Short Films

Τo 5/1/2017

“I encourage you to let that piece wash over you. I watched it three times in a row, and when it was done I felt like I needed to swim to the surface for air,” commented Helen Molesworth, Chief Curator of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) on the work of award-winning filmmaker and artist Kahlil Joseph. Boasting collaborations with music and fashion industry greats – Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Seu Jorge and Kenzo, to name a few – the artist continues to expand his experimental horizons. The Bernier/Eliades Gallery is showcasing three films that illustrate how the artist smashes the boundaries between different genres.• www.bernier-eliades.gr 

ballet classic

16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 & 31/12

The Greek National Opera celebrates Christmas with “Giselle”, the romantic ballet about innocent young love whose title role is considered among the most challenging in the classical ballet repertory. Adolphe Adam’s music is choreographed by Irek Mukhamedov and conducted by Elias Voudouris and Zoe Zeniodi.• www.nationalopera.gr

Life in the cyclades

From early December to 31/3/2017

How important was music in the Cycladic islands in the early Bronze Age? Could the islanders build ships? What were their burial rites and what games did the children play? The exhibition “Cycladic Society 5,000 Years Ago” at the Museum of Cycladic Art aims to answer these and many more questions with displays that indicate how the people of the Aegean archipelago lived in prehistoric times, how they spent their days, and how and what they worshiped. The show brings together 200 exhibits from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as antiquities from the National Archaeological Museum, the Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos Museum, and the archaeological museums of Naxos, Apeiranthos, Syros and Paros. • www.cycladic.gr

super huppert

20-22/12

Inspired by his muse Isabelle Huppert, Polish maverick director Krzysztof Warlikowski presents “Phaedra(s)”, a project based on different texts referencing ancient mythology, pop culture, philosophy and modern politics. Drawing on extracts from Euripides, Seneca, Sarah Kane, J.M. Coetzee and Wajdi Mouawad, the acclaimed French actress transforms into the goddess Aphrodite, the mythical queen Phaedra, a sacred prostitute and a lovelorn self-destructive fury. Please note that the show contains very explicit scenes. In French with Greek surtitles.• www.sgt.gr

Opy Zouni’s Landscapes

From 22/12 to 26/2/2017

There was a time when the late Greek artist felt she was too avant-garde to hold a solo show in Greece, but her abstract geometric art soon opened doors around the world, establishing her as one of the country’s foremost post-war creators. “Opy Zouni: Order in Chaos” at the Benaki Museum-Pireos Street Annex is a retrospective covering her years as a student of painting, ceramics and photography in Cairo – where she was born – through her pivotal relationship with art collector and gallery owner Alexander Iolas to her evolution into a world-class artist and the final period of her life. • www.benaki.gr

Italian Opera

30/12

The Athens Concert Hall’s festive gala “Tutto Verdi,” featuring arias and duets from the Italian composer’s most popular operas, signals the start of events paying homage to the great Greek soprano Maria Callas, as 2017 will mark 40 years since her death. Performing in the show are Cellia Costea and Dimitris Platanias, while the Athens State Orchestra will be conducted by Miltos Logiadis. • www.megaron.gr 

Back to the 80s

From 25/1 to 12/3/2017

Bottles of forgotten shampoo brands, loud jackets with huge shoulder pads, posters of the Greek national basketball team raising its first European Cup, Walkmans, tacky decorative items, doilies, political party flags, encyclopedias, postcards and teen magazines comprise a fun look at one of the misunderstood decades in Greek history. The exhibition “GR80s” at the Technopolis arts complex brings together 4,000 displays that shed light on the dominant esthetics in Greek homes and in public life of that controversial era.  • www.technopolis-athens.com

Philosophical Debate

To 29/1/2017

The exhibition “Flying Over the Abyss” at the Athens Conservatory focuses on Nikos Kazantzakis’ “The Saviors of God-Spiritual Exercises” by encouraging a dialogue between the work of the great Greek writer and contemporary art. The Saviors’ manuscript is juxtaposed with 34 pieces by Greek and foreign avant-garde artists – including Marina Abramovic, Alexis Akrithakis, Matthew Barney, Louise Bourgeois, Vlassis Caniaris, Stavros Gasparatos, Gilbert & George, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Costas Tsoclis, Sherrie Levine, Bruce Nauman and Gary Webb – illustrating man’s journey from the trauma of birth, through the struggle of life to the moment of death. • www.neon.org.gr

Antwerp to Athens

To 29/1/2017

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) has opened the doors of its new premises with the exhibition “Urgent Conversations: Athens-Antwerp.” More than 70 pieces from the Greek museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp are set side-by-side to trigger a discussion on 22 separate themes or, as the curators like to call them, notions. • www.emst.gr

The Czars’ Collections

To 26/2/2017

“The State Hermitage Museum: Gateway to History” at the Byzantine Museum presents archaeological relics, sculptures, objets d’art and paintings from Russia’s greatest museum. A selection of splendid pieces allows visitors a glimpse into the esthetics and way of life of the Russian court from the late 17th to the early 20th century. • www.byzantinemuseum.gr

Pilgrimage to India

To 12/3/2017

“PostGods” at the Museum of Islamic Art focuses on the notions of travel and wandering that is so prevalent in the more recent work of Alexandros Georgiou. The exhibition presents pieces from his last two trips to India and comprises handmade postcards, photographs that the artist has tweaked, hand-painted black-and-white photocopies, CDs, DVDs, jewelry, poems and souvenirs, all accompanied by the artist’s fascinating notes of his impressions and thoughts.• www.benaki.gr 

Maritime Achievements

To 28/5/2017

“Voyage” is a record of achievements in shipbuilding and in maritime travel and technology in the Aegean and the broader Mediterranean from prehistoric to modern times. With 40 handmade wooden models of Greek ships from antiquity to the Greek War of Independence and into the early 20th century – constructed in incredible detail by engineer and model shipbuilder Dimitris Marras – the show casts new light on the age-old relationship that Greeks have with the sea. • www.herakleidon-art.gr

All About the Journey

To 10/2017

The National Archaeological Museum is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a series of special events, the flagship of which is the exhibition “Odysseys”, inspired by Homer’s epic. The 190 displays highlight man’s constant need to explore new lands, amass knowledge, exchange ideas and commodities, build organized societies and battle mortality by creating lasting works of art.• www.namuseum.gr