The Mission Penelope Gandhi 2013
At the Benaki Museum and the world…
2013 could be characterized as the year of the MissionPenelope Gandhi for the University of the Mountains.
There were more than 40 actions throughout Crete and Greece (meetings, recordings of weavers, participation in conferences and looms, summer weaving workshops, mutual learning actions and school events).
Penelope Gandhi and the sacred art of weaving entered in education and were taught in primary and secondary schools and soon will be a lesson to be taught in all schools in Crete.
The Greek flag which was hoisted with soapbox celebrations, on 1 December 2013, at the Firkas fortress in Chania, on the anniversary of 100 years of the Union of Crete with Greece, was weaved with natural silk from weavers- members of the Mission Penelope Gandhi and delivered with all honours, from the University of the Mountains, to the Political and Military Authorities of the island, at a special ceremony which was held at the cultural center of Chania.
Culmination of all this tremendous effort was the invitation from the Benaki Museum to host a special Event – Exhibition dedicated to the Mission of Penelope Gandhi and the sacred art of weaving in Crete, for two full months (November-December 2013), which was crowned with complete success, having welcomed over 30,000 visitors from around Greece and the world and taught to students from 200 Greek schools, the ethics and the art of the Cretan Loom.
Renowned scientists of various specialties, appealed to the public in small studies of the thread, with themes about the loom, colours, symbols and the truth of the Cretan weavings.
Weavers from all over Crete, weaved, exhibited and taught the creative serenity of their art.
In more than 300 tributes in national and local press, TV and radio broadcasts, the University of the Mountains and the Penelope Gandhi Mission, are now having unique and valuable broad recognition, which highlights in the best possible way the Cretan culture in every corner of the globe.