The Costakis Collection
George Costakis, a Greek living in Moscow and employed by the Greek Embassy (as a driver) and later by the Canadian Embassy (as director of local personnel), had a marvelous eye. Without specific training, he was guided by taste and enthusiasm in acquiring works of the Russian avant-garde. He started in the mid-1940s, ultimately amassing this significant collection of over 1,200 works by Kazimir Malevich, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Vasili Kandinsky and Vladimir Tatlin, among many others. Two large galleries show different parts of the collection in changing thematic exhibitions.

The Museum of Photography
One of the harbor’s late 19th-early 20th century warehouses was converted by the noted Thessaloniki engineer Eli Modiano into this well-appointed exhibition space that maintains a strong sense of place. The museum hosts temporary exhibitions of work by local and international photographers that explore the medium’s various applications. The cafe, whose floor-toceiling window overlooks the port’s industrial side, is one of the city’s secret finds. The museum also maintains a permanent collection on the history of the harbor, titled Portrait: The Story of a Port.

Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art
This relatively young museum is the result of remarkable initiative, generosity and cooperation – a beautiful thing created in response to the damage to Thessaloniki’s monuments in an earthquake in 1978. The original idea of gallery owner Maro Lagia and collector Alexandros Zolas motivated a community of art lovers to realize the goal of a significant center for contemporary art in Thessaloniki. The museum now has a permanent collection of well over 1,500 works, including by Niki de Saint Phalle, Joseph Beuys, Yannis Gaitis, Dennis Oppenheim, among many others. Perhaps more interesting still, particularly for the foreign visitor, is the opportunity to see the work of 20th century and contemporary Greek artists and their contributions to international movements in the art world. Galleries of a variety of styles, corridors and stairwells on three levels have been used to advantage so that each piece seems to be placed in its ideal environment.