Being an Islander: The Making of the Mediterranean – Understanding Identities Through Community & Co-Design

In this free public lecture, Dr Anastasia Christophilopoulou from the Fitzwilliam Museum (UK) presents a retrospective of the research project Being an Islander: Art and Identity of the Large Mediterranean Islands.

Conceived in 2018, Being an Islander is a research project undertaken between 2019–2023 that culminated in a major exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2023, and the production of an award-winning documentary.

Islands have often been considered and treated as distinct places, separated from the mainland in more ways than just their isolated geographic location – from their culture, to politics, to economy – but their connectivity via the sea to external communities and lands is just as important a feature.

Using a case study of three islands (Cyprus, Crete and Sardinia) and examining the surviving material culture through anthropological perspectives, the project sought to investigate island identities and how these shaped their art, architecture, and the mobility and migration of people. As a project with a broad scope, it strove to make the collections and objects which were researched, and their histories, relevant to what matters to all of us today.

Alongside the presented retrospective of the work, this talk will ask how research projects can positively influence communities, and how communities can influence research and museum curation.

Important Information

Bookings essential. As this is a free event, tickets do not include Museum general admission. If you wish to visit the Museum after the lecture, please visit the ticket desk.

About the Presenter

Dr Anastasia Christofilopoulou is the Senior Curator Ancient Mediterranean at the Fitzwilliam Museum and is responsible for research and exhibition projects and permanent displays in the fields of Greek, Cypriot and Roman collections. Anastasia's core research interests are in the archaeology of the Mediterranean and of the Mediterranean islands, with emphasis on the cultures of the Aegean and Cyprus. She is particularly engaged with questions of island identity, mobility and migration in the ancient world. She is currently leading the 4-year research project ‘Being an Islander: Art and Identity of the large Mediterranean Islands' (2019–2023), and is also the Co-Director of the West Area of Samos Archaeological Project (WASAP), a 5-year intensive survey project on the Greek island of Samos.