1821 Greek Revolution 'comes to life' in digital projections over key buildings across Greece

'Desire For Freedom' is the title of large-scale digital projections that will be performed on key public buildings at 18 cities across the country on Saturday and Sunday June12-13.

Organized by the "Greece 2021" Committee, it is the largest digital projection mapping event ever held in Greece, according to the committee's announcement.

It is a visual narrative with relevant works of art depicting the history of the Greek Revolution, yet the projections also address each city's modern history. The digital screening comprises paintings and archival documents including books and official reports. More than 300 engravings and paintings from museums, municipalities and private collections in Greece and abroad were put together for the show, created through a unique visual layering technique, which animates works of art, adding depth, movement and sound.

Projection of the artistic narrative was adapted to the particular dimensions of each building, taking into consideration dimensions of height, length and width, and shapes and surface textures and even lighting conditions.

Production of the artistic narrative and its adaptation on the buildings was executed by the Laboratory of Transformable Intelligent Environments (TUC TIE Lab) of the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Crete.

The projections will take place simultaneously on the facades of 18 buildings chosen by each municipality in the cities and municipalities of:

Athens (the Hellenic Parliament building)

Alexandroupolis (Zarifeios Pedagogical Academy)

Chania (Mikis Theodorakis Theatre)

Chios (Castle Wall - Porta Maggiore)

Corfu (Old Town Hall)

Heraklion (the building of the Region of Crete)

Ioannina (Judicial Hall)

Kalamata (Visual Arts Workshop - Art Center)

Lamia (Municipal Theatre)

Larissa (Club of Guard Officers)

Messolonghi (Municipal Gallery)

Naoussa (Town Hall)

Nafplio (Town Hall)

Piraeus (Municipal Theater of Piraeus)

Rhodes (Town Hall)

Syros (Apollo Theatre)

Thessaloniki (Royal Theatre)

Tripoli (Judicial Hall)

The screenings will last for 18 minutes, repeating every half hour from 21:30 to 23:30. Furthermore, the visual content is accompanied by an original musical composition, and the projections will be further enhanced by an installation of atmospheric lighting in the surrounding area.

Approximately one month after the digital screening this weekend, the show will become available via an augmented reality app. It will enable a person to watch the audiovisual narrative using their mobile phones or tablets by standing in a specific spot in front of each building and aim the device's camera on its facade. While in the app, watching the projections, the user will have access to a plethora of information on projects and events of the "Greece 2021" Committee. The application will be available for Android and iOS, in Greek and English.

You can watch the digital screenings live, starting this Saturday at 21:30, at https://www.greece2021.gr/projections and you can watch a trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwe7vf-hxmo