The Research Centre for the Humanities (RCH) , on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution, is delighted to announce to the Greek and in-ternational public the opening of the “1821 Digital Archive” research project (1821.digitalarchive.gr). This is an internet platform that for the first time will provide within a single digital space an interface for archival material relating to the 1821 Revolution, derived from major archives and museums in Greece.
The design of the platform’s capabilities and functionality, the use of search features to en-able comparison and correlation of documents, the open framework of the project, and the networking of institutions and researchers, make it a model project in the field of Digital Humanities.
Enriching and expanding the traditional idea of an Archive as a collection of documents, the 1821 Digital Archive contains, in addition to archival collections of written and printed material, visual material from works of art, maps, everyday objects, and artefacts, and audio material (music and songs).
In the 1821 Digital Archive the visitor can:
a) search for material, such as written and printed documents and other archival items, works of art, everyday objects, folk songs, books, artifacts, etc.,
b) read academic articles that address new questions and contribute to scholarly re-search around the 1821 Revolution, with a special emphasis on everyday life during the Greek Revolution,
c) explore digital exhibits, which present various themes relating to the Greek Rev-olution, giving visual form to information and harnessing new modes of narrating the past with digital technology,
d) browse a dynamic map which records traces of the 1821 Revolution found in the public domain (e.g. monuments, street names, etc.), and which has been compiled by groups of schoolchildren from all over the country.
The entire site is accessible in Greek and English. This decision reflects the Academic Steering Committee’s desire to place the 1821 Revolution within an international research framework.
From the first years of the project’s development, it has received broad public support through the act4Greece crowdfunding platform of National Bank of Greece. Financial support was further enhanced by the “Initiative 1821-2021”, in the frame of which National Bank of Greece, in tandem with Greek public-benefit foundations, and other cultural and academic institutions, has financed, publicised and promoted programmes and events that will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.
The 1821 Digital Archive is a dynamic, ongoing project, which will not conclude at the end of the anniversary year 2021, but will be expanded with new partnerships and continually updated with new material. It is also open and accessible to scholars and the general public for research, browsing, reading, and gaining a deeper understanding of this period of history.
From March to July 2021 it will be on display at the Benaki Museum (Peiraios 138, Athens 11854) from where it will host events, discussions, and presentations concerning the dialogue between ‘archive’, ‘art’ and ‘technology’ in the production of scholarship.