From 12 until 16 November, the 33rd edition of Art Athina, organised by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association (HAGA), takes place at Onassis Ready in Agios Ioannis Rentis, bringing together 65 galleries from Greece and abroad, alongside a multifaceted programme of parallel events.
“A defining part of the capital’s visual arts landscape, Art Athina is much more than an annual gathering that attracts tens of thousands of visitors from Greece and abroad. It demonstrates that Athens can serve as a cultural hub for many forms of artistic expression, as it both challenges and encourages creativity, while attracting an inquisitive and discerning audience.” With these words, Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni captures, in her official message, the significance of Art Athina for Athens’ contemporary cultural identity.
Art Athina 2026 marks a meaningful shift in the fair’s trajectory. After many years at the Zappeion Hall, it moves to Onassis Ready. The new venue offers a different setting for the presentation and experience of contemporary art, while connecting the event with a lesser-known yet significant aspect of the capital’s modern architectural and industrial heritage.
“This year’s edition offers an opportunity to experience Art Athina from a different perspective. Moving the fair from the historic centre of Athens to the industrial district of Rentis creates new conditions for presenting contemporary art, allows us to reach a broader audience and opens up new connections with the area and its history. Contemporary art need not be confined to the city’s traditional cultural centres. It can establish new hubs of interest, bring different audiences together and propose alternative ways of engaging with art – and this is precisely what Art Athina seeks to achieve this year,” said Gianna Grammatopoulou, President of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, during the press conference presenting the event.
Since 1993, when the Hellenic Art Galleries Association took the initiative to establish the fair, Art Athina has evolved into one of the most recognisable meeting points for the Greek and international art communities. Its enduring mission remains to support Greek galleries, showcase contemporary artistic production and foster dialogue with international trends. Its journey, however, has also been defined by a continuous search for new collaborations, modes of presentation and ways of engaging with the public.
Under the general direction of Antonis Kourkoulos, Art Athina 2026 brings together 65 galleries from Greece and abroad. The main exhibition programme is complemented by dedicated sections on design and project spaces, as well as talks, performances and educational activities for children, broadening the scope of the fair into a dynamic environment for the exchange of ideas and artistic perspectives.
“Every art fair is a condensed moment in time, when the art scene gathers under one roof before dispersing once again, with each participant returning to their own personal geography. It is a moment in which the raw material for what is to come is generated. A moment that brings all this energy together in one place, only to release it back into the world, unchanged yet somehow different. Both the building itself and the surrounding neighbourhood of Rentis allow visitors to discover the very essence of this exhibition,” noted Antonis Kourkoulos, General Director of the fair.
The Art Athina 2026 Programme
Main: The fair’s central section brings together 65 galleries from Greece and abroad.
Design: Curated by Tina Daskalantonaki and Manthos Kaloumenos, this section places Greek design in the spotlight through contemporary and vintage creations. Everyday objects transcend their strictly functional or decorative purpose, entering into dialogue through the exceptional quality of their craftsmanship and the expressive power of their materials. Texture, form and materiality itself become the means through which the contemporary design landscape is explored and revealed.
Project Spaces: Through this year’s proposal, Holding Ground, the ARTWORKS team – Panos Giannikopoulos and Marili Konstantinopoulou – explores the landscape of artistic production beyond the major urban centres. The section brings together eight independent spaces from Athens, Volos, Corinth and Kythnos, highlighting the importance of claiming and sustaining a space, both in physical and symbolic terms, while exploring ways of adapting, evolving and responding to ever-changing conditions.
Talks
The Art Athina Art for Tomorrow Talks series focuses on cultural heritage and public space, raising questions about the relationship between contemporary creation and the past, as well as the role of art in the city. The programme is co-curated by Marilena Koutsoukou, Art Athina’s Director of Development, and Kim Conniff Taber, Editorial Director of Art for Tomorrow. The discussions are moderated by Farah Nayeri, culture writer for The New York Times.
“Embracing Heritage with an Eye to the Future”: This session explores how historical memory can inform contemporary creation without confining it to nostalgia. Participants include Melissa Buron, Director of Collections and Chief Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum; Christos Karras, Executive Director of KYKLOS; and curator Audrey Teichmann. Moderated by Farah Nayeri. (14/11, 15:50–16:35).
“State of Play: Creating Public Spaces”: The discussion examines how art, architecture and cultural institutions can contribute to shaping public space. Drawing on examples from Athens, including EMST and NEON, artist Shezad Dawood and Elina Kountouri, Director of the NEON Organisation for Culture and Development, join the conversation, moderated by Farah Nayeri. (14/11, 17:00–17:45). The series concludes with closing remarks by Achilleas Tsaltas, President of the Democracy & Culture Foundation. (14/11, 17:55–18:00).
Art Athina Young Artist Award: Epaminondas Christofilopoulos, President of the Board of MOMUS, joins journalist Mary Adamopoulou for a discussion, followed by the presentation of the Young Artist Award. (13/11, 16:00).
Educational Programme Art Athina x ARTWORKS: Marili Konstantinopoulou and Panos Giannikopoulos present this year’s Art Athina educational programme. (13/11, 17:15).
Performances
For the third consecutive year, Nikolas Vamvouklis curates Art Athina’s performance programme, titled DESIRE AFTER ALL, approaching desire as a force of transcendence and imagination. Centred on language and sound, the programme features performances, explorative walks through the Rentis neighbourhood and a distinctive reading group, bringing together Greek and international artists from the fields of visual and performing arts.
7×10 Readings: Seven creative voices read a text of their choice, united by the theme of desire as a force of transcendence. The readers are Marina Satti, Saske, Karolina Krasouli, Alexandre Collet, Terpsichore Khalil, Eva Papadakis and Nasia Matsa. (14/11, 18:00, 1st floor).
Blood-Soaked Feast (With Sweaty Sailors and a Velvet Wild Boar): Students from the 11th Painting and Expanded Media Workshop of the Athens School of Fine Arts, together with residents of the Agia Anna Workers’ Housing Estate in Rentis, create a collective delirium woven from real-life stories, fiction and memories. Academic supervision: Kostis Stafylakis; Workshop Director: Vassilis Vlastaras. (14/11, 20:00, Rentis neighbourhood, at the junction of Agia Annis and Leonidou streets).
Prêt-à-D’or: Performers Ellada Damianou and Marina Velisioti, dressed in handmade hunter-inspired costumes, move through the exhibition space, observing the artworks and presenting their bodies as if walking down a runway. (15/11, 16:30).
Rituals for New Futures: Inspired by the Slavic goddess Morena, Maria Nikiforaki presents a science-fiction heroine who makes her way through the art fair. (15/11, 20:00, throughout the building, 20 minutes).
Small-Scale Processions: Dancer Evini Pantelaki wanders throughout the building, setting unexpected encounters in motion between the audience and the artworks. (12/11, 18:00).
Flux Laboratory x Art Athina: In collaboration with MAMCO, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Geneva, and Giorno Poetry Systems, Flux Laboratory presents Dial-A-Poem Switzerland (12/11, 1st floor). Meanwhile, Andi Xhuma brings poetry and boxing into the same ring in the performance I am Dynamite. Freest Man in the World, inspired by John Giorno and Hugo Ball. (12/11, 19:30). Produced by Flux Laboratory, based on an original concept and curation by Euripides Laskaridis.
Kids’ Educational Programme: This year’s children’s educational programme, titled Touch the City, is curated by Christina Botsou in collaboration with Life is for All. Inspired by the city, it explores the urban environment through the senses, memory and imagination. Designed for children aged 4–12, it is also open to children with learning difficulties and neurodevelopmental differences. The programme unfolds through three distinct activities:
Impressions: Art activities and creative experimentation. (14/11, 12:00–15:00 · 15/11, 15:00–18:00).
Walks: Guided walks through the Rentis neighbourhood, inviting children to explore the urban environment and discover its traces and textures. (14/11, 15:00 and 16:00 · 15/11, 14:00).
Talks: Meetings and discussions that open up new ways of approaching and understanding the city. (15/11, 12:00–14:00).
Art Athina 2026 Award: Art Athina presents the Art Athina Young Artist Award, an initiative established in 2022 to support and promote emerging artists. The award was initiated by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association (HAGA) and the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMUS). It consists of a solo presentation of the selected artist’s work at MOMUS – Alex Mylona Museum, following the decision of a five-member jury. The 2026 winner will be announced at a special event during the fair on Friday, 13 November, at 16:00.
Educational Programme: For the seventh consecutive year, HAGA is organising an educational programme for students of the Athens School of Fine Arts. This year, in collaboration with ARTWORKS, the programme features a series of visits to galleries, foundations and museums, as well as meetings with artists, art historians and curators. Its aim is to introduce students to professionals in the field, familiarise them with the visual arts scene and offer a deeper understanding of the professional landscape they will enter.
Onassis AiR & Onassis ONX: Located on the first floor of Onassis Ready, the studios of artists participating in the Onassis AiR and Onassis ONX programmes open their doors to Art Athina visitors, offering a glimpse into works in progress, experiments and artistic research before they reach completion.
Onassis Foundation Collection: Art Athina 2026 presents a selection of works from the Onassis Foundation Collection, which comprises more than 2,000 creations dating from the late 15th century to the present day. Spanning a wide range of artistic expression, the collection encompasses painting and sculpture, as well as digital works and installations.
Participating Galleries
Main
a.antonopoulou.art, agathi kartalos, Akwa Ibom / Melas Martinos / Radio Athènes, Alibi Gallery, ALMA Gallery, ARTOWER AGORA, ArtPrisma, Artshot – Sophia Gaitani, ARTWORX, Art Zone 42, ATHANASIADOU GALLERY, ATHENS | GENEVA, Ava Gallery (Dubai), Callirrhoë, CAN Christina Androulidaki Gallery, CITRONNE Gallery, Crux Galerie, Depo Darm, Dio Horia, ekfrasi – yianna grammatopoulou, Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery, ELENI KORONEOU GALLERY, EPsilon Art Gallery, Ersi Gallery, Galeria Karla Osorio (Brazil), Gallery 33 (Bulgaria), George Benias Gallery, Kalfayan Galleries, Kourd Gallery, M.A.M.A. Contemporary (Cyprus), METAMORFOSIS ART GALLERY, META Spatiu (Romania), MIHALARIAS ART, NINETTO, Nitra Gallery, Peritechnon Karteris, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Roma Gallery, Sealed Earth Gallery, Sianti Gallery, SKOUFA GALLERY, SOTIROPOULOS ART GALLERY, SYLVIA KOUVALI, Technohoros Art Gallery, THE BREEDER, Wilhelmina’s, Zoumboulakis Galleries.
Project Spaces
ARCH ATHENS, ARTWORKS, Art Projects Group, Association of Art Friends – Sessions, Space 52, The Paddocks, Thermia Project, Upper Ankyle.
Design
ANTIQUA, Bombyx, MARE STUDIO, SeriEYE, SOUTZOGLOU CARPETS, Stefanidou Tsoukala Gallery, Taxidi Tinos.
The visual identity of Art Athina 2026 is designed by g design studio, drawing inspiration from the industrial character of Onassis Ready.
The exhibition’s architectural design is by Konstantinos Evangelou.
Art Athina is organised by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association (HAGA).
Production is by BeBest.
The event is held with the financial support and under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
