The artists group, Morus Project, in collaboration with curator Elli Leventaki, presents the exhibition “Silk Cartographies” at the Museum of Agriculture of the Agricultural University of Athens. This is a body of works that are being displayed for the first time in Athens, developed through several years of artistic and research-based practice centered on silk and sericulture. The exhibition brings together creative outputs from domestic silk production, contemporary weaving works, and original archival material from the AUA collection. Historical documents related to the breeding and rearing of silkworms, as well as raw materials, research data, and natural byproducts of the sericulture process, are presented alongside historical tales of silk from Sweden and talismanic textiles that have emerged from local narratives across Greece, in the form of contemporary artworks. Based on principles of circular economy and with respect to otherspeciesness, Morus invites us to reflect on small-scale sericulture methods that are non-invasive to the natural environment, in connection with artistic and collective processes. 

Artists group: Morus Project (Kleopatra Tsali, Irini Gonou, Hanna Norrna)

Curator: Elli Leventaki

Location: Museum of Agriculture, Agricultural University of Athens

Graphic design: Konstantinos Kontogeorgos

Opening: Wednesday, May 27, 17.00-20.00

Duration of the exhibition: May 28 – June 26 

Visiting hours: Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday 11.00-15.00, Friday 16.00-19.00 & Saturday 12.00-15.00. Monday & Sunday, closed.

Parallel Program:

Thursday 28/5 | 14.00 – 16.00  Textile artist Hanna Norrna presents her mapping of historical silk production on the island of Gotland in Sweden. Departing from archival material of the Swedish silk initiatives in the 18th and 19th centuries, Hanna Norrna’s research presents the early presence of mulberry trees in monasteries on the island, with links to the events of the Visby Witch trials in 1705-1707. The presentation will be held in English 

Saturday 30/5 | 11.00 – 12.00  “Leizu’s tea ceremony” – Open invitation for tea from mulberry tree leaves. & 12.00 – 14.00 Silk thread workshop led by artist Irini Gonou. Participants will explore the traditional process of silk thread production by observing the unwinding of the silkworm cocoon using handmade tools.

Friday 12/6 | 16.00 – 19.00  Silk thread workshop led by artist Kleopatra Tsali. Participants will explore the traditional process of silk thread production by observing the unwinding of the silkworm cocoon using handmade tools.

Saturday 13 Ιουνίου | 12.00-15.00  Artistic-scientific guided tour by Associate Professor George Goras and the exhibition curator Elli Leventaki

Wednesday 24/6 | 16.00 – 19.00  Silk thread workshop led by artist Kleopatra Tsali. Participants will explore the traditional process of silk thread production by observing the unwinding of the silkworm cocoon using handmade tools.

* The exhibition will be open to visitors during the workshops. 

The exhibition is organized with the support of the Agricultural University of Athens, specifically the Laboratory of Sericulture and Apiculture, headed by George Goras (Associate Professor), as well as the Agricultural Museum “Leonidas Louloudis”, with scientific supervisor and Director Chrysovalantis Malesios (Associate Professor), and Evrydiki Spyropoulou (Museum Collections and Facilities Manager).