This is Athens City Festival

CONQUISTADORS
2025-05-29 10:00 - 18:00, 2025-05-30 10:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Athens) | Macart’s Cultural Space, Lenorman 244, Athens, Athens, 104 43, Greece
Nikos Kyriakopoulos and his conquistadors disembark on Lenorman Street.

Dragons and wild beasts, locals and conquistadors—and even Death himself—battle deep in untrodden jungles.

The thirty-six works in this exhibition are not intended to serve History or the historical genre of painting. Instead, the artist draws his material from the mythos surrounding the Age of Discovery, crafting images that move beyond naturalism, both in form and content. Created using monotype, a technique dating back to the 16th century, the works gain added resonance when paired with the fantastical stories they depict. The adventures of the characters serve as a point of departure—not only for the adventures of line and colour, but also for reflection on themes such as desire, fear, conflict and illusion.

Opening: Thursday 8 May 2025, 19:30–23:00

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 10:00–18:00 Saturday: 11:00–15:00 Closed on Sunday

Solo Exhibition: Valinia Svoronou - Clocks of the Tides
2025-05-29 11:00 - 20:00, 2025-05-30 11:00 - 20:00 | CAN Christina Androulidaki Gallery, Chalkokondyli 19, Athens, Athens, 104 32, Greece
“Ah! That marvellous little thing – that fell into the sea – like a diamond slipped from the fingers of God. The abandoned pearl you long to place upon the alabaster neck of the beloved you adore.”

This passage from a book by Akilas Milas evokes the Princes’ Islands of the early 20th century as a jewel lost to the sea, a keepsake for a cherished beloved. Despite its old-fashioned phrasing, it conveys a powerful sense of a vanished place. Valinia Svoronou’s exhibition captures such moments—carried through intergenerational narratives, experienced by the artist and reshaped to reconcile with a time that is at once personal and collective, hazy and precise. Sculptural forms, notes and moving images become bulwarks in a world rich with memory: reflections from the Eastern Mediterranean, Athens, the Sea of Marmara and Asia Minor. These are moments of pause and re-formation—fragments of places remembered and reimagined.

Giorgos Gyzis: Clippings: Athens
2025-05-29 11:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-30 11:00 - 20:30 | Ikastikos Kyklos, Akadimias 6, Athens, Athens, 106 71, Greece
Clippings: Athens presents the third series of paintings inspired by clippings sourced from old newspapers. Photographs, drawings, and articles about Athens emerge from the archives, transformed into visual artworks that evoke emotion. The works on display offer a brief journey through the evolving form of Athens, beginning with the distinctive sketches by 19th-century British travellers in Attica and culminating in the height of modernism during the 1950s and 60s.

Exhibition Opening: Saturday 10 May 2025, 12:00–17:00 Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11:00–14:30 / 17:30–20:30

Wednesday, Saturday: 11:00–16:00

Closed Sunday and Monday

Vassilis Papageorgiou - Painting and Sculpture: Lignea Creatura Stans
2025-05-29 11:30 - 20:30, 2025-05-30 11:30 - 20:30 | Gallery Ersi, Kleomenous 4, Athens, Athens, 106 75, Greece
The worlds of plants, animals and humans—along with legend, myth, imagination and dream—form the basis of Vassilis Papageorgiou’s new artistic exploration. His paradoxical heroes and hand-crafted wooden creatures inhabit both two- and three-dimensional space in a state of perpetual whirling. Through an aesthetic lens, Papageorgiou reflects on the consequences of humanity’s destructive impact on the natural world. From this meditation, he generates new values—drawn from the cultural references of nature and tradition—that define the conditions for coexistence.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 11:30–14:30 & 17:30–20:30 Saturday: 11:30–15:00

TAKIMI II – Reconnections Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition
2025-05-29 12:00 - 20:00, 2025-05-30 12:00 - 15:00 | Pottery Museum, Melidoni 4-6, Athens, Athens, 105 53, Greece
The Museum of Modern Greek Ceramics, in collaboration with the French Institute of Greece, presents the exhibition TAKIMI II – Reconnections, featuring works by emerging ceramic artists Olga Vlassi and Auréline Caltagirone. The exhibition showcases pieces created during their 2024 artist residency at the French Lodging in Rhodes, organised by the French Institute of Greece. Their creations engage in a dialogue with the museum’s permanent collections, reflecting the myths and ceramic heritage of Rhodes through a contemporary lens. Through their work, the artists share impressions and personal narratives inspired by their time on the island—reconnecting modern expression with tradition and the historical context that shaped it.

Curated by: Thalassini Bratsou

Opening: Sunday 18 May 2025, 20:30

Opening hours: Monday: 12:00–15:00 Tuesday–Thursday: 12:00–20:00 Friday: 12:00–15:00 Saturday: 11:00–14:00

How to Fit Inside the City
2025-05-29 12:00 - 20:00, 2025-05-30 12:00 - 20:00 | Athens Gallery7, Solonos 20, Athens, Athens, 106 73, Greece
The work of Haris Baskozos is compelling not only for its final forms but also for the sources of inspiration behind them. The artist studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens and fine arts at the Athens School of Fine Arts. When drawing from his background in architecture, his work leans toward a rectilinear style that echoes urban planning and evokes a kind of “emotional Mondrian.” In these compositions, consciousness seems to take the lead. In contrast, when his fine arts training prevails, his work shifts towards a freer, more instinctive expression, dominated by human-like forms and influenced by art brut, where the unconscious plays the central role. In both cases, the final result is not a strict monologue of either approach, but rather a dialogue—one side mostly leading, the other echoing through. In this way, Baskozos offers a fascinating visual argument: the idea of collectivity (the city) tends to be shaped through a more conscious process, while reflections on individuality (the human being) emerge through the unconscious.

Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 12:00–20:00 Wednesday & Saturday: 12:00–16:00

Vassilis Karakatsanis: Urban Tools
2025-05-29 12:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-30 12:00 - 21:00 | Genesis Gallery, Ippokratous 121, Athens, Athens, 114 72, Greece
Vassilis Karakatsanis invites us on a journey through the spectrum of contemporary existence—a complex, ever-evolving interplay of memories, collective narratives and social dynamics. His exhibition Urban Tools unfolds as a compelling dialogue between past and present, the personal and the monumental. Seven large-scale paintings, accompanied by numerous smaller works—created using acrylic, oil and gouache on canvas—invite a deep exploration of life in all its textures and tones. At the heart of Karakatsanis’ practice lies a transcendent inner process shaped by memory and materiality. The exhibition title hints at the hidden mechanisms that define a place’s essence: the subtle, often invisible tools that help us navigate, define and interpret the environments we inhabit—as well as those that shape and compose our very being. The urban landscape is not only his subject matter; it becomes his medium. Each brushstroke reveals the layered relationship between its singularity and the stories it holds. Symbols of personal and collective identity, ideology and emotion are interwoven into the fabric of daily life.

Opening night: Thursday 8 May 2025, 20:00

Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 12:00–21:00 Saturday: 12:00–15:00 Closed on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday

Athens Voice - 1st Green Experience Music Event
2025-05-29 17:30 - 23:00 | Stoa Emporon, Voulis 8-10, Athens, Athens, 105 62, Greece
Athens Voice joins the This is Athens City Festival with an original music event set to become a new tradition. In the heart of the city, the Emporikon Arcade is transformed into a lush urban oasis filled with hundreds of live plants.

At its centre, the Athens Digital Arts Festival installs a striking LED gateway, turning the arcade into the most futuristic “park” in Athens—where nature and technology coexist in harmony. Music sets the pace while the screens respond to the rhythm, creating the illusion of floating greenery and an unforgettable sensory experience.

Message in RGB and WHITE
2025-05-29 18:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-30 18:00 - 21:00 | Mosaico Fine Art Studio, Kesarias 18-20, Athens, Athens, 115 27, Greece
Mosaico Fine Art Studio (Athens) and Mobil Bóde Gallery (Budapest) co-present a mail art exhibition featuring works by Greek and Hungarian artists.

Opening: Saturday, May 24, 19:00.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 18:00–21:00 Saturday: 11:00–15:00 Closed on Sunday

Fairy Tales at the Square: Babis Bourekas - Maria Ploumi
2025-05-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Pinelopi Delta Square, Pinelopis Delta 16, Athens, Athens, 115 25, Greece
This activity is only available in Greek.

Fearless Little Ones!

Storytelling from both Greek and global folk traditions, where the heroes overcame their fears, faced stronger, mightier, and more terrifying forces, and in the end, succeeded! The accompaniment of music and song completes the narrative, the journey of imagination, relieves tension, and helps create a sense of community.

Storytelling by: Charalambos Bourekas
Music/Singing: Maria Ploumi (laouto)

Hispanic Film Festival at Ellinis
2025-05-29 20:00 - 23:30 | Open Air Cinema “Ellinis”, Leof. Kifissias 29, Athens, Athens, 115 23, Greece
A full week in May is dedicated to the highlights of Spanish-language cinema. Groundbreaking directors, renowned actors and celebrated screenwriters bring to Athens the spirit of Spain, Chile, Argentina, Cuba and other beloved Spanish-speaking countries—through stories that captivate, move and inspire.

Hispanic Film Festival at Aello
2025-05-29 20:00 - 23:30 | Open Air Cinema “Aello”, Patission 140, Athens, Athens, 112 57, Greece
The best of Spanish-language cinema takes over Athens for an entire week in May. Visionary directors, acclaimed actors and celebrated screenwriters bring a breath of Spain, Chile, Argentina, Cuba and other beloved Spanish-speaking countries to the big screen.

The National School of Dance Steps Out
2025-05-29 20:30 - 21:30 | Kotzia Square, Kotzia Square, Αθήνα, Athens, 105 51, Greece
Dance performances in unexpected spots around the city, featuring students from the State School of Dance, under the artistic direction of the school’s leading dance teacher, Dafni Kokkinou.

A Tour of Rizokastro and the Anafiotika Area
2025-05-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Acropolis Metro Station, Makrygianni 9, Athens, Athens, 117 42, Greece
This activity is only available in Greek.

Archaeologist Michalis Giohalas, in collaboration with the This is Athens City Festival, leads a walking tour through Anafiotika and its layered history. Rizokastro—the area nestled at the root of the Sacred Rock—and Anafiotika are among the most historic quarters of Athens. Using surviving monuments and buildings, remnants of lost structures, and even the street names as our guide, we’ll attempt to piece together the memory and image of a city that feels both different and not entirely lost. This journey will tune in to the lingering echoes of beliefs, myths and legends tied to ancient places that still endure in the present day.

A reservation is required.

Tropical Athens Party
2025-05-30 18:00 - 23:00 | Pangrati Grove, Pangrati Grove, Athens, Athens, 116 35, Greece
Pangrati, a neighbourhood steeped in stories, voices, and rhythms, welcomes summer with a special event by the Tropical crew. In one of the city’s most beloved green spaces, something unique is about to unfold. For the first time ever, Tropical brings its signature sound to Alsos Pangratiou for an open-air party. What began a few years ago with no grand plans—just a speaker, a few friends, and a shared need to play the music that moved them—has grown into something bigger. Their gatherings started on beaches, rooftops and hilltops. Today, their parties have evolved, and their audience has become part of who they are.

Athens is throwing its own celebration—and everyone’s invited.

Pepper at the Park
2025-05-30 18:00 - 23:00 | Eleftherias Park, Eleftherias Park, Athens, Athens, 115 21, Greece
The first summer Pepper party of the year, in the heart of Athens, with free entry. On Friday, May 30th, at Eleftherias Park, next to the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis), from 6 PM until late in the evening. Music will be provided by special guests and the presenters of Pepper 96.6.
Pepper 96.6 creates a magical open-air setting: Music, friends, summer vibes, drinks in hand, towels spread out on the grass, groups gathered under the park’s trees, and of course, DJ sets by top radio producers from the Pepper 96.6 team.

Music 89 2 Street Party
2025-05-30 18:30 - 23:00 | Klafthmonos Square, Klaftmonos Square, Athens, Athens, 105 61, Greece
Get ready to feel the city’s magic just before summer kicks in! Music 89.2 and the This is Athens City Festival invite you to an unforgettable street party at Klafthmonos Square, right in the heart of Athens.

Expect high-energy music, live shows, dance performances, and plenty of surprises with Music 89.2 favourites Kounavia, Maggie, Evanjelia and Chris IDH turning the square into an open-air dance stage bursting with colour and good vibes. Come dance, meet new people, and soak up the unique energy of the city in one of its most iconic squares.

Fairy Tales at the Park: Taxiarchis Beligiannis - Maria Ploumi
2025-05-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Ilisia Park, Dragoumi and Dimitressa, Athens, Athens, 115 28, Greece
This activity is only available in Greek.

Fairy tales from the neighborhoods of the world.

What stories do children tell on the other side of the world? How do fairy tales from distant lands sound? Come and listen to traditional stories from all over the globe, travel with words and music, and discover how, no matter where we are, fairy tales unite us!

Narration: Taxiarchis Mpeligiannis
Music: Maria Ploumi

Cosmic Dust - New Territories
2025-05-30 19:00 - 22:00 | National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymphon, Athens, Athens, 118 10, Greece
Τhe historic National Observatory of Athens transforms into a terrain of celestial imagination and earthly matter, with a bold new exhibition by contemporary artist Lea Petrou. Titled Cosmic Dust / New Territories, the show presents a series of new site-specific works that inhabit and respond to Greece’s oldest scientific institution, an anchor of time, memory, and observation since 1842.

Curated and textually framed by Kostas Prapoglou, the exhibition draws inspiration from 19th-century German astronomer Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt, whose intricate lunar mappings and scientific pursuits form the basis for Petrou’s radical reinterpretation. Using materials such as ceramic, cotton thread, wool, clay, titanium, and marble, Petrou creates dialogues between past and present, the human and the planetary, the analytical and the emotional.

Exhibition days and times: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 19.00 – 22.00

A Cretan Fest with Psarogiorgis
2025-05-30 19:00 - 23:00 | Mayor Dimitris Beis Park, Dimarchou Dimitri Bei Park, Athens, Athens, 117 45, Greece
The This is Athens City Festival brings the heartbeat of Crete to Athens, organizing a grand Cretan Feast with Psaroyiorgis. Raised in the deep musical tradition of Anogeia, he is a descendant of a legendary family of musicians from this mountain village. Son of the unique Psarantonis and nephew of Nikos Xylouris, the man who greatly contributed to the revival of Cretan traditional music, Yiorgis has managed to put the laouto (Cretan lute) in the spotlight, giving a leading role to an instrument once considered merely an accompaniment.

Argithea
2025-05-30 20:00 - 22:00 | Agios Thomas Square, Mikras Asias 69, Athens, Athens, 115 27, Greece
The Panhellenic Federation of Argithea Associations (P.O.A.S.), in collaboration with the Municipality of Argithea and the traditional music group Argitheatiki Zygia, will present a showcase of local dances and songs from the region of Argithea, performed by dancers and singers from P.O.A.S. member associations.

Celebrating a decade of continuous cultural activity, the Federation now enters its second decade with a series of events honouring the “Mother of Argithea” — a symbolic figure who embodies the preservation and transmission of local customs, traditions, and history. Through this tribute, the spotlight turns to the pivotal and multifaceted role of women, and especially mothers, in Argithea’s social fabric.

This performance at the This is Athens City Festival marks the beginning of a nationwide series of events, culminating in 2026 with a major music-theatre production in Athens featuring acclaimed artists and co-organised with the City of Athens.

Food and Wine experience - Nyn Esti - EMST
2025-05-30 20:00 - 23:00 | Nyn Esti, Nyn Esti, Athens, Greece, 11743, Greece
The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) is participating again this year in the City of Athens Festival, the great celebration of the city, with a high gastronomy event organized by Wine Style at NYN ESTI, an innovative restaurant located on the top floor of EMST. A 6-course menu themed “Spring” and signed by Chef Stamatis Misomikes (StamHalfmike). A combination of flavors based on Greek culinary tradition using modern techniques and sustainable practices. Each dish is accompanied by a different Oenops Wines, a winery that expresses the new generation of Greek Wines characterized by finesse, power, purity of aromas, and complexity.
Participation: 65 euros/person (the price includes Oenops Wines)
Reservations: by phone at +30 698 943 88 66 (Limited number of seats)
WELCOME BITES
Rhodian oil pita – smoked eel – Greek salad & Marinated amberjack – pomegranate – celeriac broth
APLA White 2024, Oenops Wines (Malagouzia, Vidiano, Assyrtiko)
MENU
Zucchini flower salad – sea buckthorn vinaigrette – chamomile
Vindiano 2023, Oenops Wines
Beef tartare – “chicken of the woods” – burnt bread soil
APLA Rose 2024, Oenops Wines (Xinomavro, Mavroudi, Limniona)
Cuttlefish risotto – kaimaki (clotted cream) – fennel
Limniona 2021, Oenops Wines
Black pork – must-pepper – leek
Xinomavro 2023, Oenops Wines
Melon sorbet – strawberry
Spring flowers, yogurt – cherry – thyme – elderflower
