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Athens, Greece · Cultural cooperation

Cultural & Institutional Partnerships.

We turn historical research into experiences people can hear, handle, make and share.

Archaeopolis is a non-profit civil company (AMKE) based in Athens. We bring heritage interpretation, historical reconstruction and creative production to collaborations with cultural organisations, museums, universities and public bodies.

Discuss a cultural partnership Explore our track record
Three musicians performing with reconstructed string and percussion instruments at the Rhodes festival
Reconstructed music, live performance · Rhodes, 2018Photograph © John Markantonis · Archaeopolis archive
Speaker and attendees at the GNTO symposium Greece, the Land of Wellbeing in Athens
Greece, the Land of WellbeingGNTO symposium · Athens, 2022Experiential exhibition curated by Archaeopolis

Our contribution

Heritage programmes
for museums & cultural venues.

Programmes can combine live interpretation, workshops, exhibition content and audiovisual storytelling. We agree the audience, setting and scope with each host.

Live interpretation and living history

We develop living history programmes for museums, cultural centres and public festivals through reconstructed objects, costume, craft and storytelling. Our contribution can include historical festival programme design in Greece, bringing individual activities into a shared visitor experience.

The participatory programme in Rhodes and the Olkas maritime storytelling event show how these elements come together. Read more about our approach to designing a historical festival.

Ancient Greek music demonstrations

For archaeological institutes, museums and cultural organisations, reconstructed instruments offer a starting point for listening, explanation and audience discussion. We coordinate musicians and ancient Greek instrument presentations as part of a wider heritage programme.

The Ancient Greek Music programme at the AAIA documents this combination of live performance and interpretation.

A musician playing two reconstructed pipes during a live performance in Rhodes
Reconstructed wind instruments in performance · Rhodes, 2018

Historical gastronomy for cultural events

Ancient Greek food demonstrations can connect recipes, reconstructed tableware and performance with the history of everyday life. We develop historical gastronomy programmes for exhibitions and cultural events, adapting the format to the host and setting.

Our Nectar & Ambrosia contribution to Gods of Olympus brought historical food, dining equipment, costume and live performance into a public visitor experience.

Historical food tasting dishes, grapes and wooden serving utensils on a demonstration table in Rhodes
Historical gastronomy and tableware · Rhodes, 2018

01 / Track record

Selected work.
Specific contributions.

Each project below links to its full record, with the setting, Archaeopolis’s role and supporting material.

An instructor guides a participant drawing a traditional bow during the Rhodes festival
Guided archery · Rhodes, 2018 · Archaeopolis photographic archive
A sculptor presents a face casting during a live craft demonstration at the Rhodes festival
Live sculpture demonstration · Rhodes, 2018
Visitors beside reconstructed armour and a historical dining couch at the Rhodes festival
Reconstructed armour and historical dress · Rhodes, 2018

3–4 July 2018 · Rhodes

A Day in Ancient Greece

Municipality of Rhodes & Region of South Aegean

Delivery of a two-day public cultural experience through the doitinAthens programme, with creative design by Poeessa Themed Events and musical collaboration with the Seikilo team.

Theatre, reconstructed music, craft and children’s workshops brought ancient daily life to a public audience. The programme also included ancient Greek makeup demonstrations, an exhibition of reconstructed armour and historical dress, ancient archery, historical fencing demonstrations, historical food tastings and Hippocratic-inspired massage.

Festival film, 74 photographs and programme documentation

View project & sources
Watch on YouTube ↗
Greek Tourism Posters · 1990–1999Greek Tourism Posters · Georgios Katsos with director and animator Nikos Zappas
Watch the complete seven-part series

12 April 2022 · Athens

Greece, the Land of Wellbeing

Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO)

Curation of the symposium’s experiential exhibition. Georgios Katsos developed the concept, creative direction and historical research for a tourism-poster audiovisual work with director and animator Nikos Zappas.

Seven films interpreting Greek tourism posters from 1929 to 1999, alongside a separate animated work on ancient Greek gastronomy developed with Zappas.

Official event report, published films and project credits

View project & sources
The AAIA music programme introduced beside reconstructed string and wind instruments in the Institute’s library
Athens, 2019 · Frame from the AAIA event film

13 February 2019 · Athens

Ancient Greek Music at the AAIA

Hosted by the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens

Programme coordination by Georgios Katsos, bringing musicians and reconstructed string, wind and percussion instruments into an institutional setting.

Live performance, explanation and audience discussion connected the sound of reconstructed instruments with their cultural context.

The host’s event record and acknowledgement, plus event film

View project & sources
Reconstructed vessels and dining equipment in the Nectar and Ambrosia installation at Gods of Olympus
Nectar & Ambrosia installation · Thessaloniki, 2019 · Archaeopolis photographic archive
Reconstructed armour presented within the Gods of Olympus exhibition scenography
Armour and exhibition scenography · Thessaloniki, 2019

4 October 2019 – 15 January 2020 · Thessaloniki

Gods of Olympus

Produced by Placebo Events with DETH-Helexpo

Creation of the Nectar & Ambrosia historical food experience, with recipe development, scenographic support, costume, reconstructed dining equipment and live performance.

A contribution to the park’s mythological visitor experience, bringing food, objects, music and movement into its public programme.

Official park archive, opening coverage and Archaeopolis production archive

View project & sources
The reconstructed Olkas vessel afloat in a harbour, with its wooden hull, mast and rigging visible
Olkas afloat · Wider Archaeopolis production archive
Costumed performers beside the reconstructed Olkas vessel on a coastal production set
A coastal production setting · Wider Olkas archive

13 July 2018 · Penteli

Olkas · One Ship, One Story

Public event in the Municipality of Penteli

Archaeopolis’s reconstructed Olkas vessel formed the centre of a public programme with historical martial presentations, live pipes and percussion, and participating living-history groups.

A full-scale interpretive reconstruction became a shared setting for maritime storytelling and live demonstration. The wider archive documents its construction, maintenance and installation.

Contemporary event report and construction, transport and performance photographs

View project & sources

02 / Research & heritage methodology

Evidence, craft
and interpretation.

Our practice connects historical material with contemporary creative delivery. Texts, archaeological evidence and visual references inform objects, performances and programmes.

Inside the atelier & working collection
A film crew and camera equipment beside the reconstructed Olkas vessel on a coastal set
On-location filming with Olkas · Archaeopolis production archive

Read the sources

Define the historical context and the material being interpreted. The GNTO films, for example, used a dated poster archive to explore the changing image of Greece.

Make the interpretation tangible

Translate references into vessels, costume, sound, movement or scenography. Olkas draws on the Kyrenia ship as an interpretive reconstruction for cultural production.

Build an encounter

Bring objects and stories into a format suited to its audience: a demonstration, a guided workshop, an exhibition or a public performance.

Keep the context visible

Project records distinguish reconstructed material, contemporary interpretation and documented delivery, with credits and sources attached to the relevant work.

03 / Education & public engagement

Learning through
participation.

Our participatory heritage programmes support informal learning and public engagement with cultural heritage through making, listening and discussion.

A sculptor working on a clay portrait beside a musician playing a reconstructed wind instrument at the Rhodes festival
Live sculpture & reconstructed music · Rhodes, 2018 · Archaeopolis photographic archive

Making, listening and discussing

In Rhodes, children encountered mythology and daily life through stories, games and craft. At the AAIA, reconstructed instruments supported live music, explanation and conversation with the audience.

These formats offer starting points for a partner’s learning programme. The audience, learning objectives, facilitation and documentation can be developed together for each project.

Explore the AAIA music programme

04 / Accessibility & inclusion

Plan for the people
taking part.

The Rhodes programme combined activities for children with experiences for adults, using making, music, storytelling and demonstration as different ways to participate.

To agree with each host

For a new collaboration, access provision should be part of the brief: participant needs, language, step-free routes, seated participation and alternatives to physically demanding activities. The final format and any specialist support depend on the venue, partners and agreed resources.

05 / Sustainable production

Objects with
a working life.

The Olkas archive documents construction, maintenance, transport and repeated installation. The atelier houses a working collection selected for exhibitions, events and screen production.

Follow the Olkas production archive
The Olkas vessel’s wooden deck, oars, mast and rigging in sunlight
Deck, oars and rigging · Olkas construction details · Archaeopolis archive

A practical basis for the next production

For a new partnership, the production plan can assess which existing objects can be used again, what needs repair or adaptation, how transport can be coordinated and what happens to newly made material after the programme. Environmental targets and reporting would be agreed for that specific project.

Start a conversation

A cultural programme
we can build together.

Archaeopolis can contribute to European cultural cooperation as a heritage interpretation and public engagement partner based in Greece. We welcome discussions about exhibitions, participatory programmes and the public engagement elements of research and education projects.

Contact Georgios Katsos, Founder & Creative Director. Share your project theme, audience, partners, timetable and the contribution you are looking for.

Send a partnership enquiry Meet Georgios Katsos