Mikis Theodorakis through the digital world of his archive, at the “Lilian Voudouri” Music Library of the Friends of Music Society.

A memorandum of cooperation between the Municipality of Chania and the Friends of Music Society was signed at CAM, on the occasion of the opening of the new travelling exhibition “Mikis Theodorakis in the Digital Age”, held on Tuesday, 18 November, with its first stop at the Centre of Mediterranean Architecture in Chania, the place our great composer chose as his final, eternal residence. 

“Today is a very pleasant day for the Municipality of Chania, as we are signing a memorandum of cooperation with the Friends of Music Society, which is a body that keeps the archive of Mikis Theodorakis alive—an archive we care deeply about—as well as extensive material through the Lilian Voudouri Music Library, which is hosted and associated with the Society and now has a close and meaningful partnership with the Municipality of Chania. This relationship will now become a formal cooperation that will take shape through the Giannis and Mikis Theodorakis Museum in Galatas, where the Municipality of Chania plans to realise the vision passed on to us by Mikis Theodorakis himself. It is a great responsibility that we are happily sharing with people and organisations who already have the know-how and have proven they can carry out major undertakings like this one,” stated Deputy Mayor for Culture Yiannis Giannakakis.

Regarding the exhibition “Mikis Theodorakis in the Digital Age”, the Deputy Mayor noted:
“Until January, here at the CAM exhibition space, we are hosting a very special exhibition about Mikis Theodorakis, presented in a very different way. Through digital material, through the content of the archive housed at the Megaron and the Lilian Voudouri Music Library, we will get to know Mikis Theodorakis, the poets he collaborated with, his childhood and mature years, and his era of great creative activity.”

Alexandros Charkiolakis, director of the Friends of Music Society, expressed his joy about the collaboration with the Municipality of Chania:
“As we stand at the threshold of the creation of the Mikis and Giannis Theodorakis Museum in Galatas, we are formalising this cooperation with the Municipality of Chania so that the Friends of Music Society, which is the guardian of Mikis Theodorakis’ work, can effectively contribute to the realisation of this Museum.”

He also noted about the exhibition:
“For the 100th anniversary of Mikis Theodorakis’ birth, the Ministry of Culture assigned us to carry out a series of activities, including this exhibition, with Chania as its first stop. It is a travelling exhibition that shows how Mikis Theodorakis can remain in memory and also be present—not only on mobile and computer screens but also in physical spaces where we hope this exhibition will travel.”

The exhibition is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Friends of Music Society, to whose Music Library Mikis Theodorakis entrusted his Archive in 1997. It is organised on the occasion of the celebration of the composer’s 100th birth anniversary.

For the first time, all digital tools developed by the Friends of Music Society and the Lilian Voudouri Music Library to make Mikis Theodorakis’ work accessible are gathered in one space—especially as, per his request, the Archive is preserved exclusively in the Library’s premises in Athens. The exhibition is curated by architect and museologist Erato Koutsoudaki, with scientific supervision by musicologist Valia Vraka, Head of the Greek Music Department of the Music Library.

Visitors will have the chance to experience something unique, spending time in three different pavilions and exploring his life and work interactively, with the help of cutting-edge technology.

The first pavilion, titled “A galaxy of music and action”, presents a digitised and interactive version of the major retrospective exhibition “Mikis Theodorakis: My Galaxy”, which was hosted at the Athens Concert Hall in 2021 and again in 2025. The public can have an immersive experience by wearing VR glasses. Through virtual reality, one can also view a digital reconstruction of Theodorakis’ residence in Zatouna, during his exile under the dictatorship.

The second pavilion, titled “For children, young and old”, features a panorama of photographic portraits of the composer from his Archive, shown to the public for the first time. It offers children (and those who feel like children) the chance to explore his life and work through interactive digital games that link documents from the Theodorakis Archive with key moments in his life and art.

The third pavilion, titled “Mikis and the great poets”, is devoted to perhaps the most important part of his legacy: his musical settings of poetry, which brought the words of great poets to our lips, set to melodies that are now an inseparable part of our cultural identity. This pavilion presents content created especially for the exhibition and offers the public the chance to enjoy his music inside the exhibition space, including new material from the Archive, unveiled for the first time.

CREDITS
GENERAL COORDINATION
Alexandros Charkiolakis, musicologist, Director of the Friends of Music Society
Yiannis Giannakakis, Deputy Mayor for Culture, Municipality of Chania

SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION
Valia Vraka, musicologist, Head of Greek Music, “Lilian Voudouri” Music Library

EXHIBITION DESIGN & CURATION
Erato Koutsoudaki, architect-museologist

ORGANISATION – PRODUCTION
Delta Pi

EXHIBITION DATES
18 November 2025 – 11 January 2026

OPENING HOURS
Monday – Friday: 10:00 – 20:00
Saturday – Sunday: 10:00 – 14:00

FREE ENTRY

📍 Megalo Arsenali – Centre of Mediterranean Architecture
Plateia Katechaki – Chania – Tel. +30 28213 41613
🌐 chania-culture.gr