During the years of the economic crisis, as many shops closed, Athens became an artistic laboratory. Low rents attracted artists from all over Europe, empty walls filled with murals and the big private foundations, linked to shipowning families, funded international-class cultural centres. In 2017 the city hosted half of documenta 14, one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions, shared with Kassel: a sign of the international attention.
The major venues
National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST). It is housed in the former Fix brewery, a modernist industrial building of the 1950s and 60s on Syngrou Avenue, next to Syngrou-Fix metro station. It shows Greek and international artists, with installations, video and large temporary exhibitions. The terrace has a fine view of the Acropolis.
Onassis Stegi. The Onassis Foundation's cultural centre, also on Syngrou Avenue, is a building wrapped in a "skin" of white marble slats that glows at night. It offers theatre, dance, music, digital arts and talks, with an often experimental programme.
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). Designed by Renzo Piano and opened to the public in 2017, it stands in Kallithea, between the city and the sea at Faliro. It houses the National Library and the Greek National Opera, beneath a large solar-panelled roof that seems to float above an artificial hill. The park, with Mediterranean plants, the canal and the "lighthouse" overlooking the whole bay, is free and hosts concerts, exhibitions and activities for all. See the Riviera.
Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation. Opened in 2019 in Pangrati, it displays a shipowning family's collection with masterpieces by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso and Giacometti alongside Greek painters such as Tsarouchis and Moralis.
Galleries
Private galleries are concentrated in three areas. Kolonaki has the long-established ones, with recognised artists. In Metaxourgeio and Kerameikos, working-class districts west of the centre, galleries and independent spaces have opened in old houses and workshops over the past fifteen years. Pireos Street has large exhibition spaces such as the Benaki Museum building and Technopolis in Gazi, the former gasworks turned cultural centre. The non-profit NEON stages exhibitions in historic buildings and public spaces. Roughly every two years the Athens Biennale is held in ever-changing venues.
Street art
Athens is considered one of Europe's street art capitals. Graffiti and murals are everywhere, from huge portraits on five-storey facades to small political stencils. The richest areas are:
| Area | What you'll find |
|---|---|
| Exarchia | Political murals, slogans, portraits, the Polytechnic courtyard |
| Psyrri | Colourful murals in the alleys and on shop shutters |
| Metaxourgeio and Kerameikos | Large works on abandoned buildings and workshops |
| Gazi | Murals around Technopolis and the nightlife streets |
| Koukaki | More recent works among residential blocks |
Among the best-known Greek artists are INO, famous for large grey-toned murals with a single red detail, and Alexandros Vasmoulakis. Guided street art tours, often led by artists, help explain the political and social meaning of the murals, many linked to the crisis years.
Tips
- Many galleries close in August and on Sundays; openings are usually on Thursday evenings.
- EMST and the Stegi are reached by metro (line 2, Syngrou-Fix); for the SNFCC there is a free shuttle from Syntagma, or take the tram.
- Street art changes constantly: a mural photographed last year may no longer be there.
See also Athens museums, Exarchia, Gazi and Pangrati and Greek art.