This is Athens City Festival

Nikos Kalafatis: Primavera
2026-05-28 12:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-29 12:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Athens) | Technohoros Art Gallery, 12 Lempesi, Athens, 117 42, Greece
Nikos Kalafatis presents Primavera, an exhibition curated by Athena Schina, at Technohoros Art Gallery. It is a vibrant, optimistic, and deeply personal tribute to the natural world. For Kalafatis, nature isn’t just a subject; it’s a constant source of daily observation and artistic discovery. Taking the energy of spring as his starting point, the artist creates a world where simple, discarded materials are granted a second life. Driftwood, metals, ropes, feathers, and various objets trouvés are meticulously transformed through painting, sculpture, and engraving into works brimming with poetry, ingenuity, and a subtle touch of wit.
This isn’t just a traditional look at the outdoors; it’s an invitation to adopt a lighter, more observant way of being, one that is open to the “everyday miracles” of the city and beyond. In the heart of the festival, Primavera proves that spring isn’t just a season; it’s a creative state of mind.

Demosthenes Agrafiotis: "Xαrtιά" [Crossroads & Junctions] 1975–2025
2026-05-28 12:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-29 12:00 - 20:00 | Art Project Space, 66 Falirou, Athens, 117 41, Greece
At Art Project Space, the exhibition “Xαrtιά” [Crossroads & Junctions] 1975–2025 carries both a retrospective and emotional resonance. Originally conceived by Demosthenes Agrafiotis himself for late 2025, his sudden passing has transformed this presentation into a vital tribute to the expansive work and thought of a true pioneer in Greek experimental art and poetry.

Spanning five decades of creation, the exhibition invites the public to navigate the “crossroads” where Agrafiotis’s writing, imagery, and theoretical enquiries met. It is a rare opportunity to trace the evolution of a mind that saw art as a constant state of transition and experimentation.

Alongside the retrospective, the exhibition presents his final creation: the artist’s book “Synoda” (Accompaniments), released in a limited, numbered edition of just 40 unique copies. This is more than an exhibition; it is a final, precious dialogue with an artist who thought of art as a field for experimentation, deep enquiry, and a state of constant transition.

Giorgos Louloudis: The Path of Light – The Innate
2026-05-28 12:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-29 12:00 - 21:00 | Genesis Gallery, Ippokratous 121, Athens, Athens, 114 72, Greece
In his new solo exhibition at Gallery Genesis, Giorgos Louloudis places light centre stage, moving beyond its role as a mere physical phenomenon.The artist turns his focus toward the small Greek chapels and their unique relationship with the landscape, transforming them into potent symbols of hope, silence, and internal quest. These works function as quiet stations of contemplation, where physical space and psychological experience are inextricably linked.

Through a powerful expressionist style, Louloudis’s painted surfaces gain emotional intensity and depth. Light becomes an inner necessity, a force that guides the viewer toward a deeply personal reading of the work. This exhibition speaks to the universal need for solace and the enduring power of hope, asserting art’s ability to serve as a point of renewal and reflection in demanding times.

Dr. Yiannis N. Tzortzis: Greenland
2026-05-28 14:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-29 14:00 - 20:00 | a.antonopoulou.art Gallery, 20 Aristofanous, Athens, 105 54, Greece
The gallery a.antonopoulou.art hosts the solo photography exhibition “Greenland” by Dr. Yiannis N. Tzortzis, a body of work that seamlessly merges artistic sensitivity with a sharp environmental consciousness. Through his lens, the frozen landscapes of the North are revealed in all their rare beauty and profound fragility, opening an essential dialogue on the climate crisis and the complex relationship between humanity and the natural world. Here, the image transcends simple documentation; it becomes a catalyst for reflection.

The exhibition carries significant weight as it highlights the delicate balance between natural heritage, the geopolitical importance of resources, and our collective responsibility toward the environment. Viewers are invited to perceive Greenland not merely as a site of immense aesthetic power, but as one of the most critical frontiers for contemplating the planet’s present and future. This is a multi-layered experience with a clear ecological and contemporary footprint.

Andreas Spiliotopoulos: Heroes of Today
2026-05-28 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-29 12:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-29 17:00 - 20:00 | Astrolavos Art Gallery, 11 Xanthippou, Kolonaki, 106 75, Greece
Astrolavos Art Gallery presents the solo painting exhibition of Andreas Spiliotopoulos, titled “Heroes of Today”—a body of work that brings classical art into a direct dialogue with contemporary pop culture. Drawing influence from the allegorical and monumental traditions of painting, as well as the kinetic energy and narrative drive of comic books, the artist creates dense, multi-layered compositions teeming with parallel action.

On his canvases, joy coexists with fear, irony with drama, and the mundane with the hyperbolic. These modern-day “heroes” are not supernatural figures, but characters of contemporary life navigating fragility, intensity, and humour. The exhibition offers a vivid and penetrating look at our world, suggesting that the comic and the tragic are, ultimately, two sides of the same narrative coin.

Vera Stavrinadi: Pop-Up Frequencies
2026-05-28 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-29 12:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-29 17:00 - 20:00 | Astrolavos Art Gallery, 11 Xanthippou, Kolonaki, 106 75, Greece
Astrolavos Art Gallery hosts “Pop-Up Frequencies”, a striking sculptural intervention by Vera Stavrinadi that occupies the gallery space with undeniable presence and style. Monumental sculptures in the form of contemporary totems alternate with smaller floor and wall-mounted pieces, all bathed in the vibrant, fluorescent hues of pop culture and comic- book aesthetics.

With a sarcastic yet playful approach that draws on the world of children’s toys, the artist opens a fragmented dialogue regarding the values of modern society. By casting a critical eye on consumerist tropes and contemporary superficiality, Stavrinadi successfully marries a sharp perspective with an irresistibly joyful dimension. This experience invites us to view the “idols” of our everyday lives through a new, luminous, and subversive frequency.

Constantine Xenakis – Dimitris Chiotopoulos: Writing and Trace Two Journeys into the Labyrinth
2026-05-28 17:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-29 11:30 - 14:30, 2026-05-29 17:30 - 20:30 | Gallery Ersi, Kleomenous 4, Athens, Athens, 106 75, Greece
Ersi Gallery hosts a deep and unexpectedly poetic dialogue between two masters of the symbolic: Constantine Xenakis and Dimitris Chiotopoulos.

Writing and Trace explores the moment when a mark, a symbol, or a simple gesture transcends its everyday use to become a language of its own. Dense with meaning and open to endless interpretation. The internationally acclaimed Xenakis employs codes, hieroglyphs, and signals from modern communication to offer a sharp commentary on how meaning is constructed in our digital age. In contrast, Chiotopoulos brings a more interior, tactile search to the gallery, weaving in archetypal shapes and calligraphy elements.

Together, they transform the “Labyrinth” into a space of discovery. This isn’t just an exhibition; it’s an invitation to stroll through a maze of signs and silences, losing yourself in the traces of culture only to find your own way back.

NO MOTTO
2026-05-28 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-29 18:00 - 21:00 | Mosaico Fine Art Studio, Kesarias 18-20, Athens, Athens, 115 27, Greece
As part of the This is Athens City Festival 2026, contemporary art finds its voice in “NO MOTTO”, featuring the work of Markos Ntemkas and curated by Dr. Eva Kekou. This presentation of conceptual works invites the public on an aesthetic and philosophical journey exploring the boundaries of imagery, meaning, and artistic identity. Eschewing easy definitions or predetermined conclusions, the exhibition carves out a space for observation and personal interpretation.

The central axis here is self-reflexivity: the way in which art can turn inward to examine its own nature, function, and presence. In “NO MOTTO”, form and content exist in a constant dialogue, creating a field of contemplation that offers no ready-made answers, but instead proposes a more substantial way of seeing. This is an exhibition for those who appreciate a contemporary visual language that challenges, questions, and leaves room for a second thought.

Nepenthe
2026-05-28 19:00 - 23:00 | Korai Square, Korai 1, Athens, Athens, 105 64, Greece
The Athens City Festival welcomes Nepenthe, a project that reimagines the dance floor by focusing on atmosphere, detail, and a deep connection to the city’s architecture. In Korai Square, one of the most historic corners of the centre, a curated musical “ritual” unfolds, transforming public space into a living, breathing stage.

As daylight fades into the Athenian dusk, the steady pulse of house music echoes between the square’s iconic buildings, striking a perfect balance between contemporary club culture and the city’s architectural memory.

Nepenthe is more than just a party; it’s an immersive experience of rhythm and togetherness. It is an invitation to pause in the heart of Athens and see it differently through sound, light, and the shared energy of a crowd dancing as one. Come and find your rhythm where the past meets the pulse of the present.

Athens Photo World: The FIFA World Cup 1930 – 2026 by the Associated Press
2026-05-29 06:00 - 23:30, 2026-05-30 06:00 - 23:30 | National Garden, Vas. Amalias 1, Athens, Athens, 105 57, Greece
Athens Photo World is transforming the fence running around the National Garden into a stunning open-air gallery dedicated to the “king of sports.” This exhibition presents 50 iconic photographs from the historic archives of the Associated Press, offering a fascinating journey through the evolution of the World Cup, from the very first whistle in Uruguay in 1930 to the modern moments of glory currently unfolding on the pitches of the USA, Canada, and Mexico in 2026.

It is a true walk through sporting history along Vasilissis Sofias and Amalias Avenue, where passers-by can pause before high-aesthetic images that capture the intensity, passion, and historic upsets that have shaken the planet for nearly a century. This visual timeline spans nearly 100 years of global football, showcasing the work of world-leading photojournalists who were right there on the touchline. Set against one of the most beautiful walks in the city in the heart of springtime Athens, it is a unique opportunity for photography enthusiasts and football fans alike to discover global sporting history through the eyes of the masters.

Athens Photo World: Michalis Pappas – Mitos, The Thread of Greece
2026-05-29 06:00 - 23:30 | The Athens Concert Hall – Megaron, Vas. Sofias & Kokkali, Athens, 115 21, Greece
For the seventh consecutive year, Athens Photo World returns to the perimeter of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall transforming it into a street gallery, showing a different and deeply personal perspective on Greek identity. As part of the This is Athens City Festival 2026, this year’s exhibition features 13 selected photographs from the broader work of Michalis Pappas, titled “Mitos: The Thread of Greece”.

Moving away from the usual landmarks, Pappas’s lens focuses instead on traditional costumes worn by contemporary figures, proving that tradition is not a fossilised relic of the past, but a living, evolving process that breathes within our daily lives. It is an evocative connection between yesterday and today, inviting passers-by to discover the “thread” that links us to our roots right in the heart of the urban fabric.

Dimitra Siaterli: Cohesive Networks
2026-05-29 11:00 - 19:00 | The City of Athens Gallery, Municipal Gallery of Athens, Athens, Athens, 104 36, Greece
This solo exhibition by Dimitra Siaterli is presented as a fascinating journey connecting the artist’s past and present. Spanning from the 1980s and 90s right through to her brand-new productions, the exhibition unfolds in three sections that feel like acts in a play. Visitors will wander through a world of strange minerals, fossils, and mythical creatures, eventually arriving at an “anatomy” of the human form through striking sculptures, meshes, and engravings. Tiny human figures seem to leap out from labyrinths and processions, creating a playful tension between myth and reality. This is an experiential journey that reminds us of the vital human need for connection and our place as a precious part of a vast, collective network. It is a study of coexistence, delivered in a visual language that speaks to the heart about the time and space we all share

Nikolas Klironomos: A Retrospective (1985–2025)
2026-05-29 11:00 - 19:00 | The City of Athens Gallery, Municipal Gallery of Athens, Athens, Athens, 104 36, Greece
This major retrospective is a brilliant place to start looking into the work of Nikolas Klironomos, an artist who has spent decades masterfully blurring the lines between fine art and set design.

Klironomos doesn’t just paint; he “directs” his canvases. Think of him as a visual filmmaker who takes the raw, chaotic energy of Athens, our streets, our faces, our light, and filters it through a lens of memory and emotion.

In this exhibition, the mundane meets the dreamlike. You’ll see the changing seasons of the city tangled up with those small, quirky moments that make life in Athens so unique. By playing with vibrant palettes and some rather unusual materials, he creates scenes that feel like they’re in constant motion. It’s a bit like catching a glimpse of Athens from a moving Vespa—everything is fluid, poetic, and strangely alive.

This exhibition is designed to speak directly to your heart and your memory. What’s truly clever is how Klironomos takes “the bits and bobs” of life, those fragmented, everyday moments, and gives them a sense of grandeur and importance. It’s a proper journey into the hidden corners of time and what it actually means to be human.

Panos Charalambous: COLUMBIA
2026-05-29 11:00 - 20:00 | CITRONNE Gallery, 19 Patriarchou Ioakim, Athens, 106 75, Greece
At CITRONNE Gallery, Panos Charalambous invites us to step into a “sonic room” that speaks directly to the memory of the city. The journey begins in 2006, the year the historic Columbia vinyl record factory in Rizoupoli was demolished, symbolically closing a massive chapter of Greek music history. Columbia was a place where the voices, songs, and moments that shaped our collective soundscape were once etched into wax.

Charalambous transforms the gallery into a visceral, immersive installation. Here, you are invited to walk across a “sound floor,” literally treading on the echoes of a memory that refuses to fade. It is a haunting reminder that music doesn’t vanish with the buildings that once housed it; instead, it survives through emotion, shared experience, and our collective imagination.

In a city that is constantly evolving, COLUMBIA is a profound meditation on decay, remembrance, and our deep-seated need to keep our shared history alive.

Inna Orlik: The Permanent Collection
2026-05-29 12:00 - 18:00 | Orlik Gallery, 3 Palaiologou Benizelou, Athens, 105 56, Greece
Orlik Gallery invites the This is Athens City Festival audience to a distinctive encounter with the visual universe of Inna Orlik. This exhibition brings to the fore a world where contemporary painting enters into a dialogue with mythology, nature, and the human experience, creating an environment rich in symbolism and layers of interpretation.

Defined by bold colours, complex textures, and a singular painterly language, Orlik’s works move between the visible and the suggestive, the personal and the collective. The artist transforms the canvas into a space for narrative and exploration, inviting the viewer to discover forms, symbols, and underlying connections. It is an exhibition tailored for those seeking not only aesthetic intensity in contemporary art but also a substantial, resonant depth.

Alexandros Georgiou
2026-05-29 12:00 - 18:00 | Rebecca Camhi Gallery, 9 Leonidou, Metaxourgio, 104 37, Greece
The Rebecca Camhi Gallery presents a solo exhibition by Alexandros Georgiou. Spanning over three decades of work from 1993 to 2026, the exhibition offers a profound, multi-layered look at the artist’s trajectory through oils and works on paper that reveal the evolution of his technique, themes, and internal search.

Georgiou introduces us to a personal, introspective world where memory, travel, and the metaphysical coexist with potent symbolism and a characteristic fluidity of line. His enigmatic figures and landscapes appear to hover outside of time, inviting the viewer on a quiet yet deep internal journey. This is a rare opportunity to engage with the work of an artist who moves with great sensitivity between the human and the transcendent.

Tilda Swinton: Ongoing
2026-05-29 18:00 - 23:00 | Onassis Ready, 2 Strati Tsirka, Ag. Ioannis Rentis, 182 33, Greece
Marking its fifth year with a great collaboration with Onassis Stegi, we offer an encounter with one of the season’s most keenly discussed artistic propositions. At its centre is Tilda Swinton, a figure who has long moved with deliberate, almost defiant ease between cinema, fashion, and the visual arts, each appearance less a performance than a considered cultural gesture.

The exhibition Ongoing, presented at the recently inaugurated Onassis Ready, resists the tidy framing of a retrospective. Instead, it unfolds as an active, evolving dialogue between Swinton and a close circle of collaborators. Among them Pedro Almodóvar, Luca Guadagnino, Jim Jarmusch, Joanna Hogg, Tim Walker, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Olivier Saillard, and Derek Jarman. Through short films, installations, and photographic works, the exhibition gently dismantles and reassembles the layers of her artistic identity, moving between the dreamlike and the intimately personal. The result is a multi-stranded exhibition that illuminates her rich creative journey and her profound connection to contemporary art.

SFERA pres. Marseaux LIVE
2026-05-29 20:00 - 22:00 | Pangrati Grove, Pangrati Grove, Athens, Athens, 116 35, Greece
For one night only, the tranquil Pagrati Grove sheds its quiet daily routine to become the city’s most vibrant open-air dancefloor. Sfera 102.2 welcomes Marseaux for an explosive live set, bringing cutting-edge urban pop culture into the lush, green heart of Athens.

Against a backdrop of towering pines and the familiar energy of the neighbourhood, Marseaux takes the stage with the signature sound and fresh aesthetic that have made her a breakout star of the new generation. Expect trap rhythms, infectious hooks, and the kind of lyrics that have already become street anthems. This isn’t just a concert; it’s a seamless blend of a live show and an impromptu forest party.

Whether you’ve followed her since her early days with the WNC crew or discovered her through “Hanomai” and her latest hits, this is your chance to see her in a setting that fits her perfectly. It’s an evening that promises raw energy, soaring rhythms, and that unmistakable feeling that the entire city is dancing right there with you.
