Chile’s capital city has a wealth of galleries and museums highlighting the country’s rich cultural and historical traditions. But for those seeking a more unusual cultural experience, it’s best to head underground. For some years now, the Santiago Metro has been displaying public artwork at its subway stations through a program called MetroArte. Scattered throughout the city’s underground train network are 30 paintings and sculptures, bringing the daily grind to life in beautiful and often surprising ways. In the Grecia metro station there is an elaborate homage to ancient Greek civilization. The Réplicas del Friso del Partenón Griego (Replicas of the Frieze at the Greek Parthenon) is a series of 16 carvings in white cement.
The ancient images mirror the etchings that were originally found on the west side of Athen’s Parthenon but have been housed in the British Museum since the 19th century. The replica friezes were created by the new Acropolis Museum in Athens and donated to the Santiago Metro two years ago. The exhibition presents 23 carefully crafted replicas of gypsum, copper and silver, depicting the emblematic western culture issues such as democracy, justice and the arts. From the exhibits stand out a copy of the head of Homer, portraits of athletes, a statuette of a boxer and theatrical masks.
The donation of the Greek Ministry of Culture was an initiative of theEmbassy of Chile in Greece and the Greek Embassy in Chile, and with the support of the Division of Cultural Relations of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foundation Gabriel and Maria Moustakis. “The exhibition allows the passengers to come a little closer to the rich Greek culture, which was the cradle of great values which we respect until today, such as democracy and justice,” said Javier Pinto, executive director of the Cultural Society MetroArte.