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Online Lecture by Professor Erika Fischer-Lichte
In the context of the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House honorary fellowships programme, the Benaki Museum, in collaboration with the Centre of Modern Greece (Centrum Modernes Griechenland / CeMoG) of Freie Universität Berlin, has the pleasure and honour to host Professor Erika Fischer-Lichte, Professor of Theatre Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.
During her stay in Kardamili, Professor Fischer-Lichte gave a lecture under the title “Philhellenism and Theatromania in Germany since 1800”.
The lecture was given in English at The Leigh Fermor House.
To watch the lecture, click here.
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Online Lecture by Professor Oliver Taplin
Within the framework of the honorary fellowship programme of the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House, Professor Oliver Taplin Emeritus Professor of Classics at Oxford University, gave an online lecture under the title An Exploration of how every Ancient Greek Tragedy was a Collaboration.
Abstract: There is a tendency to think about ancient tragedy solely with reference to the three great poets. In reality they could not have become the celebrated names that they are without a whole “team” of collaborators. These were not merely marginal players and artisans (as is implied by Aristotle’s Poetics), but indispensable contributors to the achievement of the actual production in the theatre. In this lecture, Professor Taplin will pay due attention to these other creative artists, and give them proper credit. The importance of their contributions will be illustrated with particular reference to Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy.
The lecture was given in English and was broadcast live from The Leigh Fermor House on 6/5/2023.
To watch the lecture, click here.
The Kardamili Jazz Festival at the Leigh Fermor House
For the first time, the Leigh Fermor House participated in the Kardamili Jazz Festival 2022 by hosting at the House’s garden three concerts by Live Foyn Friis and Bård Helgerud, Knut Hem and the Pandhandle Stringswing Band. The Embassy of Norway in Greece, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum, offered a reception at the House in honour of the musicians and contributors of the Festival.
Online Lecture by Professor Roderick Beaton
Within the framework of the honorary fellowships at the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House, Professor Roderick Beaton Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language & Literature at King’s College London gave an online lecture titled British Philhellenism from Lord Byron to Patrick Leigh Fermor.
Abstract: Between 1821 and 1827, volunteers known as ‘philhellenes’ arrived in Greece from all over Europe and even from faraway America, to take part in the Greek Revolution, or ‘War of Independence’. While the conflict lasted, more than 1,000 individuals took part in the armed struggle as volunteers. Some became disillusioned and left again, others lost their lives, either in battle or from disease. The casualty rate was devastating – and the toll included the most famous of all the foreign volunteers, Lord Byron, who died at Missolonghi in Western Greece in April 1824. The talk will follow Byron’s progress from the young Romantic poet of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812), who travelled in Greece between 1809 and 1811, until his fateful decision to dedicate himself to the cause of Greek liberation in 1823. In the final part of the talk, it is proposed that the nature of philhellenism had changed perceptibly by the time of the dramatic activities of Patrick Leigh Fermor in Nazi-occupied Crete in 1944; but that the builder of the house at Kardamili, no less than Byron, had been simultaneously a man of letters and a man of action.
The lecture was given in Greek and was broadcasted live from the Leigh Fermor House in Kardamili on 14/05/2022.
To watch the lecture, click here.
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Online lecture by Professor Hartmut Leppin
As part of the ongoing collaboration between the Benaki Museum / The Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor House and the Center for Modern Greece (Centrum Modernes Griechenland / CeMoG) of the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin), Professor Hartmut Leppin, Department of Ancient History, Goethe University Frankfurt (Goethe-Universität), gave an online lecture under the title From Robbery to the Pirate Empire: Pirates in Ancient Greece from The Leigh Fermor House.
The lecture forms part of a conference organised by the Goethe University Frankfurt at the Leigh Fermor House in April 2022.
To watch the lecture, click here
Kardamyli Festival 2021
From the 8th to the 12th October 2021, the Kardamyli Festival took place at the garden of the Leigh Fermor House. Τhe participant speakers were: Joshua Barley, Natalie Haynes, Edith Hall, Judith Herrin, Tom Holland, Bettany Hughes, George Manginis and Yiannis Palaiologos.
The Kardamili Festival is organized with great success by the British author James Heneage and his wife Charlotte.
Mani through the Senses
A site-specific walking performance project in the landscape of Greece's Mani region, with artists’ interventions in and around the House of Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor.
The project is part of “Seeing with the Senses”—the Benaki Museum's monthly access programme for visitors who are blind or partially sighted.
In a typical Mediterranean landscape of cypresses, olive trees, fragrant shrubs, white oleanders, wild flowers--as well as the extraordinary acoustical coastline and surrounding mountains near Kardamyli village, a group of both sighted and partially sighted participants participated in a three-hour "walkshop" in May 2021. Developed through a series of virtual or physical exchanges as well as preparatory workshops with local community members during the past several months, the event will include short performance pieces and hands-on interactions inspired by passages from Fermor's writing about the natural and cultural landscape of the Mani. The participatory walk will explore multi-sensory dimensions of the building's architecture and grounds, allowing participants to share unique insights gleaned from their collectIve journey and reflect on their distinct forms of embodied knowledge.
This intimately scaled, performative experience was documented in a video by Eirini Steirou.
The project was curated by Lydia Matthews and Fotis Flevotomos and the guest artists are Vassiliki Spachou, Fenia Papadodima, George Palamiotis and Eirini Steirou.
Community Partners:
Panhellenic Association of the Blind in the South Peloponnese
Cultural Association for Art & Nature "NARTURA"
Kardamyli High School
The performance is produced with the support of NEON Organization for Culture and Development.
To watch the project’s video, click here
One of the main activities of the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House is the fellowships programme, which was launched in 2023-2024.
The programme runs in two periods. The first begins in early November and ends in mid December and the second period begins in mid February and ends in the end of March.
For a period of six weeks, four fellows reside at the Leigh Fermor House in order to work on their research in a peaceful environment.
For the Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House fellowships programme, the Benaki Museum collaborates with three universities, Freie Universität Berlin (Centrum Modernes Griechenland), Princeton University (Stanley J. Seeger ’52 Center for Hellenic Studies) and UCLA – University of California Los Angeles (Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture).
Applying coordinated selection criteria and review processes, each institution chooses two (1+1) fellows – one for each period.
FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAMME FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-2025
The Benaki Museum invites applications for two (1+1) fellowships for the academic year 2024-2025 from scholars who wish to spend time in residence at The Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House in Kardamyli, Messenia, Greece.
OPEN CALL
DESCRIPTION
Leigh Fermor House fellowships are offered to fellows whose research projects fall within subject areas connected to the collections and archives of the Benaki Museum.
The subject areas covered by the Benaki Museum cover history and culture in Greece and most parts of the globe (Islam, China, Africa, Pre-Columbian America, Korea, and more) as well as numerous other subject areas related to history of the art, literature, philosophy and more. Please check benaki.org and visit ‘Collections’.
Leigh Fermor House fellowships are residential, and fellows are expected to devote the major portion of their time in residence to research as well as compiling and writing the results of their research.
Fellowships for the academic year 2024-2025 are available for either the autumn or the spring term: autumn term appointments are from 4 November to 18 December 2024 and spring term appointments are from 5 February to 19 March 2025.
Before departure from the Leigh Fermor House, fellows submit a written review on their activities while in residence. They may also be invited in Athens to make a presentation to the ‘Patrick & Joan Leigh Fermor House Fellowships Academic Committee’ (Academic Committee), which consists of the academic director and the curators of the Museum, and to Benaki Museum staff as well as to members of the public, invited by the Academic Committee.
The Academic Committee reserves the right to select studies for publication to the Benaki Museum scholarly periodical, Mouseio Benaki.
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
Fellows may be accompanied by one family member (children over 16 years old only) or spouse.
Fellows are provided with a room with one double bed, personal workspace, one meal per day (for the accompanying part as well) and controlled access to the Leigh Fermor House library. Τhe Benaki Museum will make arrangements and cover the cost of the fellows travelling from Athens to Kardamyli and from Kardamyli back to Athens after the completion of the fellowship.
The Benaki Museum cannot provide a stipend to fellows; therefore, they should cover their expenses during their stay and make their own travel arrangements to and from Athens.
Fellows are also responsible for arranging their own health insurance.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications are invited by:
Fellows are expected to be fluent in English.
We regret that due to the location and terrain of the property, the House is not wheelchair accessible. Please contact the Benaki Museum for more information on accessibility for people with restricted mobility.
CRITERIA
Applications are reviewed by an interdisciplinary group of reviewers, specialists in the candidate’s academic discipline, appointed by the Museum. Reviews are examined by the Academic Committee. A phone or video interview may be requested from candidates during the review process. Academic Committee decisions and their subsequent approval by the Board of Trustees of the Benaki Museum are confidential.
The Academic Committee makes Leigh Fermor House Fellowship awards on the basis of several criteria:
A period of at least five years must elapse between a successful fellowship award at the Leigh Fermor House and a new fellowship application from the same person.
HOW TO APPLY
For applications to be considered:
All supporting material (except from the samples of recent work) must be submitted in either English or Greek.
PLEASE NOTE that all attachments to any email should have a maximum total size of 10 MB; files larger than 10 MB must be sent via WeTransfer or similar web-based services.
Once the Benaki Museum has received all the requested files, you will receive a confirmation message at the email address provided in your application.
DEADLINE
All materials submitted by applicants must be received by 18 December 2023. To ensure applications are received before the deadline, early submission is encouraged.
ANOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS
Awards will be announced in March 2024.
POSTPONEMENT DUE TO FORCE MAJEURE
By approval of its Board of Trustees, the Benaki Museum reserves the right to postpone the fellowships programme, due to force majeure (pandemic restrictions etc.). In this case, the awarded fellowships will be moved.
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