HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
"TVM Beyond the Borders" is a continuously evolving program of the Tinos Virtual Museum (TVM), designed to bring the island’s cultural heritage closer to people of all ages and social backgrounds. Through the creation of a custom-designed digital kit, which includes VR glasses, tablets, interactive games, and specially curated visual material, the museum extends beyond its physical space and travels to schools across Greece as well as to cultural institutions in Greece and abroad. This initiative brings local stories closer to vulnerable communities who may not have the opportunity to visit the museum in person. The program is continuously expanding, adapting to new locations and offering ongoing opportunities for interaction and learning.
The first presentation of "The Traveling Museum" took place in Tinos on March 2-3, 2024, aiming to familiarize local communities—especially the elderly and vulnerable groups—with digital tools and their connection to the island’s cultural heritage. As part of this initiative, participants had the opportunity to use the specially designed VR kit to explore the museum’s exhibits from their own environment. The workshop sessions were held in the villages of Falatados, Mountados, and Tripotamos, further strengthening the connection between the local community and TVM’s documentation hub.
The initiative includes a "lost stories" game, bridging the past with the present. Guided by project coordinators, students collected stories from their family heritage, personal experiences on the island, as well as everyday life, traditional games, and rituals.
The oral history methodology was used to revive traditional street games played by the students’ parents and grandparents in Tinos. Through this process, they discovered forgotten games or those still practiced today. They linked these games to specific locations around the island, documenting them through archival photographs capturing these areas in the past.
The public space interventions (on walls, streets, and squares) are activated only at night with special black light illumination, while QR-code markers placed along the route allow visitors to listen to firsthand childhood stories from the past.
Featured Games Revived in the Project: Hopscotch (Koutsó) | Bouraï (a local tag game) | Three Hierarchs (Trión Ierarchón – a knowledge-based game) | Mother’s Strap (Lourí tis Mánas – a reflex game) | Smogianides (Smpogiánnides – a team game) | Football | Slaves (Sklavákia – a strategy game) | Charcoal (Kárvouno – a creative storytelling game)
Κουτσό | Μπουραϊ | Τριών Ιεραρχών | Λουρί της Μάνας | Σμπογιάννηδες | Ποδόσφαιρο | Σκλαβάκια | Κάρβουνο
Project Contributors:
TVM: Charikleia Chari, Maria Grypari - Coordination & Organization | Artspirators Team: Maria Andromachi Chatzinikolaou - Concept, Artistic Direction, Design, Production Management
MakaniKa Soumela - Production Management, Graphic Design, Social Media Management, Video Documentation | Chatziri Anastasia - teacher of arts-EPAL.
