“The Tenants”: When Art and Wine Inhabit the Olympias Hotel

In the emblematic setting of the Olympias Hotel, located at the intersection of Athinas and Sofokleous streets in the historic center of Athens, the group art exhibition “THE TENANTS”, curated by Iris Kritikou and featuring dozens of distinguished visual artists, meets the 5th Athens Wine & Art Festival, along with its thousands of visitors.

The Olympias building, at 57 Athinas Street, stands across from the bustling Varvakeios Market-amid shops selling church items, cheeses, spices, and delicacies, and near open-air antique stalls with persistent vendors and eclectic treasures. It is a rare example of interwar architecture in Athens’ historic core. Now a listed monument, it was built between 1921 and 1939 by architect Filippos Oikonomou, celebrated for its modernist character and neo-Byzantine elements.

“In the imposing ground-floor foyer with its mosaic floor, and on the second and third floors with their grand arches and generous openings where the Athenian light gently filters through, more than a hundred artworks selected for the exhibition ‘THE TENANTS’ welcome the visitor-inviting them to discover each piece gradually, floor by floor and room by room.

The participating artists occupy the entire exhibition space, co-signing a collective show of wall-mounted and three-dimensional works in various media and techniques, ranging from earlier to recent creations. Paintings and sculptures, ceramics, textile and thread works, installations, ready-mades, photographs, and video pieces together form a microcosm spanning the three accessible floors of the building and of the Festival-alongside the wine producers exhibiting from across Greece.

Full-length figures, enigmatic portraits, Athinas Street and other nearby roads with views of the Acropolis, neighboring Athenian buildings, and fleeting still lifes-remnants of an Athenian day-come together here, tracing the coordinates and inner fabric of memory that run through the old city hotel.

Interwoven is an informal homage to wine, through works chosen by several of the artists: contemporary transformations of Bacchus, unique artistic vessels designed for wine, and creations echoing the afterglow of a celebration-all speaking, in their own way, of the city’s hidden myths, of the mystique of wine, of sharing,” notes the curator.

With the exhibition “THE TENANTS”, the Olympias-a historic architectural remnant and cherished cradle of layered inhabitations-finds its voice again. It becomes an ideal stage for dozens of whispered stories: of the city’s memory and its people; of place and time, past and present; of Athens and Athinas Street as a palimpsest of lives and conditions; and of wine as a thread of communion.

Participating artists:
Kostas Angelakis, Anny Archimandritou, Katerina Aslanidou, Anna Achilleos, Katia Varvaki, Marina Vlachaki, Dimitris Vogiazoglou, Eirini Vogiatzis, Kiki Voulgareli, Marios Voutsinas, Giannis Gavallas, Mary Galani-Kritikou, Sofia Gaitani, Katerina Grafanaki, Andreas Georgiadis, Savvas Georgiadis, Stratigoula Giannikopoulou, Theofanis Goulis, Dikaia Despotaki, Tania Dimitrakopoulou, Maria Diakodimitriou, Christina Douzeni, Fragkiskos Doukakis, Argyro Driva, Konstantinos Esslin, Eirini Zaimi, Stratos Zarglis, Vasiliki Iliakopoulou, Alexandra Isakidi, Gogo Ieromonachou, Despina Kaliga, Annita Kalimeri, Minas Kampitakis, Katerina Kalitsounaki, Evita Kanellou, Vangelis Karanasios, Theofilos Katsipanos, Vasilis Kilitslis, Spyros Koikas, Georgia Kokkinis, Sofia-Rose Kosmidou, Nikos Kranakis, Marina Krontira, Thanasis Lalas, Nikos Leontopoulos, Tasos Liakopoulos, Giorgos Louloudis, Lydia Margaronis, Anastasis Madamopoulos, Minas Mavrikakis, Nikos Mikroulis, Giotis Balodimos, Manos Batzolis, Alexandra Benaki, Lambrini Boviatsou, Ismini Bonatsou, Rouli Boua, Marita Niakarou, Mary Dagianta, Isabella Dassi, Marietta Papacheimona, Maria Pastra, Vasiliki Pantazi, Gevso Papadaki, Christos Papadakis, Dionysia Papadopoulou, Christina Paraskevopoulou, Stelios Petroulakis, Eleni Pechlivanis, Vangelis Polyzos, Babis Pylarinos, Michalis Sakalis, Titika Salla, Giorgos Saltaferos, Afroditi Sezenia, Antonia Simatou, Vasilis Soulis, Katerina Stathatou, Marina Stellatou, Giorgos Tzaneris, Vasso Trigga, Eleftheria Tseiko, Katerina Tsimichodimou, Amalia Ferentinou, Agapi Fesatidou-Psarraki, Stathis Fotis, Maria Chaniou, Athina Chatzi, and the Painting Workshop of the Municipality of Kallithea (Instructor: Christos Papadakis).

Athens Wine & Art Festival

The Athens Wine & Art Festival, Greece’s largest celebration of wine and art, returns to Athens on October 18–19, 2025. The long-awaited festival is back for its fifth edition, uniquely blending the worlds of wine and art in a spectacular two-day celebration of the senses.

It will take place on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October 2025, at the iconic Olympias Building (57 Athinas Street, Monastiraki), inviting visitors to experience a weekend of taste, culture, and inspiration in the heart of Athens.

70 boutique wineries – 600 wines – 2 days of experiences

More than 70 boutique wineries from across Greece and abroad will present over 600 wines, giving visitors the opportunity to discover new labels and meet the creators behind them.

Many wineries will be participating for the first time, bringing with them the freshness and excitement of their debut appearance – a hallmark of the Athens Wine & Art Festival, now an established reference point for the country’s wine scene.

Parallel events & workshops

Throughout the festival, a rich program of educational seminars, DJ sets, art happenings, guided tours, and creative children’s activities will offer a complete experience for visitors of all ages.