The Benaki Museum presents the exhibition “Weaving Dreams. Kilims from Geraki, Laconia”, which opened on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 20:00 at the Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery and will remain open to the public until July 26, 2026. The exhibition is curated by Sharon Gerstel and Sofia Pitouli, with architectural design by Pavlos Thanopoulos.
The exhibition “Weaving Dreams. Kilims from Geraki, Laconia” presents woven textiles from Geraki, a village in Laconia built on the slopes of Mount Parnon. Geraki is renowned for its tradition of upright loom weaving, a craft with roots extending back millennia, as evidenced by archaeological findings from antiquity and the medieval period. In recognition of this long-standing tradition, the weaving art of Geraki was included in 2019 in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece.
The exhibition features kilims woven for bridal dowries, as well as related objects, dating from the 17th to the early 20th century. Special emphasis is placed on textiles depicting male and female figures, set within landscapes inspired by natural abundance and enriched with symbolic motifs.
Weaving was closely connected to both domestic and commercial life, as women wove kilims either for dowries or household use. A finely crafted kilim, costly to acquire, was an indicator of wealth and social status, becoming a valuable possession and family heirloom. Carrying bags (tagaria) served everyday needs but were also used to transport wedding breads. Geraki kilims were also offered as votive gifts to local churches and monasteries. Over time, the women weavers of Geraki gained recognition for their exceptional craftsmanship, receiving awards including at the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition and the 8th International Fair of Thessaloniki in 1933.
The reputation of this weaving tradition attracted artists, scholars, and folklorists as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Between 1931 and 1934, Elli Papadimitriou commissioned the then-young Yannis Tsarouchis to create a series of designs for the company “Greek Arts S.A.” Among these works is a bag woven in Geraki. Fotis Kontoglou visited the village in 1936 and depicted its houses, Byzantine churches, and the medieval castle overlooking the nearby hill. He later published a related text in his work The Castle-Watcher.
The exhibition highlights Geraki’s connections with important artists and intellectuals of the time, situating the village within broader artistic and intellectual networks through which its cultural identity—including its weaving tradition—was expressed.
A richly illustrated accompanying publication of the same title, authored by the exhibition curators, presents the history of the village and detailed descriptions of 108 kilims and bags from private and ecclesiastical collections. The research and publication are the result of an initiative undertaken by the Cultural Association of Geraki together with Gefyra, a collaborative program between the University of California, Los Angeles and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
