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The Basil Papantoniou Foundation or BPF ( also known as ''ΙΒΠ'') is a nonprofit cultural institution and museum based in
Nafplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It was founded in 1974 by the stage and costume designer Ioanna Papantoniou in memory of her father Vasilis Papantoniou. The aim of the BPF is the research, documentation, study, preservation and dissemination of modern Greek and global culture in general, in all of its forms and expressions.


History

BPF was founded in 1974 by Ioanna Papantoniou and it is located since 1981 in an early 20th century house belonging to Papantoniou family which was converted into a museum. The same year BPF was awarded with the ''European Museum of the Year Award'' (EMYA). During the 70's and the 80's, the foundation made several researches over
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
and the
Griko Griko (endonym: /), sometimes spelled Grico, is one of the two dialects of Italiot Greek (the other being Calabrian Greek or ), spoken by Griko people in Salento, province of Lecce, Italy. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek ...
communities of
Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...
, gathering data and documents about the traditional culture, music and dance and also about the preindustrial technology and the old fashioned children toys. In 1989 BPF founded the first Childhood Museum in Greece, in
Nafplion Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...
at the old local railway station. Four years later,
Melina Merkouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a F ...
(then Culture minister of
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
) assigned to BPF the Hellenic National Costume Archives while in 1999 the foundation's facilities were renovated. In 2013 BPF was awarded by the Academy of Athens for its cultural activities. Artifacts of the foundation have been exposed in various exhibitions worldwide including
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
,
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
etc. in cooperation with foundations and authorities such as
Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern ...
, Municipality of Nafplio,
Nicosia Municipality Nicosia Municipality (, ''Dimos Lefkosias''; ) is the municipal government which is responsible for all the municipal duties of Nicosia. History The municipal council was elected according to the Municipal Ordinance of 1882, and the District Com ...
,
Harokopio University Harokopio University of Athens, HUA () is a public research university based in Kallithea, Athens, Greece. Founded in 1990, the 18th state University established in Greece, as the successor of the Harokopios Higher School of Home Economics () th ...
, Foundation of the Hellenic World, Hellenic Centre of London,
Teloglion Foundation of Art The Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation (formerly known in English as Teloglion Foundation of Art; ) is an art museum located in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. History It was established in 1972 and it was named after Nestor and Aliki Te ...
etc.


Collections

BPF collections include c. 50,000 items. The majority of them, more than 27,000 items, are directly connected to the popular and modern Greek culture including traditional costumes and items from mainland Greece,
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
,
Aegean Aegean may refer to: *Aegean Sea * Aegean Islands *Aegean Region (geographical), Turkey * Aegean Region (statistical), Turkey *Aegean civilizations * Aegean languages, a group of ancient languages and proposed language family *Aegean Sea (theme), ...
and
Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, etc. The museum also holds a collection of 5,500 items linked with the history of fashion, including works by designers such as
Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...
,
Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Early life and education Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 i ...
,
Paco Rabanne Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...
,
Christian Louboutin Christian Louboutin (; born 7 January 1964) is a French fashion designer. His stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Initially a freelance designer for fashion houses, he started his shoe salo ...
,
Sue Wong Sue Wong is a Chinese-born American fashion designer best known for her dress designs with a contemporary twist based on old Hollywood glamor style. Her collections, available in some 27 countries, have been noted for her interpretations of the ...
, Mariano Fortuny,
Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...
,
Jean Dessès Jean Dessès (6 August 1904 – 2 August 1970) was a world leading fashion designer in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. His designs reflected the influences of his travels, specializing in creating draped evening gowns in chiffon and mousseline ...
,
James Galanos James Galanos (; September 20, 1924 – October 30, 2016) was an American fashion designer and couturier. Galanos is known for designing clothing for America's social elite, including Nancy Reagan, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and others. ...
, Yiannis Tseklenis etc. Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation also owns a photography, sound and film collection dedicated to its past researches, a library of 10,000 titles a publishing house.


Gallery

File:Grey top hat by Scotts Ltd of Old Bond Street, London, with hatbox, 1950.jpg, A
top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...
from the 1950s File:Gidas.jpg, Wedding dress from
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
,
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
File:Kavakli.jpg, Local Greek costume from Kavakli, from BPF's photo archives File:Perachora's dress.jpg, Local costume from
Corinthia Corinthia (; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ge ...
,
Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
, Greece, from BPF's photo archives File:Pair of long white kid gloves.jpg, 19th century gloves


References

{{Authority control Fashion museums Folk museums in Greece Museums in Peloponnese (region) Nafplion Foundations based in Greece 1974 establishments in Greece