elc team
June brings with it the light of summer and a sense of renewal. The National Gallery welcomes the first month of the season with exhibitions and activities designed to inspire audiences of all ages. From the sea and vibrant colors of Panayiotis Tetsis to the magic of printmaking, June becomes an opportunity for creative exploration through art and education.
The National Gallery is solely responsible for organizing and scientifically curating the educational programs and guided tours offered by its staff, which are officially announced through EPMAS’ communication channels.
National Gallery – Main Building
Educational Programs for Families
The Enduring Sea
Panayiotis Tetsis didn’t see the sea merely as an image, but as an experience. From his house in Hydra, he gazed at it daily, letting his eyes wander. For him, the sea was a mirror of emotions, a source of inspiration and reflection.
This educational program invites participants to see the sea as he did—not just with their eyes, but with their soul. To discover how a landscape transforms into art and how observation becomes creation.
Date: Saturday, June 14, Time: 11:00
Location: Main Building, EPMAS – Permanent Collection
Designed and conducted by: Fryni Karzi, museum educator, EPMAS
Reservations: ekarzi@nationalgallery.gr
Program Fee: €8
Ages: 8–12
Secrets of the Third Floor
This experiential activity introduces participants to contemporary Greek art through the works of diverse Greek artists featured on the museum’s third floor.
Date: Saturday, June 7, Time: 12:00
Location: Main Building, EPMAS – Permanent Collection
Designed and conducted by: Fryni Karzi, museum educator, EPMAS
Reservations: ekarzi@nationalgallery.gr
Program Fee: €8
Ages: 8–12
Following the Rainbow
In June, the children’s workshop at the National Gallery draws inspiration from the striking rainbows that run through the work of Panayiotis Tetsis. After a brief tour of the new exhibition Panayiotis Tetsis: The Obsessive Gaze, children will move to the National Gallery’s garden to create their own rainbows. Guided by Alexis Kyritsopoulos’ children’s book The Tale of Colors, they will explore color theory and learn to understand the artist’s bold use of color.
Date: Saturday, June 28, Time: 12:00
Location: Main Building, EPMAS – Permanent Collection
Designed and conducted by: Christina Botsou, museum educator, EPMAS
Reservations: edu.episkepseis@nationalgallery.gr
Program Fee: €8
Ages: 3–6
At the Xenokratous Street Market
Inspired by Tetsis’ painting Street Market, which captures the Friday market outside his window on Xenokratous Street, the National Gallery, in collaboration with the Educational Programs Department of MOMus-Museum of Modern Art, organizes a site-specific printmaking workshop for children and their families. Using traditional printmaking tools and pigments from seasonal fruits and vegetables, participants will print on handmade paper, as well as on items like t-shirts, tablecloths, or tote bags brought from home.
Dates: Friday, June 20 at 16:00 & Saturday, June 21 at 12:00
Location: Main Building, EPMAS – Permanent Collection
Program Design & Implementation: Evi Papavergou, Katerina Paraskeva, Christina Papaioakeim (MOMus)
Conducted by: Christina Botsou, Fryni Karzi (EPMAS), Marina Tomazani (Art Historian & Curator, EPMAS)
Partner Organization: MOMus–Museum of Modern Art
Reservations: edu.episkepseis@nationalgallery.gr
Program Fee: €8
Ages: 3–6
Public Tours – Main Building
Getting to Know Panayiotis Tetsis
This month’s themed tours offer the public a chance to explore corners of Greece through the eyes of Panayiotis Tetsis. From the lively street market of Xenokratous to the shaded pine trees of Hydra, visitors will discover one of the most important Greek painters of the 20th century.
Dates: Saturdays, June 7 & 14, Time: 12:00
Location: Main Building, EPMAS – Permanent Collection
Designed and conducted by: Marina Tomazani, Art Historian & Curator, EPMAS
Reservations: edu.episkepseis@nationalgallery.gr
New Exhibitions
Paper Images – The Origins of Greek Printmaking
The exhibition Paper Images – The Origins of Greek Printmaking showcases the religious prints from the National Gallery’s collection—a lesser-known form of art that flourished for nearly two and a half centuries (from the mid-17th to the late 19th century), spreading widely across the Ottoman-ruled territories and the far reaches of the Orthodox Greek diaspora.
The exhibition is organized into two sections. The first presents a series of Mount Athos prints from the 18th and 19th centuries: panoramic views of monastic centers such as Mount Sinai and Mount Athos, depictions of monasteries, saintly figures, and scenes from the Passion of Christ. These prints are often hand-colored or accompanied by the original copperplates used for their creation.
The second section features a Pilgrim’s Guide to the Holy Land (Proskynetarion, published in Vienna, 1807), a book with descriptive text and original engravings depicting Jerusalem’s monuments and scenes from Christ’s life and Passion. It is accompanied by a selection of similar loose-leaf prints from the museum’s collection.
With this exhibition—presented at the entrance to the first floor—the National Gallery inaugurates a series of displays aiming to introduce the public to the art of printmaking as it developed in the Greek world.
Exhibition tour: Wednesday, June 25, 18:00
Location: Main Building, National Gallery – Meeting point: First Floor Entrance
Curator: Katerina Tavantzi
Reservations: edu.episkepseis@nationalgallery.gr
Maximum number of participants: 25
THALATTA
Seascapes by Greek Artists from the Collection of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum
As part of Greece’s Presidency of the United Nations Security Council in May 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations and the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, presents the exhibition Thalatta, hosted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from May 20 to May 30, 2025.
The sea has long been a timeless source of inspiration—a vast horizon where light, water, and time converge. From antiquity to the present day, humanity’s relationship with the sea has been a central theme in the arts and letters. In Homer’s Odyssey, one of the most significant works of ancient Greek literature, the sea becomes the canvas on which the poet weaves the story of human experience: the journey home, the lessons of travel, and the value of knowledge and discovery. Endlessly fueling the creative imagination of artists, the sea is represented as a physical landscape, a conceptual perspective, an open horizon, and a conduit for the movement of people, goods, and ideas.
The sea also plays a pivotal role in foreign policy and cultural diplomacy, serving not only as a geographical and economic resource but also as a cultural and strategic instrument in international relations. It brings people, nations, and cultures together, fosters communication, enables the exchange of ideas and products, and shapes strategic, economic, and cultural dynamics that influence international cooperation, cultural heritage protection, and the promotion of shared values. The indelible bond between Greeks and the sea is evident across all aspects of their culture.
The works showcased in Thalatta capture the multifaceted human relationship with the sea. From geometric depictions of harbors to abstract compositions of light on water, from the primal sense of the sea as myth to its contemporary interpretation as lived experience, each artwork becomes a watery mirror reflecting the artist’s unique perspective. The color palette ranges from realism to complete abstraction, portraying the sea at times as a place, and at others as a feeling.
This artistic rendering of the seascape also reflects the vital role of navigation in global trade and the shared responsibility of the international community in safeguarding the freedom of the seas.
Artists featured include:
Aghinoros Asteriadis, Yannis Gaitis, Kostas Grammatopoulos, Theodoros Stamos, Thanasis Stefopoulos, Mary Schina, Panayiotis Tetsis, Kostas Tsoklis, Alekos Fassianos, Maria Filopoulou, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas.
Ongoing Exhibitions
- Panayiotis Tetsis: The Obsessive Gaze
Tours: Wed. June 11 & 25 at 18:00, Sat. June 21 at 12:00
Curator: Efi Agathonikou - Francisco Goya, Los Caprichos – Permanent Collection
Tours: Wed. June 18 at 18:00, Sat. 21 & Sun. 22 at 16:00
Curator: Katerina Tavantzi - The Allure of the Strange – Intermediate Space
Tour: Wed. June 11 at 18:00
Curator: Syrago Tsiara
Branches
ISET – Archive of Contemporary Greek Art
Efi Strouza: A New Journey
A retrospective on the critical and curatorial work of Efi Strouza, shedding light on her theoretical framework and contributions to Greek contemporary art.
Opening: Tuesday, June 24 at 19:00
Duration: June 24 – October 31, 2025
Curators: Niki Papaspirou & Sofia Chrysafopoulou
Koumandareios Gallery, Sparta
Laconian Artists from the National Gallery Collections
Final tour: Sunday, June 15 at 11:00
Curator: Monika Diamanti
Nafplio Annex
Storytelling with Music & Art Workshop
A journey through magical stories—under stars, in oceans, around fires—brought to life with music and painting.
Dates:
- Sat. June 21: For children (elementary and middle school)
- Sun. June 22: Open to all
Performers:
Maria Manoli (storytelling, accordion, vocals)
Klearchos Korkovelos (cymbal, vocals)
