Hundreds of archives, thousands of printed publications, unique works of art, an important collection of press, legal and illegal, posters, advertisements. For three decades of his life Archive of Contemporary Social History (ASCH) collected millions of records, undoubtedly being one of the most important archival organs of Greece in the 20th century.

The 30th anniversary of ASCI this year is an occasion to open it to the general public, as “in recent years, the connection with the past has become more and more intense as a consumer product, as an anniversary celebration, as an identity search, as entertainment, as a defense against e.g. in globalization”, as Vangelis Karamanolakis says in “K”., Chairman of the Board of ASKI and Associate Professor of Modern Greek History at the University of Athens. Thus, ASKI organizes a polymorphic History Festival at the Arts Center of the Municipality of Athens, Eleftherias Park (formerly EAT-ESA), from Thursday 9 February to Sunday 19 February. During the 11 days of the festival, daily events with free admission will be held: thematic discussions, master classes, documentary film screenings, historical walks with the participation of scientists, researchers, educators, artists living in Greece and abroad. Within the framework of the events, the central exhibition “When everything is possible! 4 Moments of the 20th Century”, which will include rare items from the ASKI collections. The four “moments” concern the Resistance of 1941-1944, the spring of the 1960s, the struggle for democracy and freedom during the seven-year junta of 1967-1974, and the era of great change of 1974-1992. The exhibition, which will be guided by daily tours, aims to offer an alternative narrative of the path taken by Greek political and social movements in the 20th century.

“The question is not only why history, but what kind of history. This is exactly what the ASKI festival wants to show: history speaks of yesterday, but speaks of today. A discussion about post-colonization or about refugees, including a recent issue of Archiotaxi, is a discussion for today; the need to think about what the Albanian immigration of the 90s meant for Greece, for the children of those who came, it means that this is not something of yesterday. On the other hand, activities such as historical walks, i.e. for strange Athens, they want to remind us of the modern history of this city, beyond its ancient monuments or its grand boulevards,” notes Mr. Karamanolakis.

“Let’s take another look at these anonymous faces that crowd into the photographs, those faces that defined history,” notes Mr. Vangelis Karamanolakis in K.

“Bell Fairy Tale”

The festival also focuses on the fact that not only historians make history. As he adds Mr. Karamanolakis in “K”, “We are also organizing a roundtable on multiple readings of the past with well-known contemporary artists. We are interested in the moment of crisis and the absence of great visions, in order to rethink the collectives that acted in moments when “everything was possible.” Let’s return to those anonymous faces that fill the photographs, to those faces that defined history, but at the same time were determined by its paths. I think we need a story bell, a story that reflects who we really were and opens the horizon for us where we want to go. That’s what the ASKI festival is trying to do, that I think should be the role of an institution that serves the citizen’s ability to know their past.”