Together with visitors of all ages and actor Dimitris Kouroumbalis as a host, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) in Athens was transformed into a bright place of celebration overnight, in a glittering event at the Agora.
For the fifth consecutive year, four impressive light installations created by prominent foreign and Greek artists were presented at Stavros Niarchos Park, rolling out the magic of the SNFCC Christmas world.
There were also thousands of Christmas lights, three lavishly decorated tall Christmas trees, festive choreographies by the Canal Fountains, four-light installations at the Stavros Niarchos Park, and of course festive melodies from the young musicians of El Sistema Greece and Onirama.
Visitors are able to walk through the dreamy atmosphere of the Dome, the Great Lawn, the Pine Grove, and the Green Roofs that highlight the boundaries between light, colour, and motion, with many activities on offer for people of all ages.
At the SNFCC Christmas World, December is a month full of festivities – including the Ice Rink at the Canal, which is set to commence on December 10 and every day holds a new surprise for all.
The Christmas Stories at the Lighthouse, as well as music, sports, play and fun, art and creativity, all turn into a special event, setting the brightest Christmas memories at the SNFCC.
Photos by SNFCC | Nikos Karanikolas and Danai Kokkinaki
An exquisite exhibition exploring the concept of beauty through 300 antiquities that have been gathered from museums and collections in Greece and abroad, is currently taking place at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.
On display are three hundred emblematic antiquities from fifty-two museums, collections, and Ephorates of Antiquities throughout Greece, as well as from Italy, and the Vatican. The majority are appearing for the first time outside of the museums of their provenance.
The exhibition named “Kallos. The Ultimate Beauty” was created by Professor Nikolaos Chr. Stampolidis, Director of the Acropolis Museum, former Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, and Dr. Ioannis D. Fappas, Curator of Antiquities at the museum. With selected exhibits dating mainly from the seventh to the first century BC (from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period) they are complemented by a handful of works of Roman times.
“The ancient Greek word Kallos means ‘beauty’ and is associated with both females and males. We wanted to complete the concept of beauty by also including elements from the philosophical beliefs of the ancient Greeks, elements of virtue, such as wisdom, heroism, self-denial, noble rivalry, and kindness. The Ancient Greeks believed that all these virtues were an integral part of beauty,” announced Sandra Marinopoulou, President & CEO of the Museum of Cycladic Art.
Visitors are able to see statues, vases, sherds (broken ceramics), mirrors, jewellery, perfume vases, accessories of the toilette and beautification (cosmetic unguents, pigments, and so on), objects of clay, stone metal, and terracottas of various periods, mainly Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic figurines, tools for styling the hair, such as iron scissors, little combs, and so on.
The exhibition also hosts a number of antiquities from Magna Graecia, enabling the visitor to understand the phenomenon of the dispersion of the notion of Kallos also to the Greek colonies in the West; with artifacts from the Vatican Museum, the Archaeological Museums of Florence, Naples, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Syracuse, Catania and the National Archaeological Park of Ostia.
A: Neophytou Douka 4, Athens
Dates: Until the 16th of January, 2022
Opening hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm Thursday, Friday: 10 am to 8 pm Sunday: 11 am to 5 pm Tuesday: Closed
Athens is set to host its 38th Classic Marathon this weekend with the shorter race taking place on Saturday the 13th and the longer course on Sunday the 14th of November 2021.
The popular event is recognised as the world’s original modern marathon, attracting thousands of participants and spectators from around the globe.
“After two years of absence for all our racing events, SEGAS (Hellenic Athletics Federation) is returning with a top event for Greece and the whole world,” the Federation’s President, Sofia Sakorafa, said during a press conference in Athens.
A total of 30,000 runners will participate in the 42km course and the 10km and 5km races under strict application of the safety protocol for sports events, announced Sakorafa, adding that only the fully vaccinated runners and those with proof of recovery from COVID-19 are allowed to participate in this year’s event.
Athens Classic Marathon
The Athens Marathon is run entirely on asphalt beginning at the small town of Marathon and the finish line is in Athens’ magnificent Olympic Stadium.
According to the organisers, the Athens Marathon allows runners the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Greek soldier Pheidippides who first ran the 42 km route from the battlefield of Marathon beach to Athens in 490 BC.
It is said that Pheidippides ran from the aftermath of the Battle of Marathon straight to Athens- eager to let all Athenians know about the victory against the Persians. Entering the gates of the ancient city, he is said to have uttered the word ‘’nenikēkamen!” which means “We’ve won,” at this stage he is said to have fallen on his knees in exhaustion – and sadly died.
The distance between Marathon and Athens is around 42 km, as Pheidippides set out and endured what is now a distance completed by hundreds of thousands of runners around the world every year.
Since the revival of the Olympic Games and the Marathon race in the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, thousands of runners have participated in the authentic course. In 2019, a record 60,000 participants from 105 countries and regions participated; and organisers anticipate the numbers will be back up again in 2022.
All runners crossing the finish line this year will receive a collective medal designed by prominent Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos. It is the second in a series of special medals, which will be handed to runners every year until 2026, which will be the 130th anniversary of the first Marathon race of modern times.
Athens’ Acropolis Museum has introduced its winter program at a reduced admission fee of 5 euros for children and adults. Further to that, each first Sunday of the month, entrance to the museum is free. The museum’s winter program will run during the November 1 – March 31 period.
Acropolis Museum Winter Program
Saturday in the Museum with 20+1 Masterpieces
Visit the Acropolis Museum and along with the archaeologists, discover the hidden stories of 20+1 masterpieces that feature myths and fables, folklores and traditions, historical milestones and human stories transformed into art and weave a vivid experience during an outstanding walk in the Museum’s Galleries.
Date & Time: Saturdays, at 10.30 am in English
From the 6th of November 2021 till March 26th, 2022
Athens’ Acropolis Museum
Strange Creatures on the Acropolis Museum
Visit the Museum with your children to discover creatures of the earth, the sea and the air, creations of the imagination of ancient people that invite visitors to a game of exploration, observation, and knowledge. Children will be given materials to take home and create their own strange creatures.
Date & Time: Every Sunday 10:30 am and 12:30 pm
From the 7th of November, 2021 to 27th of March, 2022
Afternoons in the Acropolis Museum
The Museum’s archaeologists invite you on a captivating walk through its halls, to introduce you to the fascinating stories hidden in the treasures of the museum’s galleries. The walk develops each time based on your interests; and promises an unforgettable experience, with the usage of numerous visual means -such as photographs, sketches, and representations- as well as stops on the digital applications that enrich the collection.
Date & Time: Every Friday at 6 pm
Until the 25th of March, 2022
To register you need to refer to the Information Desk on the day of the tour. There is a limited of 30 visitors and first-in first-served.
Athens’ former Public Tobacco Factory has been transformed into a modern cultural space and is currently hosting a critically acclaimed international art exhibition featuring 59 artists from 27 countries.
For the first time in the history of the building, this lofty and stunning space has been made accessible to the public as part of Portals, an exhibition of contemporary art that opened in early June.
Portals brings together work from 18 Greek and over 40 international artists—among them Steve McQueen and Ed Ruscha — in a show curated by Madeleine Grynsztejn of the MCA Chicago and Elina Kontouri, director of the Athens-based arts and culture organisation NEON.
The exhibition aims to develop messages, ideas, and concerns regarding modern artistic creativity by approaching the new reality being shaped by change; including 15 new site-specific installations commissioned especially by NEON, whose diverse cultural backgrounds offer a plurality of ideas underpinned by a shared aspiration to create a portal into a new, more humane and inclusive reality.
Founded in 2013 by Dimitris Daskalopoulos, a Greek entrepreneur, NEON stages exhibitions and installations in spaces across Greece, from abandoned office spaces to the slopes of the Acropolis. In the case of the tobacco factory, NEON co-funded the latest phase of renovation alongside the Hellenic Parliament, a move Daskalopoulos calls a gift “to the city and its people,” which coincides with Greece’s celebration of 200 years of independence this year.
The exhibition takes place in all renovated areas of the building: the atrium, corridors, halls and mezzanines, bathrooms, the former Customs Office, the surrounding area, on the roof / façade of the building and on Kolonos Hill and represents a pluralism of ideas and touches upon issues related to collectiveness, cultural understanding of history and politics, public space, and our common past, present and future.
Alongside the physical exhibition, the organisation has also created an online ‘portal.’ The free mobile NEON app enables visitors to virtually browse the exhibition, see and learn about the works and artists, as well as receive notifications on the exhibition’s parallel events.
Athens Former Public Tobacco Factory
Once a symbol of Greece’s industrialization and progress, the Tobacco Factory’s construction started in 1927 using government funds to serve the country’s booming cigarette manufacturing industry. However, the Factory began operating in 1930, at a time when the international crisis had already reduced Greek tobacco exports. In its 65 years of operation, the Public Tobacco Factory housed 25 cigarette companies, with Sante being the last to leave.
The transformation of Athens’ former Public Tobacco Factory into a Cultural Centre has received international attention. Located in the heart of the city, the factory reopened its doors to the public as a vast contemporary art space on the 11th of June 2021 for “Portals,” which will run through to the end of the year.
Dates: Until 31/12/2021
Address: Former Public Tobacco Factory – Hellenic Parliament Library and Printing House | 218 Lenorman Street, Athens
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is currently running a temporary exhibition ‘Glorious Victories: Between Myth and History’ marking the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Naval Battle of Salamis.
The impressive showcase gathers 105 Ancient 5th Century BC works from both its own collection and other prestigious Greek archaeological museums (including Thebes, Olympia, as well as the Konstantinos Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology).
The exhibition brings to the fore aspects of the victorious struggle of the Greeks against the Persians and especially emblematic for the historical anniversary is the display of the bust of Themistocles, a Roman copy of an original work of the 5th cent. BC, from the Archaeological Museum of Ostia (Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica).
Glorious Victories: Between Myth and History
The museological narrative tries to remain close to the descriptions of the ancient writers and the choice of the ancient works focuses on the sentiment of the spectator, the imagination and mainly the memories that emerge about the moments that people lived through back then. These moments determined their lives, ideas and beliefs, which were subsequently passed on to the modern western culture.
The exhibition consists of eight units, with the first six highlighting different episodes and battles of the Persian Wars. At the same time, figures of gods and mythical heroes enhance the historical narrative and interlink it with the mythical beliefs, according to which gods and mortals joined forces to achieve the overall victory, based on the value system of the ancient Greek world.
The narrative culminates in the two concluding units which present the resonance of the Persian Wars in pictorial art —ancient and modern— and their ideological significance.
Furthermore, in Hall 21, where the bronze group of a horse with jockey from Artemision is on display, there are presented in dialogue with it, five vases-masterpieces with representations of athletic and music competitions, denoting the value of victorious racing contest, individual and collective, not only in the war but also in the time of peace.
Exhibition ends this weekend
The exhibition is enhanced by digital projections that contribute to the creation of a scenic ambience, in order for the visitors to perceive the dramatic atmosphere of the events and the inspiring meaning of Nike (Victory), offering also in some cases complementary interpretive material.
Finally, ‘Glorious Victories: Between Myth and History’ is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue of 512 pages, published by the Archaeological Resources Fund. The anniversary volume includes 18 essays of eminent researchers in the domain of archaeology and art history, which elucidate the ways in which the Glorious Victories of the Persian Wars influenced political life, society, and the arts.
Greece’s largest annual international visual art event Art Athina returns both digitally and in-person this year.
Showcasing a curated selection of local and international galleries from Europe, America, and the Oceania region, this edition will be presented at the landmark King George Hotel at Syntagma Square.
Under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the event will take place through the digital platform Art Athina Virtual 2021 and with the exhibition Art Athina Pop Up.
It will be held digitally from November 1 to November 30 and can be visited in person on the ground floor of the King George Hotel in Syntagma Square on November 12-21.
More than 45 galleries from Greece and abroad will participate in the event. The program of this year’s Art Athina includes speeches in the foyer of the Pallas Theater, videos, and performances that will have as a starting point the renewed website of the event and sometimes the streets of the city.
The Panhellenic Association of Art Galleries and the team of Art Athina with artistic director Stamatia Dimitrakopoulou are responsible for the event.
Launched in 1993 by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, Art-Athina has been promoting Greek contemporary art creation and has been established as a great meeting point for artists from the Greek and the wider international community. It is now the biggest annual international visual art event in Greece.
Burger lovers rejoice! Greece’s biggest food festival dedicated to burgers is back for the fifth year running- celebrating one of the world’s favourite street foods at The Agora at Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA).
Burger Fest 2021 enjoyed its opening last weekend on October 1-3 and continues this Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8-10 of October at an open and safe space, where visitors from all over the city will have the opportunity once again to taste the mouthwatering flavours created by the best burger joints in Athens.
The famous OAKA Olympic Athletic Complex’s “Agora” space, in Maroussi (located in Athens northern suburbs) will play host to eight local burger houses who serve up traditional American style burgers, chicken burgers, turkey burgers as well as vegetarian burgers (and more.) Visitors to the event will also be able to enjoy live music, stand up comedy shows and DJ’s sets.
Due to Covid restrictions, there will only be sit-down service available for diners and the space has been divided into five zones with tables, at which guests can enjoy their favourite burgers and the entertainment taking place over the weekend.
To book your tickets, which all include a seat and a free drink (kids 6 and under are free) head here.
The inaugural Athens Design Forum, a non-profit event, has been launched in the Greek capital; aiming to celebrate Greek design, architecture, and creativity through a series of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, and archival studies.
Running from 30 September through to 7 October 2021, the festival, which is the first of its kind, is supported by The City of Athens and The Behrakis Foundation and brings together specialists, innovators, and strategic partners who highlight the history and prospective future of design in the country and beyond. In an experimental format, the non-profit organisation’s mission is to invite local and global audiences to experience design in Athens, solidifying the Mediterranean capital as a historical and contemporary epicenter of creative production.
“Athens Design Forum (ADF) bridges traditional and contemporary design principles to inspire socially conscious and sustainable design. Introducing an experimental format for experiencing design that is rooted in the traditional heritage of the Mediterranean, ADF brings local wisdom to a global scale,” state the organisers of the event.
Delta at SNFCC
Furniture by Dionisis Sotovikis
“Our vision is to sustain formative dialogues, amplify the craft and design sectors, build strategic partnerships with local and global organizations, and create accessible knowledge,” adds ADF.
Highlights during the forum include a visit to Papagos House, which is the private residence and studio of legendary Greek painter Alekos Fassianos- this will be open to the public for the very first time; as well as a studio visit with emerging local designer Kostas Lambridis- set in the industrial area of Nea Ionia.
A selection of furniture designs made by architect Dionisis Sotovikis will be shown in his personal residence, a historic landmark built by Aristomenis Proveleggios; and a unique performance designed by Tellurico and Neostandard will showcase “stucco,’’ an ancient technique commonly used in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, which covers walls and pillars of classical buildings, often reproducing precious stones like marble and granite.
As part of the forum, the Benaki Museum Shop will also be presenting a curated collection of ceramic works at the Ghika Gallery Shop. For the entire program head to Athens Design Forum.
Renowned Italian actress Monica Bellucci will play the iconic Greek soprano singer Maria Callas at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens on September 21-23, 2021.
The highly acclaimed production of “Maria Callas: Letters and Memories,” is directed by Tom Volf and based on his book and film “Maria by Callas.” It premiered in Paris in November 2020 and is about to make its debut in Athens for three nights only.
Bellucci in the role of Maria Callas
Having premiered in Paris, at The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, in March of 2020 and receiving rave reviews, the 80-minute performance will now take place at the historic venue of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, on the slopes of the Acropolis Hill.
Monica Bellucci will be accompanied by the Camerata-Orchestra of the Friends of Music, under the direction of the leading Greek conductor, George Petrou; and a piano which belonged to Maria Callas, a gift from Aristotle Onassis to her, will also accompany the long-awaited appearances of Monica Bellucci in Greece.
The show, which is presented with Greek subtitles is based on the book by Tom Wolf, in which he collected more than 350 unpublished letters from Callas, written by her during 30 years (1946-1977).
About Maria Callas
The internationally renowned Maria Callas captivated audiences with her iconic opera performances, showing off her vocal range in productions like ‘Tosca’ and ‘Norma.’
Maria Callas in New York
Callas was born in New York City in 1923 and began taking classical piano lessons when she was seven years old. She made her professional debut with the Royal Opera of Athens in Boccaccio and soon won her first major role with Tosca. Eventually garnering international acclaim, Callas made her Italian opera debut at the Verona Arena in 1947, later followed by her 1954 American debut in Norma.
Over the next few years, under the management of her husband, Callas continued to perform in Florence and Verona to critical acclaim. The performance was a triumph and was seen as a signature role. In 1956, she, at last, had the opportunity to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in her home city of New York, but in 1958 was fired by director Rudolf Bing. Callas’ marriage had also begun to unravel. Callas and Meneghini split at the end of the decade, during which time she was having an affair with famous Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
During the 1960s, the quality and frequency of her performances waned. On September 16, 1977, Callas, aged 54, died in Paris of a heart attack.
Every year, the midsummer August full moon sees museums and archaeological sites around Greece opening their doors to the public free of charge.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture has announced its program of events for this year’s full moon, which falls on this Sunday the 22nd of August 2021.
Over 52 concerts, theatre, dance performances, poetry recitations, documentary screenings, art exhibitions, stargazing, and guided tours are the main events that will be taking place over the weekend, with free admission.
Full moon events around Greece
Also, a total of 120 archaeological sites, monuments, and museums will remain open until late at night on Sunday, August 22nd.
In Athens and around Attica, this includes events at The Acropolis Museum, the Numismatic Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. There are also events taking place in Macedonia, at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum of Pella and the Museum of Byzantine Culture. In other parts of the country, special events are being held at the sites of Delphi, Olympia, Mystras, Atalanti, Thebes, The Palace of Nestor, and the Ancient site of Corinth; as well as on the islands of Zakynthos and Corfu, Lesvos, Chios, Kalymnos and Karpathos. Plus on the Cycladic islands of Kea, Antiparos and Andros. In Crete, there are events planned in Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion.
