Future Cometh
AGENCY
Post Spectacular Office
CATEGORY
ΕΚΘΕΣΙΑΚΟΙ ΧΩΡΟΙ
Future Cometh. Anatolia College. 100 years in Thessaloniki Exhibiting an American educational institution in Thessaloniki, Greece A centennial anniversary offers an opportunity for celebration, reflection, contemplation, self-knowledge and plans for the future. Marking 100 years since its beginnings in Thessaloniki, Anatolia College is addressing the city’s public to tell its story through an exhibition being held in the heart of the city. In designing the narrative of the exhibition, the members of the curatorial team rhetorically asked in which manner can one “present” a school, the history of which is intertwined with the hi story of three places—America, the Pontus, Greece—and which evolves over three centuries, from the 19th to the 21st century. During our research, we ascertained that the long and turbulent history of the College sheds light on moments from the modern history of the Ottoman Empire and of Greece, revealing aspects of the international relations between America and Greece, “East” (Anatoli) and “West”, as well as more specific issues such as the rise and acme of the American missionary movement, its transformation, and its role in the so-called “Westernization” of the “East”. With these initial thoughts, we proceeded to interpreting the story of Anatolia College through the two overlapping levels of history: macrohistory and microhistory. Anatolia’s Centennial exhibition is arranged in three units. It showcases the rich archival material of Anatolia College, such as historical objects, photographs, videos, public documents, personal notes and student publications, the largest part of which is housed in the Bissell Library. In addition, a great amount of primary and secondary sources were also studied to document the historical, socio-political and cultural context of Anatolia’s course over the 100 years of its history. The first unit of the exhibition covers the “early” history of Anatolia College in Asia Minor, during which time the foundations for its subsequent path are laid. The beginnings of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), based in Boston, are presented, which are linked to the establishment of schools and hospitals in the Ottoman Empire. Bebek Seminary (1840) and Robert College in Constantinople (1863) formed the original core from which, after the split and relocation of the Seminary to Merzifon, the history of Anatolia College begins, which was founded in 1886 as a College of Liberal Arts. Through a presentation of the work of the College and the four-year secular education it offered, reference is made to the Armenian and Greek Orthodox community of Merzifon and their relationship to the school, and to the conflicts with the Ottoman administration and later with the Young Turk regime, which eventually led to Anatolia leaving the region.
CLIENT
Anatolia College

CREDITS

Photographer
Yiorgis Yerolymbos
Artistic Direction and Curation
Post-Spectacular Office ⁄ Stergios Galikas
Museological Study
Post-Spectacular Office ⁄ Stergios Galikas, Alkmini Paka, Dr. Angeliki Tsiotinou (Partner)
Museographical Design
Post-Spectacular Office / Stergios Galikas, Alkmini Paka
Architectural Design
Post-Spectacular Office ⁄ Stergios Galikas, Evelina Garantzioti, Elli Christaki
Visual Identity and Environmental Graphics
Post-Spectacular Office ⁄ Stergios Galikas, Nikos Antonopoulos, Takis Dimitriadis
Production Management
Jenny Delichristou ⁄ Jade Communications Angeliki Sapika
Scientific Research-Documentation
Alkmini Paka Dr. Angeliki Tsiotinou
Research of Sources and Compilation of Primary Sources
Christos Plousios Dr. Evi Tramantza
Archival Research, Research of Sources and Compilation of Exhibition Material
Post-Spectacular Office ⁄ Stergios Galikas, Alkmini Paka, Dr. Angeliki Tsiotinou
Research of Sources and Compilation \ of Exhibition Material
Jenny Delichristou, Suzana Giouvanoudi, Efthymia Kompouri, Angeliki Sapika, Anna Maria Xygalidou
Research, Editing and Archival Material Management
Stella Asderi, Jenny Delichristou, Suzana Giouvanoudi, Efthymia Kompouri, Lena Markoudi, Alkmini Paka, Maria Rampota, Angeliki Sapika, Dr. Evi Tramantza, Dr. Angeliki Tsiotinou, Liza Vachtsevanou, Anna Maria Xygalidou
Scientific and Museological Editing of Exhibition Texts
Alkmini Paka, Dr. Angeliki Tsiotinou
Video
Alexandra Niaka