Following Art Athina, the Art Explora Festival in Piraeus, and the independent Platforms Project scene at the Old Tobacco Factory, autumn’s cultural calendar is heating up once again — with major exhibitions taking over Athens’s leading museums and other landmark venues beyond the city center.
“All Aboard” at the Airport
Curated by Kostas Prapoglou, the ambitious “All Aboard” exhibition transforms Athens International Airport into a hub of contemporary art. From October 9 to November 9, 2025, forty artists from around the world will occupy the Express Facility, a space parallel to the airport’s western runway. It’s a first for Greece—and one of the few of its kind globally—where art meets the architecture and rhythm of a fully operating airport. Expect an interplay of movement, waiting, and transformation in a site designed for departure.
Benaki Museum: Three Stories of Greek Creativity
October brings a trio of exhibitions at the Benaki Museum.
• “Protolia” (Oct 2, 2025 – Jan 11, 2026) traces the early creative steps of eleven Greek artists and how these shaped their mature voices.
• “Greek National Costumes” (Oct 15, 2025 – Jan 11, 2026) revisits Antonis Benakis’ legendary study of folk attire.
• “Aesthetic Topography” (Oct 23, 2025 – Jan 25, 2026) explores architect Dimitris Pikionis’ poetic fusion of modernism and Greek tradition.
Lucas Samaras: Master of the Uncanny
At The Intermission in Piraeus, the first solo show in Greece in 20 years by Lucas Samaras (in collaboration with Pace Gallery) spans six decades of his surreal, intimate, and polymorphic work—from jewel-like sculptures to immersive installations.
Rediscovering the City: Ioannis Lazarimos and Piraeus
A new exhibition celebrates the visionary architect Ioannis Lazarimos, whose designs shaped modern Piraeus. Original drawings, photographs, and archival materials reveal the creative mind behind the city’s urban identity.
Immersive Van Gogh Arrives in Athens
From October 22, 2025, at the Olympic Center Goudi, the sold-out global phenomenon “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” envelops visitors in over 3,000 projected paintings and sketches—an emotional journey through the artist’s colors and dreams.
Women in Geometry at the Theocharakis Foundation
A vibrant exhibition spotlights six women who redefined geometric abstraction—Opy Zouni, Etel Adnan, Samia Halaby, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, and Lubna Chowdhary—probing the links between form, identity, and cultural memory.
Sculpture, Heritage, and Vision
At the Acropolis Museum, Michael Rakowitz’s monumental “Lamassu of Nineveh” rises as a symbol of resilience, while the National Glyptotheque’s “Farm” opens a permanent outdoor display exploring animals in Greek sculpture.
Finally, the Sianti Gallery honors Giorgos Zongolopoulos, marking 20 years since his passing with a show that captures his lifelong dance between geometry, movement, and light.
