The Hellenic Museum of Michigan is inviting Greek-American families to submit one family photograph and a short account by August 5 for a pop-up exhibition during Assumption GreekFest in St. Clair Shores.
Selected photographs will be displayed August 21–23 in Hellenic Footprints: Greek Presence in the Midwest. Presented with the Consulate General of Greece in Chicago, the community project is part of programming marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The museum is asking contributors to explain how the photograph relates to their family’s immigration journey and life in America.
Each participant may submit one photograph in JPG format. The submission should include:
- The year or approximate decade when the photograph was taken
- The location
- A description of two to five sentences
- The family’s immigration story and the importance of the moment shown
- A few words about what America has meant to the family
Photographs and descriptions should be emailed to info@hellenicmi.org with “Hellenic Footprints” in the subject line.
The GreekFest pop-up follows the May 2 opening of the museum’s Hellenic Footprints photographic exhibition in Detroit, which examines Greek immigration in the Midwest as part of the U.S. anniversary year. The festival display will add photographs and accounts submitted directly by families.
Assumption GreekFest will be held at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 21800 Marter Road in St. Clair Shores. Festival hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, August 21; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, August 22; and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, August 23.
For families with older photographs, the call also offers a reason to record the place, date and story while those details can still be recovered. A photograph accompanied by a few sentences can preserve part of the Greek-American record that might otherwise remain known only within one family.