Thessaloniki is celebrating all things arts and culture this weekend with the 5th Art Thessaloniki International Contemporary Art Fair and the 18th Thessaloniki Book Fair both taking place at Thessaloniki’s International Exhibition & Congress Centre from Thursday 25th to Sunday the 28th of November, 2021.  

Regarded as one of the most important art exhibitions in Southeast Europe, the annual Thessaloniki art fair attracts hundreds of artists and thousands of international visitors each year.

This year, due to the pandemic it will be a smaller exhibition, however, 29 galleries from seven countries, close to 20 parallel projects, three museum exhibitions, and almost 800 artists’ works are displayed at the exhibition.

Organised by the National Agency for The Organisation of Exhibitions, Congresses and Cultural Events (HELEXPO S.A.) together with Pantelis Tsatsis, Artistic Director, this year the exhibition is considered a major reflection of Thessaloniki’s rich cultural scene. 

 “This is an art fair that invests in the strategically important geographic location of Thessaloniki, its multicultural identity, its rich and long history. Thessaloniki’s history spans some 2,300 years. Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece and renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general,” announced the event organisers.

Award-winning composer Lina Tonia has premiered her new composition for the first time yesterday, while the honoured artist for 2021 will be Professor Yiannis Fokas. An honorary distinction will also be given to artists Dimitris Alithinos and George Lazogas for their work and their contribution to contemporary Greek art.

In addition to the participation of 30 galleries from Greece and abroad and 20 parallel projects, the museum exhibition will be presented with works by internationally renowned artist Victor Vasarely in collaboration with the Museum of Drawing Skopje.

Honouring the 200 Year Anniversary of Greek Independence, the Ethnographic Center of George Meliki will present the original installation, K.P. Kavafi.  A special tribute to the Greek revolution 1821-2021, with the paint and the pen of Philhellene Painters and Travelers, will also be displayed. Dedicated to the 200 years of the Greek revolution (1821-2021), about 50 collectible lithographs from the first lithographic prints of the Philhellene painters Karl Krazeisen, Adam Friedel, Peter Von Hess, and European newspapers during the period 1821-1828 will be on exhibit.

Thessaloniki Book Fair (TBF)

Regarded as an important event for the book industry, this event attracts publishers, authors, translators, literary agents, booksellers, librarians, academics and institutions for books and literature from Greece, the Balkans, Western Europe, the Southeastern Mediterranean and from all over the world.

This year, TBF’s central theme is ‘The Ongoing Revolutions of Books’, aiming to combine the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution with all the changes that took place during the pandemic regarding people’s perception of books and literary events.”.

German-language literature will be this year’s Guest of Honour with authors invited from German-speaking countries as well as book professionals.

Additionally, the 18th TBF will focus on the following themes:

New Writers Festival
Children’s and Teenagers’ Corner
New Book Technologies
Who Needs Classical Studies Today? Translation Festival
200 Years From the Greek Revolution
Politics: Freedom and Responsibility
Guest of Honour: German-language Literature

This year, the Hellenic Cultural Foundation will honour Thessaloniki’s writers Matsi Chatzilazarou (1914-1987) and Anestis Evangelou (1937-1994), while a discussion on the literature of Thessaloniki has also been organised.

Opening Hours:

Thursday: 4 pm – 10 pm 

Friday: 2 pm – 9 pm 

Weekend: 11 am – 9 pm 

A: 154 Egnatias Street, Thessaloniki