Angeliki
Hatzimichali
Angeliki
Hatzimichali was born in Athens in 1895. Her father,
Alexios Kolivas, came from Zante. He was editor of
the newspaper
‘Proïa” and collector of Byzantine icons.
His daughter also showed an interest in folklore traditions.
From
a young age and at a time when the Athens bourgeoisie
was greatly influenced by western European culture, Angeliki
Hatzimichali turned her attention to the collection and
study of everyday objects of folklore traditions (woodcut,
embroideries, ceramics etc.). She was one of the most
prominent members of the “Lyceum club of Greek Women”
and in 1920 she founded a branch of the Lyceum in Smyrna.
Hatzimichali
traveled all over Greece and wrote numerous studies on
folklore traditions, among which was her very important
three-volume book on the Sarakatsani, a semi-nomadic people
of northern Greece. She also founded numerous organizations
for the promotion of folklore culture, most importantly
the Association of Greek Handicraft, forerunner of the
Hellenic Organization of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
and Handicrafts.
She
also took an active part in the revival of the Delphic
Celebrations, organized by Angelos and Eva Sikelianos.
She contributed to the relief and social rehabilitation
of the Greek refugees of 1922 and actively participated
in the Resistance against German rule during World War
II. Angeliki Hatzimichali died in 1966.
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