Greek Nominees for the ‘European Museum of the Year Award 2016’

The Archaeological Museum of Tegea in Tripoli and the Museum of Typography in Chania are among the 49 nominees for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) 2016.

Presented by the European Museum Forum, which  operates under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the EMYA is awarded to a museum that has attracted and welcomed its visitors using high museum standards and innovative approaches. The award values museums whose development and innovation in terms of communication, presentation and interpretation have impacted museum standards within Europe.

The winners of the EMYA 2016 will be announced at the award ceremony traditionally closing the Annual Assembly of the European Museum Forum which will take place on April 6-9, 2016, in Tolosa and San Sebastian, Basque Country (Spain).

Greek nominees

Archaeological Museum of Tegea
The Archaeological Museum of Tegea, situated in Alea-Tripolis, was built in 1907-1908 and was among the first regional museums to be established at the beginning of the 20th century, with the initiative of the Athens Archaeological Society. The first recording of the museum collections included 1,283 antiquities (sculptures, inscriptions, clay and metal artifacts, architectural parts), to which later the Archaeological Collection of Tripolis was added. Through time the historic land of Tegea yielded a growing archaeological record formed by excavations and accidental findings, all of which ended up in the Museum of Tegea. In recent years the museum underwent an extensive renovation and reopened to the public in 2014.

Museum of Typography
The Museum of Typography, situated in Chania, Crete, constitutes the life vision of its founder, Yannis Garedakis, founder and editor of the newspaper “Haniotika nea”. The Museum of Typography officially opened its gates in May 2005. Its collection includes hard to find, cast iron printing presses and other machines, as well as tools and objects that present the development of typography from birth, in the days of Gutenberg, up to our days. Rare books and newspapers, as well as the precious lithographies, travel visitors in the art of Typography.

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, with the aim of recognising excellence in the European museum scene and encouraging innovative processes in a museum world which still took the more traditional view to focus exclusively on collections rather than on their use for the benefit of society.

According to its founder Kenneth Hudson, the most innovative and bold museum changes take place in new small scale museums with young professional and dedicated teams, that is why small regional or private museums which opened in the last three years or reopened after a major restructuring can equally take part in the competition along with national or state museums.