As a severe heatwave grips Europe this week, Athens is no exception to the soaring temperatures marking the start of summer. While the city’s unique summer charm—with its open-air cinemas, vibrant music scene, and rich cultural life—shines through, moving around during the hottest hours can be challenging.
If you find yourself in Athens during your days off or visiting the city this July, why not stay cool and inspired indoors? Here are four exhibitions opening this month that offer a refreshing cultural escape from the heat.
“Sending You an Apple CPT: Artistic Conceptualizations of Tradition in Contemporary Greece”
July 6 – August 3, 2025 | Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition, Athens
How does a joke shared among friends at a summer festival evolve into the theme of an art exhibition? What is tradition, how do we relate to it, and what links the past with the present? The exhibition Sending You an Apple CPT explores these questions through the works of 24 contemporary artists who engage with tradition, local identity, nation-building, nostalgia, folklore, and urban-rural contradictions in modern Greece.
Supported by the University of Ioannina, the show invites viewers to rethink “tradition” not as a fixed past, but as a living dialogue shaped by current needs and perspectives. Old and new coexist in a sensitive, subtly humorous conversation without trying to resolve contradictions.
Opening: Sunday, July 6, 19:00
Admission: Free
Location: Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum, Angeliki Hatzimichali 6, Plaka, Athens
Hours: Tue–Fri 11:00–16:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–15:00, Closed Monday
Phone: +30 210 3243987
Fragments of Paper
July 9 – September 14, 2025 | Elytis House Museum, Plaka
Step into a whimsical world of paper sculptures in Fragments of Paper, an installation by set designer Apostolos F. Vettas. Paper figures—acrobats, musicians, dancers—come alive through folds and creases, creating an enchanting theatrical scene without words.
Vettas transforms two-dimensional sheets into airy, three-dimensional characters evoking silent celebrations full of movement, magic, and playfulness. On the opening day, art critic Angelos Papadimitriou will present his thoughts on the exhibition.
Opening: Wednesday, July 9, 19:00
Hours: Fri–Sun 10:30–18:00
Location: Elytis House Museum, Dioskouron 4 & Polygnotou, Plaka, Athens
Takis 1∞
June 22 – November 2, 2025 | Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens & Andros
Retrospective Exhibition Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Panayiotis Vassilakis (Takis)
Marking the centenary of the legendary artist Takis (1925–2019), this ambitious retrospective spans nearly seven decades of his work, showcased simultaneously in the Foundation’s museums in Athens and Andros. The exhibition features over 150 pieces, including sculptures, drawings, and jewelry, alongside film references to his ephemeral creations.
A monumental tribute, Takis 1∞ highlights the artist’s lasting influence on the international art scene and celebrates the friendship between Takis and the foundation’s founders, Basil and Elise Goulandris.
Bad Girls, Big Dragons
July 3 – September 7, 2025 | Athens Municipal Gallery
Stella Kapezanou, Sunnylands, 2024.
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 200 × 200 cm (78 × 78 in).
Courtesy of the artist.
What does it take to create—and inhabit—new worlds? How do we, as flawed and rebellious humans, escape systemic narratives and assert our own identities?
Stella Kapezanou’s solo exhibition Bad Girls, Big Dragons constructs a dreamlike universe where feminine figures mingle with mythical creatures. The centerpiece is a large-scale 6 x 2 meter painting featuring a dragon symbolizing the untamed “other”—protective yet threatening, a metaphor for seeing beyond the ordinary.
Stella Kapezanou in her studio, with Bad Girls, Big Dragons (2025) in progress. Photographs by Chloe Akrithaki.
The exhibition invites viewers on an instinctive journey driven by allure and pleasure, unapologetically challenging norms.
Opening: Thursday, July 3, 19:00–22:00
Hours: Tue–Sat 11:00–19:00, Sun 10:00–16:00, Closed Monday
Location: Athens Municipal Gallery (Building A), Germanikou & Myllerou, Metaxourgeio
Admission: Free
Guided Tours:
- Wed, July 9, 12:00 — Tour with curator and artist
- Tue, July 15, 11:00 — Tour for hearing-impaired visitors
- Wed & Thu, July 16–17, 12:15 — Tours for Action Plus participants
- Thu, July 17, 18:00 — Tour with curator and artist
‘Landmarks of Connection’
An exhibition about urban destinations transformed into contemporary squares
Seven leading Greek photographers present a vivid exploration of urban destinations, shedding light on the values that shape contemporary city life. At the crossroads of everyday existence, there are places that breathe — spaces that are not merely points on a map, but vibrant ecosystems full of life, rhythm, and human stories. Buildings emerge not just as physical structures, but as living members of society.
Pygmalion Karatzas, Designer Outlet Athens.
This exhibition is an artistic visual narrative inspired by the album LAMDA Development Universe, published by LAMDA, a leading property developer and commercial mall operator in Greece. It narrates how LAMDA Development’s spaces evolve into contemporary agoras — places of personal time and collective experience. When a space becomes a destination, it opens up new possibilities for social interaction and connection.
These landmarks carry expressive power; they “communicate” daily with citizens, radiate familiarity, evoke feelings of pride, and stand as living organisms that inspire a sense of belonging. They function as intricate networks of interaction, set on the stage of everyday encounters.
Seven photographers, seven perspectives, seven unique glimpses into the same buildings and places. Seventy photographs capturing everyday urban destinations invite visitors to forge their own personal connection with these spaces.
Yorgis Yerolymbos, The Mall Athens
Dates: July 1 – July 20, 2025
Opening Hours:
Monday–Friday: 17:00–21:00
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00–21:00
Location: Former Public Tobacco Factory
Lenorman 218, 104 43 Athens
Admission: Free
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