audio documentary for the pebble mosaics
The audio documentary was created as part of the wider project named: The Pebble Mosaics of Kasos, developed by the Municipality of the Heroic Island of Kasos, under the auspices and with the funding of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with COMM’ON.
The audio documentary is presented as part of www.kasos-votsalota.gr, the digital platform dedicated to the documentation, mapping and presentation of the island’s pebble mosaics.
The platform brings together the results of a systematic documentation process and offers access to the recorded mosaics, their locations, visual material, stories and contextual information, creating a digital archive of this distinctive element of Kasos’ cultural heritage.
The project builds on research and documentation carried out on the island between 2022 and 2024, in collaboration with the Department of Conservation of Modern Monuments and Works of Art of the Dodecanese Regional Service of the Ministry of Culture and the University of West Attica, as well as on material from local residents’ personal archives and research on pebble mosaics.
The 50-minute audio documentary offers an immersive journey into the tradition of pebble mosaics in Kasos. Through the voices of historians, local researchers, conservation professionals and residents, it explores their history and evolution, as well as the people, places and stories connected to them. It traces their presence on the island from the 19th century to the present, exploring their designs, symbolism and their connections to Kasos’ social, maritime and cultural history.
The documentary is structured around a series of thematic sections that bring together historical information, local knowledge, personal memories and stories. Rather than presenting the mosaics solely as architectural or decorative objects, it approaches them as expressions of a living cultural practice, connected to the identity, memory and everyday life of the island.
For COMM’ON, the project reflects an approach to cultural heritage documentation that places local knowledge and community voices at the centre of the process. Alongside the systematic recording of the physical traces of the tradition, the project documents the memories, interpretations and experiences that surround the mosaics and contribute to their meaning and continuity.
Bujar Sala, a pebble mosaic artisan, and Ioulia Daskalaki, custodian of a family-inherited pebble mosaic, share their personal stories and experiences in the audio documentary.
The audio documentary was researched by Elli Xylopitaki and Marou Chatzopoulou, with script, narration and sound editing by Elli Xylopitaki. It was produced by the Municipality of the Heroic Island of Kasos, Spoovio and COMM’ON, with original music by Nektarios Stamatakis and Ilias Diakakis.
As part of the wider digital platform, the documentary complements the visual and spatial documentation of the mosaics with an experience based on voices, stories and sound. Together, these different forms of documentation create a multifaceted digital record of Kasos’ pebble mosaics and support the preservation, interpretation and wider accessibility of the knowledge and cultural practices associated with them.
Audio Documentary: The Pebble Mosaics of Kasos
Location: Kasos, Dodecanese, 2025-2026
Research: Elli Xylopitaki, Marou Chatzopoulou
Script, Narration & Sound Editing: Elli Xylopitaki
Production: Municipality of the Heroic Island of Kasos, Spoovio, COMM’ON
Original Music: Nektarios Stamatakis, Ilias Diakakis
Featuring: Ilias Mastropavlos, Ioulia Daskalaki, Maria Tsakiri, Bougiar (Apostolis) Sala, Stefania Chlouderaki, Manos Achladianakis
Photo credits: Elli Xypolitaki, Marou Chatzopoulou