The Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus was born from the merger of four Thessaloniki-based museums/art venues (the State Museum of Contemporary Art, the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki) and the Athens-based Museum Alex Mylona. MOMus is a Legal Entity of Private Law based in Thessaloniki and is under the oversight of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The legal status, organizational goals, administration and structure of the institution, and all matters pertaining to its management and operation, are described in the law establishing MOMus (Law 4572/2018).
The founding of MOMus followed a years-long period of concentrated effort, driven by the steadfast, shared ambition of creating synergies and setting common goals for the promotion of contemporary Greek culture at the local, national and international level.
In November 2018, five museums, four based in Thessaloniki (the Museum of Modern Art - Costakis Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art - Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, the Experimental Center for the Arts) and one in Athens (Museum Alex Mylona) officially joined forces, creating a single, large, integrated public cultural institution, whose aspiration is to leave its mark on international modern and contemporary art, photography, sculpture and the experimental arts.
Chairman:
Epaminondas Christophilopoulos
Vice Chairwoman:
Jelina Makrantonaki
Members:
Katerina Kamara
Georgios Katsagelos
Ioannis Kessopoulos
Nikos Papageorgiou
Synthia Sapika
Matoula Scaltsa
Anastasios Tzikas
General Director:
Fani Tsatsaia
The goals of the Organisation are the following:
- The dynamic development and promotion of visual arts, photography and industrial and architectural design.
- The dynamic promotion of art education.
- The dynamic development of historical and scientific studies and research.
- Providing support to experimental and alternative art initiatives.
These goals are accomplished by:
- Creating museum collections and archives.
- Safekeeping and exhibiting collections and archives using state of the art, effective museological practices.
- Archiving and documenting collections with the help of electronic methods.
- The permanent exhibition of selected parts of its collections in appropriate venues.
- The organization of periodical exhibitions, either independently or in collaboration with museums and contemporary art institutions in Greece and abroad.
- Making use of cutting-edge digital technology in all aspects of communication.
- Effectively collaborating and networking with important cultural institutions in Greece and abroad.
- Preserving and showcasing the works of Greek and international artists.
- Promoting the cultural education of the public.
- Making art accessible to all social groups.
- Setting up a special professional education and specialization program for the organization’s curators.
- Designing and implementing educational programs for schools and other groups (for example by organizing art workshops for children, teenagers and students, tours and seminars for teachers, and implementing training seminars approved by the competent state agencies).
- Producing print and electronic publications for the public.
- Supporting and/or organizing parallel events (lectures, conferences, film screenings, stage performances, concerts and interdisciplinary/interartistic special events and tributes, both independently and in collaboration with eminent cultural and educational institutions in Greece and abroad).
