digital images and files decontexualized from the collection.
While the new generation creates their world according the tradition, the culture and the environment the development of Museum presents a new set of challenges, new institutions and equivalents social examples.
The General Archives of Greece-Historical Archives of Epirus shares with the (Personalities of Epirus) Epirus’ Portraits Museum one of Ali Pasha 's oldest public building, a Faculty of Cavalry was established in 1818. One of the nation's finest examples of Turkish and European architecture, the building has undergone an extensive renovation in the period 2003-2005. Although Melina Merkouri, the Minister of Culture pointed out the concession of the building as contributing to the establishment of Historical Archives-Museum of Epirus in 1989 slighted the actual effect.
