The Greek island of Kea is bringing its history, traditions and cultural heritage into public spaces through an initiative that transforms the island itself into a living, open-air museum.
The Municipality of Kea launched the project to make the island’s cultural heritage and contemporary issues part of the everyday experience of residents and visitors.
“The initiative is based on the idea of a living and constantly evolving ‘open-air museum’ that can highlight a different aspect of Kea’s identity each time,” Mayor of Kea Eirini Velissaropoulou said.
Through thematic exhibitions, experiential routes and different forms of cultural expression, public spaces and the natural environment become places of knowledge, storytelling, participation and awareness, creating a dialogue between the island’s past, present and future, she added.
From shipwrecks to ancient sites
The open-air museum began in 2022 and has explored a different theme each year through 2025.
Previous exhibitions focused on shipwrecks, rural settlement, antiquities and Kea’s enamel factory, highlighting different aspects of the island’s history and identity.
This year, the project turns its attention to one of the most important resources in Kea’s history: water.
“Kea as Hydrousa” explores the island’s water history
The 2026 exhibition, titled “Kea as Hydrousa – Myths, Memories, Springs and Water Routes,” takes its inspiration from the island’s ancient name, Hydrousa.
More information about “Kea as Hydrousa”
The exhibition traces the presence of water across Kea’s landscape, history and everyday life.
Springs, fountains, cisterns, streams and watermills form a map of the island’s water history, highlighting the resource’s crucial role in the lives of residents, agriculture and the development of settlements.
Myths, legends, songs, objects, photographs, archival material and historical references also explore the longstanding relationship between the island’s people and water.
Oral testimonies and personal memories play a particularly important role. Objects and family heirlooms carry stories from the past, while the involvement of younger generations creates a bridge between memory and the future.
The exhibition also examines contemporary approaches to water management promoted by the municipality, including modern methods and cutting-edge technology.
Exhibitions spread across Kea
The outdoor exhibition runs from August 1 to September 30, 2026, at Heroes Square and Faros Square, turning public spaces into an open cultural route.
Residents and visitors can explore the history and memory of water on Kea as they move through the island.
The “Stylianos Restis” Cultural Centre has also hosted an exhibition featuring objects, photographs, archival material, paintings by Kea students and the student documentary “The Voice of Water.”
Visitors follow the island’s water routes
A programme of educational and experiential activities has accompanied the exhibition.
Children’s art workshops have introduced younger visitors to the theme of water through creative activities, allowing them to express their own perspectives.
Thematic walks in Ioulida and Milopotamos have taken the experience beyond the exhibition spaces and into Kea’s landscape.
Participants followed the island’s water routes to better understand the relationship between Kea and a resource that has shaped its history and everyday life.
A different way to experience Kea
Velissaropoulou said this year’s programme captures the philosophy behind the island’s open-air museum.
“It is an open, living and participatory space of culture that does not limit itself to a static presentation of exhibits, but develops within public spaces, the landscape and society itself,” she said.
The outdoor exhibitions add another dimension to the visitor experience, she added, inviting travellers to discover Kea through multiple forms of interaction with the island and its heritage.
