The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) in Chicago reopens on September 16th after shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning with a featured photo exhibit after an annual Gala celebrating the museum’s comeback.
The NHM, dedicated to sharing Greek history, art, and culture, will once again become the focal point of Hellenism in Chicago and beyond starting on September 10th, when it will hold its much-anticipated gala.
Organizers promise an evening of fine dining, music, dancing, and a spectacular auction to benefit the NHM. Greek pop singer Thanos Petrelis will also perform at the Hilton Chicago.
Click here for more information and ticket reservations for the gala.
NHM Reopening features major photography exhibition
Six days later, the grand reopening of NHM will take place with the world premiere of the major photography exhibition Resilience featuring the works of Prince Nikolaos, an accomplished photographer who has exhibited his work internationally since 2015.
As part of the NHM exhibition, Nikolaos will present nineteen new pieces, exploring Greece’s strong relationship with nature, including the olive tree, grapevines, and the sea.
The exhibition will also feature the North American premiere of Together, an immersive scene of life-size illuminated, embracing olive trees accompanied by sounds of Greek nature, which first premiered at the London Design Biennale in 2021.
“Greece’s past, present and future is intertwined and inextricably linked with nature,” says Marilena Koutsoukou, curator of Resilience. “The recent pandemic has changed how we view the physical world and our space within it and has forced us to go back to our origins to find inspiration.”
“As an artist, Prince Nikolaos is always drawn to open spaces, and nature has been an integral theme and presence in his work,” she said. “With this exhibition, he turns his lens to the Greek earth. Like an [archeologist] meticulously excavating, recording, and drawing conclusions, he attempts to deconstruct and explore our collective experience with a new normal, a shared belief that we must let go of our past ways and find ways to celebrate and protect nature, and eventually, ourselves.”
The Resilience exhibition is sponsored by NHM Trustee John S. Koudounis.
Koudounis says: “We are thrilled and honored that HRH Prince Nikolaos has chosen the National Hellenic Museum for his North American debut. He is a renowned artist whose work has been exhibited in major global cities including Athens, London, Copenhagen, Doha and Melbourne—and now Chicago audiences and visitors from across the country will have the opportunity to experience his striking and impactful images.”
“We are delighted to welcome the public back to the museum to experience these exquisite images as seen through the lens of an artist who captures the magnificent and timeless beauty of nature,” adds NHM Executive Director Marianne Kountoures.
“Prince Nikolaos’ work encourages us to consider how the natural world impacts us and how we can preserve it for generations to come,” Kountoures said.
Resilience by HRH Prince Nikolaos will be exhibited at the National Hellenic Museum (333 S. Halsted Street, Chicago) from September 16, 2022 through December 30, 2022. Museum hours are Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets to the museum are $10 and include admission to all exhibits. Discounts are available for seniors, students, and children. For more information, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
National Hellenic Museum shares the legacy of Hellenism
Founded in 1983 as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, the mission of the museum is to share the legacy of Hellenism and to preserve the stories and honor the contributions to the United States of Greek immigrants and Americans of Greek heritage.
The NHM’s current location in Chicago’s historic Greektown neighborhood was established in 2011. The building is constructed with natural limestone and glass, materials that represent the artistic and technological traditions of Greeks from the Classical Age to the current day.
The symbolic heart of our building is a dramatic, sky-lit east-to-west-staircase that represents the immigrant experience, cultural ties to Greece, and the limitless potential—the resilience—of Greek Americans in the United States.
NHM preserves the Hellenic legacy and makes this rich heritage relevant today. Its collections have become the largest of their kind in the nation with more than ten thousand physical artifacts, more than one hundred archival collections, over 450 oral history interviews, and an extensive reference library with a significant holding of Greek-American newspapers.
The NHM Chairman is John P. Calamos, Sr. who is the Global CIO of Calamos Investments, a firm he founded in 1977. He has established research and investment processes centered around a team-based approach designed to deliver superior risk-adjusted performance over full market cycles.
With 46 years of industry experience, Calamos is often quoted as an authority on risk-managed investment strategies, markets and the economy, and he has authored two books on convertible securities.
Calamos Investments was named Best Overall Fund Group in 2022 at the Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards earlier this year.
The Leading global asset manager was named Best Overall Small Fund Family Over Three Years at the 2022 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards, which provides an “independent and compromised assessment” of funds around the world.
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