Ioanna Lalaouni
Director of ILJM
“We are looking forward to welcoming you to one of the world’s very rare jewelry museums”
This year, the Museum marks its 30th anniversary. It opened its doors in 1994 under the rock of the Acropolis. The historic building, which once housed the original workshops of Ilias Lalaounis, is today the only jewelry and decorative arts museum in Greece and one of the few of its kind in the world, having surpassed in total more than 800,000 visitors.
From the very beginning, it started without an endowment and continued without state subsidies. Despite the constant risks and challenges, the ILJM has managed to remain at the top of the list of self-funded private museums in Greece, continually thriving in the exhibitions and educational programs sectors, becoming one of the most notable educational centers for the art of jewelry and decorative arts in Europe.
My initial aim was to establish a museum based on the vision of a genius entrepreneur who managed to promote the Greek civilization in every corner of the world. Thus, following my father’s insight and innovative thinking, we laid the foundations for developing new contemporary approaches to museology, cultural education, and museum pedagogy, focusing on Jewellery and Decorative Arts.
In the museum’s premises, Ilias Lalaounis prepared more than 80,000 designs for jewelry and decorative objects while supervising the manufacture of more than 18,000 of them. From the beginning, the designs, original objects, and the founder’s archive have formed the core of the Museum’s permanent collection.
Evaluations always lay the foundations for the future.
Over the past 30 years, through private donations and objects on permanent or temporary loans, we have enriched the museum’s permanent collection with unique historical relics, decorative and traditional art objects, and contemporary artistic jewelry, totaling more than 5,800 objects.
We have coordinated more than 120 temporary thematic exhibitions in Greece and abroad. The focus has been on history, tradition, the evolution of decorative arts, and precious and fine jewelry on the world map. The temporary exhibitions at the ILJM brought historical and contemporary relics from international museums and private collections. Driven by our zeal to study our past, we rediscovered hidden treasures, initiating a constantly evolving vast movement.
The permanent collection of Ilias Lalaounis’ work has traveled to international museums such as the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the National History Museum of Romania, the Onassis Foundation in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, constituting perhaps the only permanent collection of a Greek museum showcasing the work of an artist who has received such recognition and public exposure. Works by artists continuously enrich the permanent collection of the Museum in Athens. Original and unique works by Ilias Lalaounis are now in an increasing number of collections — both private and public — and major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pforzheim Schmuck Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Swiss National Museum, the Koch Collection of Finger Rings, the Helen Drutt Collection and other numerous important collections.
The mission of the ILJM is not just to preserve and exhibit but to become the inspiration for new making. As such the oeuvre of the popular businessman – artist – goldsmith – academician and his legacy towards the world’s jewelry industry are revealed in the permanent galleries. Ilias Lalaounis’ revival of ancient gold has been the impetus behind the extended museum cultural program.
The new contemporary artistic jewelry collections by international makers, the new electronic lexicons, the live jewelry workshops and so much more expand the permanent collections to an inspiring guide for jewelry to the general public and art enthusiasts. Guided tours, live artists workshops and the secrets of the making will enter you amid a contemporary treasure. Although women feel more related with the contemporary use of fine jewelry, at this museum men will discover ancient and modern technologies for the use in the making of remarkable objects d’art.
“We are looking forward to welcoming you to one of the world’s very rare jewelry museums”
In the heart of western civilization, the ILJM, opened in 1994 and today is synonymous with advanced cultural entertaining. Just under the sacred rock of the Acropolis, visitors will discover the oeuvre of Ilias Lalaounis and so much more on the history and making of jewelry and the decorative arts. I am delighted to invite you to explore all the exceptional corners in this renovated, wonderful and friendly museum which used to house the original Lalaounis jewelry workshop and family home.
The mission of the ILJM is not just to preserve and exhibit but to become the inspiration for new making. As such the oeuvre of the popular businessman – artist – goldsmith – academician and his legacy towards the world’s jewelry industry are revealed in the permanent galleries. Ilias Lalaounis’ revival of ancient gold has been the impetus behind the extended museum cultural program.
The new contemporary artistic jewelry collections by international makers, the new electronic lexicons, the live jewelry workshops and so much more expand the permanent collections to an inspiring guide for jewelry to the general public and art enthusiasts. Guided tours, live artists workshops and the secrets of the making will enter you amid a contemporary treasure. Although women feel more related with the contemporary use of fine jewelry, at this museum men will discover ancient and modern technologies for the use in the making of remarkable objects d’art.
Temporary exhibitions explore the unknown decorative arts in their historic perspective, while new creations allow us to be the beacons of contemporary artistic creation. I am proud to share my family’s tradition, my father’s legacy in a what has been named a startup of cutting edge educational programs among the Museum community.
If you plan your visit ahead, please do not hesitate to ask for a private tour from one of our exceptional curators or from myself.
Make Athens your destination and visit us any time throughout the year.
– Ioanna Lalaouni
In recent years, the Museum has intensified its international activities, focusing on the creation of cutting edge programs aimed at all social groups, as well as special activities aimed at young professionals, pupils, students, families, and adults, contributing significantly to contemporary museum education and the cultural education of our country. At the same time, we run international curated lifelong learning programs, such as JaIR and the Hephaistos Summer Program (www.jss.gr). The Hephaistos Summer Program is the only accredited program on the History of Western Jewelry and is carried out in cooperation with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The Jewelry Artist in Residence Program (JaIR) is the first and only artist training and retraining program focused on the art of jewelry and the decorative arts.
Regarding the Pupil and Student Programmes, more than:
- 120,000 pupils have participated in Educational
- 150,000 visitors have taken part in specially designed educational tours.
- 30,000 adults have attended specialized educational programs, accelerated workshops, and lectures.
Since its inception, the ILJM has been at the service of the community, focusing on accessibility and support for vulnerable social groups. The ILJM is the first museum in Greece designed with accessibility in mind while offering free programs year-round for groups with mental and physical health challenges.
Since 1994, the ILJM has been a pioneer by introducing Internship and Volunteering Programs in Greece. To date, hundreds of young people with studies (backgrounds) in of Museology, Art History, Archaeology, Library Science, Museum Custodianship, etc., have participated in the volunteer and internship programs and are now working in educational and cultural organizations in Greece, contributing to the new generation of scholars in our country.
On the occasion of our 30th anniversary, we are organizing a series of programs and events in Greece and abroad to honor our founder as one of the most influential figures in the field of decorative arts and jewelry of the 20th century. Exhibitions, lectures, workshops, seminars, and the SPEDOS Cultural Programme unfold aspects of the designer’s 70-year career through contemporary cultural and educational approaches.
We are proud to remain a beacon of culture, where visitors learn the secrets of an ancient art, the history of objects and societies, the contemporary trends in art and fashion. The ILJM preserves the history of Ilias Lalaounis’ successful business initiative and proposes new methods of museum education. After all, being one of the few museums in the world dedicated to jewelry, which today is one of the most lucrative and attractive sectors in the world, the Museum entertains, educates, and guides a wide audience.
— Ioanna Lalaouni