Eclectic, multicultural and at times wonderfully unpredictable, Athens is a place whose character is reflected in a growing artistic scene shaped by diverse voices. In this feature, nine artists who live and create in the capital reflect on their work and their relationship with the city.

The Past in the Present

Maria Economides, @maria.economides

Maria Economides lives and works in Athens. In her studio in Kolonaki, she creates handmade ceramic pieces crafted entirely from clay.

“I’ve been working with clay for many years, making hand-built ceramics mainly through coiling, pinching and slab building. In 2018, after eight years in Shanghai, I returned to Athens and realized just how much this city shapes my work. I find inspiration in its museums, its galleries, its young creative community, and the constant flow of events.

“Even the forms that I shape draw on the ancient vessels and storage jars I grew up seeing in museums. I use contemporary materials, but my intention is for each piece to look old, as if unearthed during an excavation. That sense of old Athens is what keeps me rooted in Kolonaki, where I have my studio.

“For me, there’s nothing more beautiful than walking through the city center and having my daily coffee in one of Kolonaki’s old cafés, surrounded by the impeccably stylish local ladies in their wonderfully eccentric outfits.”

A Cultural Collage

Natalia Manta, @natalia_manta

Natalia Manta is a visual artist based in Athens. “I grew up in the countryside, on a farm on the Mesogeia plain, just outside Athens. My family had an instinctive relationship with handmade constructions – with tinkering and the small interventions that shape daily life – and with the rituals that accompany them. Later, I recognized that same relationship in my sculpture studies. The idea of construction is vital to me. Even when I make large sculptures, they’re essentially composed of many smaller ones, like ‘assemble-it-yourself’ sculptures.

“I draw on history and archaeology to create something imaginary. Think of a Cycladic figurine with the head of a sphinx and the wings of a mythological creature from Peru. It becomes a cultural collage, and in a way, that’s how Athens feels to me, too, with its museums – contemporary and archaeological – and its neighborhoods. I’m fortunate that my own neighborhood still has a local farmers’ market and that I can buy eggs from the woman next door. It feels like living in an older version of Athens. And as I was telling a group of children in a recent workshop, what you see around you carries something magical. That’s exactly how I feel drinking coffee in my neighborhood square in Petralona.”

Inspiration Everywhere

Euripides Papadopetrakis, @euripides_papadopetrakis

Euripides Papadopetrakis is a visual artist whose practice centers on printmaking, a medium through which he explores the relationship between art and technique.

“Printmaking is a timeless art form – older than painting in many ways – and something we’ve all encountered, from the banknotes we use to the pages of old books. I’m not sure whether my work has a direct link to Athens, but there’s definitely an underlying influence. I grew up here, studied here, and still live here, in Ano Patissia, just outside the center.

“What attracts me most about the city is the architecture. From the elegant buildings in my neighborhood to monuments and larger complexes such as the atrium of the Polytechnic School or the National Archaeological Museum, Athens is full of structures that reward a closer look. I’ve always loved discovering the city, whether on foot or on my bike.

“For years, I’ve been taking long walks around the Acropolis on the weekends. Even amid the chaos, you can find small pockets of tranquility in places you wouldn’t expect, and that’s why you can never really grow tired of this city.”

A Sense of Belonging

Vasilis Papageorgiou, @vasilis_papageorgiou_v

Vasilis Papageorgiou’s work combines sculpture, drawing and installations. Alongside his artistic practice, he has co-run the Enterprise Projects independent art space since 2015.

“I work with sculpture, drawing and installations, creating sculptural environments using a range of materials such as iron, copper, marble and ceramics. In recent years, my focus has shifted toward the ways tourism intersects with labor, the environment, and the architecture of the city. I’m currently part of the Onassis AiR Extended Research Residencies, where I’m exploring these themes further.

“I was born and raised in Athens; I live and work here, and I always find myself returning to the city. I often get frustrated by how quickly and drastically it changes, but I try to enjoy it as much as I can. Athens offers me something new every day, even if its pace can be exhausting at times.

“My mornings usually start with a walk through Pedion tou Areos before I head to my studio in Ampelokipoi. The day often ends with a drink at a neighborhood kafeneio. What I keep realizing is that Athens still holds something I love that seems to be disappearing in many other major capitals: a genuine sense of neighborhood.”

The Bread of Life

Nikos Chandoliasm @frommydadsbakery

Nikos Chandolias, who grew up in Katerini where his father ran a bakery; explored many paths before realizing that breadmaking was the craft through which he could express himself most fully.

“I’ve tried many things over the years, always adding an artistic twist to whatever I did. When my father became seriously ill, I started baking bread almost unconsciously, in what I now see was a quiet return to my roots. Since then, dough has become the material through which I express myself.

“That journey has brought me to where I am today: living and working in Athens as the Creative Head Baker of Ergon’s 72H. When I first moved abroad, I was certain I’d never come back. It’s been four years since I returned to Greece, and I still wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.

“Athens is a city steeped in history yet always open to new forms of creativity. I’m in love with it because it’s truly one of a kind. 72H, my bakery and second home, is right in the heart of the city. And in a way, Athens itself reminds me of dough: constantly kneaded by ideas, dreams, challenges, and triumphs. It’s a city you could cut, share and pass around, just like bread on the table.”

An Urban Multiverse

Danai Nikolaidi Kotsaki, @danaikotsaki_

Danai Nikolaidi Kotsaki grew up in an artistic household. Today, she explores the medium of sculpture through the creation of small, autonomous environments.

“I was raised in a home where the arts were part of everyday life. My parents encouraged me, taking me from one creative activity to the next; these activities included music, the visual arts, dance and the theater. At some point I realized how much I loved making things with my hands, combining different materials and testing their possibilities. With the aim of creating ‘living sculptures’ inhabited by nature, I incorporate natural elements into my work: moss, aquatic plants, and terrestrial and amphibious species.

“It’s not easy to separate the Athens that once was, the Athens that exists now, and our mental image of the city – they all shift so quickly. It’s sad that you can’t walk it in a carefree manner; the broken sidewalks are full of so many spots where it’s easy to stumble. Yet beyond those hazards, the city holds gems. It contains and conceals countless artistic worlds, so a simple walk feels like a journey through time and across cultures.”

Ancient Allure

Theo Galliakis, @theogalliakis

Theo Galliakis, whose background is in architecture and design, works with spaces and objects, most often through the medium of metal.

“I’m an architect and designer, trained in Architecture and Geo-Design. My practice moves between spatial work and object-making, and metal is the material that I return to the most.

A few years ago, while studying in Eindhoven, I discovered that by applying fire to industrial metals such as steel, stainless steel or copper, I could create a golden sheen on their surfaces. That discovery led to my amphora collection: a series of vessels inspired by antiquity.

“Athens is where I find the most inspiration, in this mosaic of ancient glory, Byzantine richness and contemporary energy. I grew up in Rethymno on Crete and visited Athens as a child. Back then, it felt big and chaotic; today, it feels like a second home. Whenever I’m here,
I walk from the Panathenaic Stadium to Thiseio, stopping along the way to explore whatever new spot has opened since my last visit.

“In the city’s museums and galleries, you realize how deep Athens’ design lineage runs, from the klismos, the ancient Greek wooden chair with its curved back, to the klinai, one of the earliest forms of the sofa.”

A Permanent Presence

Myrto Xanthopoulou, @myrtoxanthopoulou

Myrto Xanthopoulou, a visual artist based in Athens, is this year’s recipient of the Art Athina Young Artist Award.

“My work is a hybrid of techniques, with language at its core. Through contemporary sculpture, installations, drawings, performances and text, I try to build a world where everything exists in dialogue with each other, a concept reflected in my recent solo show ‘Asterisks in the Mouth’ at Citronne Gallery. Even when I make two-dimensional works, there’s always a sense of three-dimensionality, because there’s a structure behind them.

“The three things that interest me most in art are perishable matter, text, and embodied engagement – elements that also inform the reading performances I’ve recently begun giving.

“I have a strange relationship with Athens. It inspires me not because it’s beautiful, but because it’s what I encounter every day. The title of my new art book – published with big black mountain the darkness never ever comes – is ‘TERMA ASKLIPIOU’(Greek for ‘The End of Asklipiou Street’) because that’s where I’ve lived for years. It’s also where my studio once was. I know that street in Exarcheia from end to end – it’s also the last stop of the bus I take across the city.”

Precarious Design

Dionysios, @bydionysios

Dionysios, who divides his time between Paris, Ancient Olympia and Athens, is a multidisciplinary artist who uncovers the beauty of forgotten objects, giving them new life through gold leaf.

“I work with installations, design, sculpture and new media. If I had to summarize my work, I’d say it’s world-building. I began my practice in Paris, where I studied psychology, and today I live between places. My studio is based in Ancient Olympia and most of my recent work, including a gold Datsun created for Onassis Plasmata III and a series presented at Art Athina, was made there.

“I call the more functional, sculptural, design-driven side of my practice ‘precarious design.’ I work with found objects such as logs, stones and discarded utilitarian pieces. By gilding them, I try to reveal the different kind of value they hold.

“I feel my work is truly shaped by Greece, and Athens in particular. I’m inspired by the city’s chaos and its people. You start walking through the center, surrounded by graffiti, modern buildings and noise, and suddenly you find yourself sitting on ancient stones on Filopappou Hill. Looking out at the city from there somehow makes you feel more real.”