METartUM Project – The Mitato as a Virtual Shelter of Inspiration and a Contemporary Art Laborato

The natural and cultural heritage of Mount Psiloritis has as its symbolic emblem the dry-stone constructions of shepherds, the so-called mitata of Psiloritis, which are scattered throughout the geographical range of the mountain massif, symbolizing in the most harmonious way the connection between human beings and the natural environment.

In the Municipality of Anogeia, whose mountainous territory demonstrates the timeless dynamism and importance of the mountain for the sustainability of the region, the mitata of the area constitute distinctive landmarks and witnesses of memory from a past era that has now largely disappeared.

It is important to note that the dry-stone mitata and the structures accompanying them (such as auxiliary spaces) are, in their overwhelming majority, no longer in use today, as the evolution of livestock farming has created a different architectural framework for shepherds in the area, including modern shelters, housing structures and enclosures.

However, there are important exceptions where dry-stone structures such as animal pens and the main mitato or shepherd’s hut, as the shepherd’s dwelling, are still used and reconstructed by shepherds themselves and by local craftsmen of the Psiloritis region, both for practical storage purposes and as places of hospitality and companionship on the timelessly untamed slopes of the mountain.

The cultural organization Androidus Project Tank, within the framework of an initiative of the Directorate of Contemporary Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and in collaboration with the Municipality of Anogeia and the Human–Computer Interaction Laboratory of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), designed and implements the METartUM Project – The dry-stone constructions of Psiloritis as spaces of contemporary artistic expression within the natural and cultural landscape of Mount Ida.

This proposal constitutes an initiative for the utilization and artistic revitalization of the mountainous landscape of Ida, focusing on contemporary forms of art and culture that interact with the folk tradition of dry-stone construction, placing the mitato of Psiloritis at the center as an alternative artistic workshop of inspiration, expression and creation.

Specifically, within the mountainous territory of the Anogeian highlands (Municipality of Anogeia), three dry-stone pastoral installations will be selected to host different artists, providing them with the space and inspiration to create three different artistic performances (installation art, contemporary dance with musical improvisation using traditional instruments, and painting on horned skulls as animal remains from the region).

This process will be filmed both during the stages of artistic creation and as a primary cultural result, with the aim of producing the first Open Virtual and Augmented Reality Art Exhibition of Psiloritis.

The participating artists, as the main contributors to this initiative, drawing inspiration from myths of ancient Greek tradition, will create three new contemporary art performances, offering their own interpretation of the message and meaning of today.

The artists who honor this initiative with their participation and creations so far, in the order of the works and the myths inspiring them, are the following:

Actress and performer Maria Athitaki, together with performer and fitness trainer Stella Melampianaki, present a contemporary choreography and physical theatre performance, accompanied by musical improvisation by the Anogeian musician Vasilis Dramountanis (mandolin) with Giorgos Saloustros (Kechris) on percussion, inspired by the myth of the refuge, rescue and protection of the newborn Zeus in the sacred shelter of the Ideon Cave on Psiloritis.
Visual artist, conservator of artworks and antiquities, and scenographer Giorgos Bounias, presents a visual transformation of the skulls of a goat and a ram (animal remains found in the region), symbolizing a transition and escape from death to life and the cycle of the seasons, as expressed by the Bacchic companions of Dionysus and the goat-footed god Pan in a hymn to spring and life.
The third artistic creation will take inspiration from the elements of weaving and the intangible cultural heritage of the region, focusing on the woman of Psiloritis and the myth of the Abduction of Persephone by Pluto and Demeter’s lament in her search for her daughter.
The documentation of these artistic expressions within the dry-stone pastoral structure of the Psiloritis mitato aims to create threads of connection between myth, folk tradition and contemporary culture, while simultaneously opening the world of the mountain to visitors and offering locals an opportunity to rediscover their relationship with it.

The pastoral installations selected within the territory of the Municipality of Anogeia aim to highlight the open issue of utilizing these more recent monuments through contemporary artistic creation and artist residencies, planting the seed for the development of a broader artistic institution for young artists on the mountain where the Curetes and the Idaean Dactyls once spread arts and techniques among humans.

The artistic production, through its documentation and subsequent dissemination via the MetARTum digital application and mapping, will provide a multidimensional approach that allows anyone to visit, explore and experience the cycle and outcome of the three artistic productions through a mobile electronic device (phone or tablet).

Through this proposal, the aim is to utilize perhaps the most emblematic pastoral structure of Crete – the mitato – which is deeply intertwined with the mountain’s folk culture, transforming it into an alternative field of artistic expression.

This pastoral space can, in today’s digital era, simultaneously become an artistic workshop, a music room, a place of hospitality and a monument of living collective memory in a place that once belonged to the hunters, gatherers and persecuted people of the historical past and now belongs to the shepherds, researchers and experience seekers of the enduring present.

You can download the MetARTum app here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ICSFORTH.metartum (for Android) MetARTum for iOS