Athens’ thriving contemporary art scene reaches new heights this week as Platforms Project 2025 – Independent Art Fair returns for its 13th edition, hosted for the second consecutive year at the city’s iconic Public Tobacco Factory (Lenorman 218). Running through October 12, the exhibition is once again supported by the Hellenic Parliament, reaffirming the venue’s role as one of the capital’s most dynamic cultural spaces.
The Greek Public Tobacco Factory was the second public tobacco factory in Athens, Greece, built by the Greek State at the time when the cigarette manufacturing industry was booming.
Under the artistic direction of Artemis Potamianou and co-director Michalis Argyrou, this year’s edition brings together 64 artist platforms and more than 900 artists from 25 countries — spanning Greece, the U.S., Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the U.K., Lebanon, Turkey, Germany, and beyond.
The goal? To give space to independent artistic voices that exist outside traditional gallery systems — collectives, artist-run spaces, and creative communities that redefine how art is created, shared, and experienced.
Vasiliki Nikolaidi, Trident 2024/ POW WOW.
ArtUnitas, | Collective work, 2025
Olga Papalexandrou,| untitled, 2024
A Global Network of Independent Creation
Founded over a decade ago, Platforms Project has become a vital meeting point for the independent art scene — a place where artists’ collectives, experimental studios, and alternative art spaces from around the world come together to present collaborative works, installations, performances, and thematic exhibitions.
Vicky Karavia, ‘Homo collector’, 2025, METApolis.
Thierry Watrinet’s photography: ‘Lost tree in the city’, 2023/Dionysos and Apollon Theatre Company
Beyond the main show, the fair hosts a vibrant parallel program of performances, artist talks, guided tours, workshops, and educational activities, turning the Tobacco Factory into a four-day creative ecosystem.
The Greek Public Tobacco Factory housing the tobacco processing and packaging companies employed around 3000 workers in its heyday.
Highlights and Parallel Events
- Guided Tours: Visitors can explore the fair’s labyrinthine halls through daily guided tours (Oct 10–12, at 14:00, 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00).
- Kids’ Lab 2025: An interactive art lab for children aged 4–14 designed by Katerina Filindra, encouraging kids to imagine and construct their own 3D worlds using creative materials and narrative play (Oct 11–12).
- Open Studios: Students from the Athens School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the University of West Attica present in-situ projects, offering a glimpse into the next generation of Greek artists.
- Talks Program: From the poetics of urban graffiti to the politics of art labor and the philosophy of “Wabi Sabi,” the talks series brings together curators, artists, academics, and critics in lively discussion.
Among the highlights are “Cities in Motion,” “Art & Labour,” and “Who Broke the News? From Headline to Artwork” — a special FRONTPAGE Talks session exploring the relationship between journalism and visual art.
ARTCORE | Kostas Vittis | Crossing the boundaries
If You Go
Public Tobacco Factory, 218 Lenorman St., Athens
October 9–12, 2025
Free admission
Guided tours: Oct 10–12 at 14:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00
Kids’ Lab: Oct 11 (13:00, 14:00, 16:00) & Oct 12 (13:00, 16:00)
More info: www.platformsproject.gr
