Louiza Ntourou | Inside Out_The Museum

White pigeons flutter across the large square, chasing after a street lottery seller. Green parrots call indifferently from the high branches above. The sun gleams against the white marble stairs. From the canteen in the inner courtyard, the sounds of Greek pop music mix with the murmur of visitors enjoying ‘TOTAL’ yogurt from plastic cups. Nearby, three women take a cigarette break and exchange homemade treats. Stepping into the main hall, a child is riding a horse furiously, another one offers a sparrow to the sky, while a dog rests peacefully at its feet and the eyes of the Gorgon gaze toward the end of the corridor.

This is the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, founded in 1889, during the early years of Greece’s independence, a historical monument and a touchstone of national identity. Nowadays, the transformation of the museum is underway, in sync with the city’s rapid redevelopment. The Ministry of Culture has announced a major renovation that will significantly alter the museum’s layout and the visitors’ experience.

This project aims to adopt an observational approach and oral history techniques to document the living fabric of the museum as it exists today. Through interviews, archival and library research, on-site observation, and filming, Ntourou aims to capture the institution’s everyday life and the personal narratives embedded within it. Recognizing how physical spaces shape human interaction, the project will record informal encounters, untold stories, and the intangible heritage shared by museum staff and visitors. By integrating these accounts with a visual exploration of the museum’s architecture and atmosphere, the resulting film will offer both a documentary portrait and a historical record, preserving the identity of a cultural landmark before it undergoes significant change. It will serve as a testament to the museum’s enduring presence and the community it has fostered for over a century.