This is Athens City Festival

Constantine Xenakis – Dimitris Chiotopoulos: Writing and Trace Two Journeys into the Labyrinth
2026-05-06 17:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-07 11:30 - 14:30, 2026-05-07 17:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-08 11:30 - 14:30 (Europe/Athens) | 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.

Nikolas Klironomos: A Retrospective (1985–2025)
2026-05-07 11:00 - 19:00, 2026-05-08 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
2026-05-07 11:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 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.

Vera Stavrinadi: Pop-Up Frequencies
2026-05-07 12:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-07 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 16:00 | 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.

Andreas Spiliotopoulos: Heroes of Today
2026-05-07 12:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-07 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 16:00 | 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.

Inna Orlik: The Permanent Collection
2026-05-07 12:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-08 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.

Natassa Metaxa: Light is Life
2026-05-07 12:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 20:00 | Art Project Space, 66 Falirou, Athens, 117 41, Greece
At the Art Project Space, Natassa Metaxa presents her solo exhibition, “Light is Life”. A collection that explores the profound, almost existential bond between light, nature, and the human form. In Metaxa’s work, light is far more than a visual detail; it is the vital force that sculpts each form and reveals a quiet, interior dimension of our existence.

Through compositions of striking emotional depth, the artist allows light and water to coalesce, embracing the body and transforming it into a vessel of sensitivity, warmth, and strength. Her figures seem to emerge from a place of stillness and inner reflection, inviting the viewer to engage not just with their eyes, but with their soul.

This is an exhibition that illuminates the hidden sides of the self, reminding us that, in the heart of the city, light truly is life.

Dr. Yiannis N. Tzortzis: Greenland
2026-05-07 14:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 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.

Evgenia Grigoraki: Roadside Shrines
2026-05-07 15:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 20:00 | Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre, 48 Armatolon-Klefton, Athens, 114 71, Greece
The Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre presents a solo exhibition by Evgenia Grigoraki titled “Roadside Shrines”, a photographic series focusing on a familiar yet often overlooked element of the Greek landscape. Through a personal and direct lens, the artist approaches these shrines not merely as markers of memory and faith, but as small, paradoxical presences that persist in inhabiting public spaces—alongside roads, around bends, and throughout our daily commutes.

The strength of the exhibition lies in this experiential, almost tender observation. Under Grigoraki’s gaze, these shrines are transformed into objects of artistic exploration, highlighting their enduring stability and the specific meaning they continue to hold within Greek society. It is an exhibition that bridges the everyday gaze with folk tradition, inviting us to pause once more before one of the most characteristic and poignant sights of the Greek roadside. Presented alongside Marilia Fotopoulou’s exhibition, the show will offer you the chance to explore two different yet complementary photographic interpretations of the same subject.

Marilia Fotopoulou: Iconostases
2026-05-07 15:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-08 12:00 - 20:00 | Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre, 48 Armatolon-Klefton, Athens, 114 71, Greece
The Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre presents “Iconostases”, a solo exhibition by Marilia Fotopoulou. This visual proposition turns its gaze toward a subject that is deeply familiar yet often bypassed in our daily lives: the roadside shrines encountered across the Greek landscape. The artist approaches these small, metallic markers of memory and faith not merely as elements of the scenery, but as vessels for personal histories, collective sensitivity, and profound cultural continuity.

Using the language of contemporary fine-art photography, the exhibition illuminates the relationship between the individual and the road, exploring themes of loss, memory, and the urban environment. Fotopoulou’s works do not simply document a characteristic Greek sight; they transform it into a field of observation and reflection. This is a show that invites us to look again at what we pass by every day, discovering within these shrines a unique weight of emotion, tradition, and silent witness. The exhibition works well the Eugenia Grigoraki’s exhibition, also on view at the gallery, giving you a broader perspective on this distinctive symbol of the Greek landscape.

Athina Pappa: Angel Energy
2026-05-07 15:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-08 15:00 - 21:00 | Art Zone 42, Vasileos Konstantinou 42, Athens, 116 35, Greece
Art Zone 42 Gallery presents “Angel Energy”, the latest body of work by Athina Pappa. This exhibition marks a poignant transition from organic matter to the ethereal, shifting from recognisable forms toward a more internal, abstract experience. It is a natural evolution of her previous artistic explorations, this time carving out a more spiritual path where imagery is liberated from traditional shapes, operating instead through the interplay of colour, light, and rhythm.

In “Angel Energy”, figurative references recede, making way for expansive colour fields, rich textures, and repeating motifs that encourage the eye to move freely across the canvas. Rather than following a strict narrative, the exhibition offers a visceral experience; viewers are invited to find their own personal connection to themes of elevation, energy, and spiritual fluidity. It is a thoughtful artistic proposition that brings a sense of stillness, light, and internal shift to the heart of the city.

Christina Paraskevopoulou: Symbioses
2026-05-07 17:30 - 20:30 | Artshot – Sophia Gaitani, 11 Lempesi, Athens, 117 42, Greece
Christina Paraskevopoulou invites us to look at the world around us as if through a magnifying glass. In her latest body of work, titled “Symbioses”, the artist paints the hidden stories unfolding on the ground, in the seas, and along the shores where life continues quietly and magically.

Using ink and fine markers on paper, she creates intricate shapes and patterns that resemble living organisms or endless threads woven together. Her works are more than just images; they are an “ecological message” about the resilience of nature and the beauty of the microscopic life we so often overlook.

It’s an invitation to pause for a moment and lose yourself in a world full of colour and detail, discovering how everything in nature coexists, blooms, and renews itself.

Yorgos Lanthimos: Photographs
2026-05-07 18:00 - 23:30 | Onassis Stegi, 107-109 Syngrou, Athens, 117 45, Greece
As the This is Athens City Festival kicks off an exciting new partnership with Onassis Stegi, we offer a look through the lens of a true visionary. In his first-ever solo photography exhibition in Greece, the internationally acclaimed director Yorgos Lanthimos presents 182 works that map out his unique visual language through a different medium.

This is a brilliant opportunity to get to know a whole other side of his artistry, stepping away from the cinema screen and into the still image. In the exhibition space of the Stegi, visitors encounter photographs created on the margins of film productions such as Poor Things (2023), Kinds of Kindness (2024), and Bugonia (2025), shot in cities like New Orleans and Atlanta, as well as in studios in Budapest, where entire cities were constructed as cinematic sets, alongside a new series of works from Athens and the Aegean.

Through these images, the familiar, the strange, and the silent take on a new intensity. It’s Lanthimos at his most raw, showcasing his deeply personal and recognisable authorship. Whether he’s capturing a landscape or the human form, you’re invited to see the world through the singular, idiosyncratic gaze of one of the world’s most significant contemporary creators.

Guided Tour at the City of Athens Museum
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:00 | The City of Athens Museum, 5-7 loannou Paparrigopoulou, Athens, 105 61, Greece
The City of Athens Museum (Vouros-Eutaxias Foundation) will welcome us for a rather special look at the capital’s modern history. The tour spans two iconic buildings that tell the story of a city finding its feet.
We start at the legendary “Old Palace”, the first residence of King Otto and Queen Amalia. It’s a space deeply intertwined with the very first steps Athens took as a modern European capital. Here, you’ll see the city through the objects and grand rooms that helped define its new, royal identity.

The journey then moves into the second building of the complex, the former home of the Dekozis-Vouros family. This is where things get personal. It offers a much more intimate glimpse into Athenian “high society” life, revealing the aesthetics, the daily habits, and domestic charm of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Through these collections and the stunning architecture itself, you’ll witness the trajectory of a city that was rapidly expanding and shaping its modern self. It’s a tour that beautifully bridges the gap between Athens’ grand political history and its private, everyday heart.

This activity is only available in Greek.

Nikos Kalafatis: Primavera
2026-05-08 12:00 - 20:00 | 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.
