Commissioned by the project’s curators and Benaki Museum we created a short film that documents a site-specific, socially-engaged, walking performance project in southern Greece:
Mani Through the Senses is a three-hour “walkshop” with short performance pieces and hands-on interactions inspired by Fermor’s travel writing and the natural/cultural landscape of the Mani region in Greece. The project is located in and around the house of writer Patrick Leigh Fermor and photographer Joan Leigh Fermor in Greece’s Mani region, currently a writer’s retreat and research center of the Benaki museum.
During the walkshop, a group of sighted and partially sighted members from the local community were given prompts that focused on sensory observation, creative writing and story telling. At the end of the walkshop participants had a chance to share unique insights from their collective journey and reflect on their distinct forms of embodied knowledge.
Project Curators:
Lydia Matthews, Fotis Flevotomos
Guest Artists:
Vassiliki Spachou, Fenia Papadodima, George Palamiotis
Community Partners:
Panhellenic Association of the Blind in the South Peloponnese
Cultural Association for Art & Nature “NARTURA”
High School of Kardamyli
Documentary film by Eirini Steirou and Damian Aronidis
Directed by Eirini Steirou
Produced by the Benaki Museum | Department of Education
The film was created thanks to the Greek Family of Frank G.J. Gaisford
With the support of NEON Organization for Culture and Development
The work was commissioned and co-sponsored by the Benaki Museum as part of “Seeing with the Senses”—the Museum’s monthly access program for visitors who are blind or partially sighted.
