elc team
By Katerina Parri
Antonis Kourkoulos’ relationship with Art Athina goes back many years, beginning in 2003. Now, in 2025, and for the past three years, he has been serving as the General Director of Greece’s largest annual gathering of the visual arts—and one of the longest-running art fairs in Europe.
Art Athina 2025 is ready to open its doors at the Zappeion (18–22 September 2025), and we look forward to wandering through this beloved Athenian landmark, among works presented by 72 galleries from Greece and abroad. And not only that, of course: its parallel program of projects, performances, and public talks with international figures, along with a special design section, are the many cherries on top of the cake we await each year to see what it will reveal-making Art Athina a truly living space of expression.
We spoke with Antonis Kourkoulos, General Director of Art Athina, about his long-standing relationship with the fair, what he loves about it, and what stands out in the program of Art Athina 2025:
This is your third consecutive year as General Director of Art Athina. How did this decision come about, how do you remember first getting started, and where do you stand now in terms of the continuation and evolution of the fair?
My relationship with Art Athina began in my student years. In 2003, I participated for the first time as a volunteer on the team. It was my very first contact with the fair. We were preparing invitations at Maria Panagidou’s office and taking them to the post office at Syntagma Square. In 2004, I traveled with the team to Madrid for ARCO, where Greece was the guest country. From those years, I came to love the institution, its team spirit, and everything it contributed-and still contributes-to Athens’ art scene. In 2017, a year of renewal for the fair, I was asked to take on its overall coordination. In 2023, President Gianna Grammatopoulou and the Board of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association entrusted me with the general directorship of Art Athina. Just like in my first contact, we remain a small team with a big vision and an even greater sense of the work we serve. Fortunately, now we have the internet and no longer need to go to the post office in Syntagma. What remains unchanged is our determination to make each edition better than the last—without, thankfully, turning that into an end in itself.
For this year’s Art Athina, what was the thinking behind the structure of all the programs?
Since its founding in 1993, at the heart of Art Athina are the members of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association. The simultaneous presence of participants from Greece and abroad creates an exceptional dynamic of exchange and interaction. This year’s Art Athina marks an evolution in the fair’s character and philosophy. We are strengthening the design section curated by Tina Daskalantonaki and Manthos Kaloumenos, continuing our steady support for independent spaces and non-profit organizations curated this year by Odette Kouzou, and placing greater emphasis on the performance program in collaboration with Flux Laboratory, curated by Nikolas Vamvouklis.
At the same time, we are investing in new synergies, such as the public program of talks: Art Athina Art for Tomorrow Talks Powered by TATOΪ Club, co-curated by Marilena Koutsoukou, Development Director of Art Athina, and Kim Conniff Taber, Editorial Director of Art for Tomorrow.
For the first time, Art Athina introduces the Editions section. In collaboration with the Athens Art Book Fair, we will showcase the best of the domestic production of art publications, a scene that has truly flourished in recent years in Greece.
What are the highlights of Art Athina 2025 that you are particularly pleased will take place—or perhaps even eager for?
Without exaggeration, we are especially happy about the program as a whole this year. I would highlight our collaboration with Flux Laboratory. Within this framework, and in collaboration with the Greek National Opera Ballet and Konstantinos Rigos, we will present an excerpt from the performance Golden Age at the peristyle of the Zappeion.
We are also delighted to host Ari Seth Cohen, acclaimed photographer, author, and creator of Advanced Style, a project dedicated to a positive approach to aging. Since 2008, he has been photographing older women, creating a global movement of visibility and freedom. At Art Athina, we will see part of his latest work, BFF, and for two days visitors will be able to participate in interactive happenings together with one of his most iconic muses, Judith Boyd.
Equally important is our collaboration with the Athens Art Book Fair-the first institution in Greece dedicated exclusively to art publishing. It is a vital initiative, an independent, artist-run project that aims to promote and support domestic production of art publications, to build a scene around independent editions, and to create links with similar publishing practices abroad. Their main program will be presented in early October at the Tristrato arcade in central Athens. With great enthusiasm, they accepted our invitation to present at Art Athina a condensed version of their program.
What do you love about Art Athina?
Its polyphony, the common vision we all share as a team, and the fact that it is an institution that constantly reinvents itself while remaining relevant and fresh.
What questions or concerns does Art Athina place “on the table” this year?
I’ll borrow the title that Nikolas Vamvouklis gives to the performance section: Now what. We’re not exactly living in humanity’s finest hour. As he writes in his curatorial text, Now what doesn’t promise conclusions. It creates space-however temporary-for something different to be born. A common pulse. A gentle uprising. A movement we don’t yet know how to name. And that alone is enough.
From your experience so far, what place does Art Athina hold on the art map, and how is it received by its visitors?
Historically, Art Athina-and by extension the galleries-were the Greek public’s only point of contact with contemporary art. Thankfully, times have changed, with the dynamic program of the National Museum of Contemporary Art and other significant private initiatives such as NEON. For Athens, the fair is a major opportunity, one that has not been fully capitalized on. We see art fairs that are inextricably linked to the cities where they take place. We are a fair with a strong local character, and that, precisely, is our competitive advantage. Art Athina is a meeting point where the entirety of the Greek art scene presents the best of its annual output alongside fascinating proposals from abroad. It’s an event measured not only by numbers, but above all by the imprint it leaves on the city and on the memory of those who take part.
Share your favorite moment in organizing Art Athina.
The installation of the exhibition, the realization of everything we have been planning over the past year-and, of course, the (hopefully) positive response of the visitors, who through their presence make Art Athina a true celebration of contemporary art in the heart of Athens.
