A generous donation has allowed University of Queensland students to gain first-hand experience in the field of ancient history, Greek archaeology, ancient art, museum curating and more.
The QLD Friends of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (QFAAIA) gifted $10,000 to UQ’s RD Milns Antiquities Museum to provide stipends to UQ students as Summer Research Scholars for the next 5 years.
This is the second gift from QFAAIA to the Museum. Their first was for the purchase of an ancient terracotta chariot figurine, presented in 2018.
To acknowledge their generosity, the presentation was accompanied by an Australian-first screening of the film Inhabiting Summers of History by Kytherian filmmaker Giorgos Didymiotis, and a visit from two special guests from the Archaeological Museum of Kythera.
The film, which took 4 years to complete, gives creative insights into the history, archaeology and natural beauty of Kythera, with a personal glimpse into George’s great grandfather’s role as a lighthouse keeper, an archaeological dig on the island, and the rebuilding and first exhibition within the Archaeological Museum of Kythera in 2015, after suffering earthquake damage in 2006.
In particular, the Lion of Kythera has special significance to the Museum, and the wonderful shorter animated film is not to be missed.
RD Milns Antiquities Museum, QFAAIA and the Greek based Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) are also strengthening Australian ties with Greece. In particular, the Museum is planning a 2024 exhibition on the Ionian Islands, which lie off the western coastline of Central Greece and Peloponnesus, and also include Kythera.
For your own personal glimpse into Kythera, Athens and classical antiquities visit RD Milns Antiquities Museum which holds the foremost collection in Queensland, displaying ancient art and archaeological material from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other ancient civilisations that developed around the Mediterranean Sea.
