elc team
All exhibitions at the Benaki Museum opening in June
IN A BRIGHT GREEN FIELD | Benaki Museum / Pireos 138
Opening: Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 20:00
Duration: June 12 – September 13, 2025
The exhibition features works by twenty-seven artists under the age of 40 who explore possible futures where renewed relationships with the natural world and open approaches to community might emerge.
It showcases artists working across a range of media and highlights some of the most exciting emerging practices in Athens, Nicosia, and across Europe. It brings to the fore a generation of artists paying close attention to the local narratives of Greece and Cyprus and how these stories can help analyze broader global challenges. These artists document the accelerating transformations in labor and the natural landscape driven by technology while pointing to new forms of collectivity taking shape in both urban and rural life. Their work explores the poetics of infrastructure, pastoral science fiction, urban animism, and generative collaborations that ripple far beyond the museum walls.
Spanning lyrical painting and sculpture to experimental documentary and community performance, the exhibition is about art as a model for imagining myriad possible futures.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, published by the DESTE Foundation, featuring new texts by Gary Carrion-Murayari, curator and writer Danae Yannoglou (Athens-based), and curator and writer Ioulita Toumazi (based in Nicosia).
Participating Artists:
Raïssa Aggeli (b. 1986, Nicosia) – based in Nicosia
Niki Analyti (b. 1994, Corfu) – based in Athens
Ileana Arnaoutou (b. 1994, Athens) and Ismini King (b. 1993, Athens) – based in Athens
Damianos Zisimou (b. 1994, Nicosia) – based in Rotterdam
Danae Io (b. 1993, Athens) – based between Athens and Amsterdam
Byron Kalomamas (b. 1993, Athens) – based in London
Konstantza Kapsali (b. 1989, Thessaloniki) – based in Athens
Kyriakos Kyriakidis (b. 1996, Nicosia) – based in Nicosia
Ioanna Limniou (b. 1987, Alexandroupolis) – based in Athens
Maria Louizou (b. 1988, Athens) – based in Athens
Marietta Mavrokordatou (b. 1996, Nicosia) – based in London
Polina Miliou (b. 1990, Athens) – based in Athens
Marina Xenofontos (b. 1988, Limassol) – based in Athens
Eleni Odysseos (b. 1991, Famagusta) – based in Nicosia
Nefeli Papadimouli (b. 1988, Athens) – based in Paris
Theodoulos Polyviou (b. 1989, Nicosia) – based in Berlin
Sophia Rozaki (b. 1990, Athens) – based in Athens
David Sabethai (b. 1989, Athens) – based in Athens
Despoina Sanida-Krezia (b. 1998, Athens) – based in Athens
Marios Stamatis (b. 1986, Larissa) – based in Athens
Teo Triantafyllidis (b. 1988, Athens) – based in Athens
Maria Toumazou (b. 1989, Nicosia) – based in Nicosia
Vera Hotzoglou (b. 1992, Athens) – based in Athens
Anna Chousiada (b. 1990, Athens) – based in Athens
Latent Community (artistic duo founded in 2017, Athens):
Ionian Bissai (b. 1992, Saranda) – based in Athens
Sotiris Tsigkanos (b. 1992, Athens) – based in Athens
The Post Collective (est. 2018, Brussels, Belgium):
Mirra Markhaëva (b. 1992, Ivolginsk, Buryatia) – based in Brussels
Elli Vassalou (b. 1983, Athens) – based in Brussels
In a Bright Green Field follows The Same River Twice (2019) and The Equilibrists (2016), echoing past collaborations between the New Museum and the DESTE Foundation over the past four decades. These initiatives look to contemporary art for insights into the pressing issues of our time, reflecting the Benaki Museum’s commitment to bridging past and present.
Curated by: Gary Carrion-Murayari, Kraus Family Senior Curator, New Museum
Organized by: Benaki Museum, New Museum, DESTE Foundation
MICHAEL KLIËN. PARLIAMENT | Benaki Museum / Pireos 138
Opening: Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 20:00
Duration: June 12 – July 25, 2025
Parliament is a groundbreaking work by choreographer and visual artist Michael Kliën (b. 1973).
Over a period of seven weeks, Parliament will transform the museum and affiliated institutions into a living organism—a network of relationships that transcend dominant power structures and hierarchies. Each day, participants will gather to weave a choreography of relations, which will gradually evolve into a dense mosaic of collective thought and embodied action.
Parliament is a landmark in the emerging field of social choreography. Originally initiated as a Benaki Museum project in 2013, it is now being presented for the first time as a full-scale exhibition on the ground floor of the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138. Yet it is more than an exhibition; it is a participatory space where human relationships are redefined.
In a world burdened by polarizing identities and entrenched social conventions, Parliament offers a necessary distance—a space for embodied cooperation and collective presence. It invites us to imagine a different ethical order, a psychic shift enacted through the body.
Parliament is an experiment in democracy beyond language. It challenges participants to confront the unknown, engage deeply with one another, and allow authentic connections to emerge. It is not a performance to be watched but a living system that asks us to inhabit it.
It is a call to action—for all who dare to dream of a world made anew.
Apply to participate in Parliament by Michael Kliën [HERE].
About the Artist:
Michael Kliën is a leading voice in contemporary choreography. He pioneers a 21st-century ecological approach to movement and social engagement. His extensive body of work—emotionally resonant and intellectually rigorous—includes interdisciplinary thinking, critical writing, pedagogical projects, and groundbreaking works of social choreography that transcend both performance and the visual arts. Kliën is a professor at Duke University and directs the Laboratory for Social Choreography at the Kenan Institute for Ethics.
Curated by: Polyna Kosmadaki, Alexander Strecker
Program Direction: Vitoria Kotsalou, with assistance from Aris Papadopoulos
Organized by: Benaki Museum
Supported by: Kenan Institute for Ethics (Duke University) and the Austrian Embassy
A THOUSAND AND ONE FORMS: PAINTINGS AND SHAPES | Drama, Şadırvan
Opening: Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 20:00
Duration: June 22 – November 23, 2025
Islamic art refers to the artistic production of societies where Islam is the dominant religion. However, this rich and multifaceted tradition extends beyond religious boundaries, encompassing luxurious secular artworks that showcase technical mastery and a high level of artistic achievement.
Generally, it characterizes the cultural identity of a world that expanded across a vast geography—from the Middle East and North Africa to Central and East Asia. Despite regional and historical differences, Islamic art retains unifying features that give it a distinct sense of cohesion. This exhibition highlights key characteristics of Islamic art through selected works from the Benaki Museum collection.
The history of the Islamic world is woven from the tapestry of dynasties and empires, each contributing its own cultural and geographical legacy through art and architecture. Islamic aesthetics were shaped by local traditions, resulting in a rich diversity of expressions across regions from North Africa to Southeast Asia. This legacy underscores Islam’s enduring influence on world history and its continued role in shaping the religious, social, and cultural identities of millions around the globe.
Curated by: Mina Moraitou
Organized by: Benaki Museum
ERIETA ATTALI. DELOS. AFLOAT | Benaki Museum of Greek Culture
Duration: June 25 – September 21, 2025
This exhibition offers a singular visual exploration of Delos as both a geographically defined site and a metaphysically elusive space. Accompanied by texts by Barry Bergdoll, Georges Prevelakis, and Dimitris Philippidis.
Delos: Afloat invites viewers to engage with Delos not just as a destination, but as a passage—an island afloat between light and shadow, earth and sky, antiquity and eternity. Through her lens, Attali revives the island’s sacred aura, crafting a visual narrative that is at once archaeological, lyrical, and timeless.
Curated by Erieta Attali and Lambros Papanikolaou, the exhibition features 25 large-scale prints by Erieta Attali, a 7-minute short film by Elisavet Tsouchtidi, and a cartographic work designed by architect Aris Kafantaris. The exhibition design is by architect Tasos Roidis.
Curated by: Erieta Attali, Lambros Papanikolaou
Architectural & Graphic Design: Tasos Roidis
Organized by: Benaki Museum
