Public Murals

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The mural programme was implemented by “Culture is Athens,” within the framework of the Programme Agreement for Culture 2021–2023, jointly supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Attica, and the Municipality of Athens. Its principal aim was the revitalisation, enhancement, and integration of Athens’ cultural fabric. Furthermore, this Programme Agreement also provided tangible support to artists and cultural workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Katerina Koskina, Art Historian, Museologist, and at that time Cultural Advisor to the Mayor of Athens, was responsible for overseeing the mural programme—under which a total of thirty-two murals were completed in public spaces—as well as for curating or co-curating several of these artworks.

The programme involved both public and private buildings and was realised in collaboration with various institutions, organisations, and foreign embassies. It was structured into the following categories:

A. From the Roots to the Sky Programme (2021–2023): A co-production between the Municipality of Athens and URBANACT, entailing the creation of four murals per year at schools within the Municipality, each year exploring a different thematic focus.

• 1st mural: 104th Primary School of Athens, Larisis and Panormou streets, artist: KEZ. An abstract interpretation inspired by the famous painting Erotokritos and Arethousa by the Greek folk painter Theophilos. Completed in June 2021.

• 2nd mural: 18th General Lyceum of Athens, 8 Ros & Ilias Zervou streets, Patissia, artist: Leonidas Giannakopoulos (LEO). The mural draws inspiration from the renowned Greek poet Andreas Kalvos and in particular from the ode To Samos . Completed in October 2021.

• 3rd mural: 133rd Primary School of Athens, Kypselis street, artist: Gospel. An abstract portrayal featuring the portraits of three prominent leaders of the Greek War of Independence—Laskarina Bouboulina, Georgios Karaiskakis, and Konstantinos Kanaris. Completed in 2021. Subsequently vandalised.

• 4th mural: 13th Primary School of Athens, 38 Stilponos street, Mets, artist: SAME84. A diptych abstractly depicting the historical district of Mets—where the school is situated—during the 19th century, alongside a figure inspired by the young drummer from the painting The Drums of the War of Independence (also known as The Young Drummer of Messolonghi), originally created by the German painter Johann Georg Christian Perlberg. Completed in January 2022.

B. Collaborative mural projects with Embassies, featuring public murals created through partnerships with foreign diplomatic missions, specifically involving the Embassies of Australia, and Israel.

• Guido van Helten, Bookbinders in Exarcheia, December 2021
  The project was realised through a joint initiative of the Municipality of Athens and the Australian Embassy in Greece. Australian street artist Guido van Helten arrived in Athens in mid-November 2021, following an invitation extended by these collaborating institutions. His work resulted in a photorealistic, large-scale mural gracing the façade of the Protoporia bookstore building, situated at the intersection of Emmanouil Benaki and Gravias Streets in the Exarcheia district. Completed in December 2021, the artwork serves as an homage to the vibrant Athenian neighbourhood known for its historical association with book publishing and literary culture.

• Adi Ioshpe, Waves, October 2021
  This mural was realised through the cooperation of the Embassy of Israel and the Municipality of Athens, gracing a building in the heart of the historic city centre at 24 Lekka Street. The artwork, entitled Waves, was selected by a joint committee comprising representatives of the Municipality of Athens, the Embassy of Israel, and the building’s owners, from among dozens of submitted proposals. According to the artist, Adi Ioshpe, her work embodies the notion of perpetual motion, symbolising the continuous movement and migration of people from one place to another.

C. Murals supported by, or realised with the participation of, various foundations, corporations, associations, and other entities in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens.

• Nassos Daphnis
  The emblematic mural by Nassos Daphnis, first unveiled in 1969 in New York City, is symbolically repatriated through its recreation by the newly established non-profit Almi, in collaboration with POLITES and with the support of the Municipality of Athens, underscoring the enduring dialogue between Hellenism and the vanguard of contemporary art. The composition of four concentric circles in primary colors, converging into a curvilinear rectangle, now graces the urban façade of 3 Kanari Street, offering a timeless artistic gesture imbued with both historical resonance and aesthetic force.

• A thirty-metre-long mural was the outcome of the artistic collaboration realised along Thessaloniki street in Gazi, Athens, made possible through the joint funding of the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens. The artists Blaqk, Jamer, Kez, and Same84, in collaboration with the Italian artist 2501 (Demetrio Di Grado), each contributed approximately six metres to this striking visual artwork, leaving their distinct artistic signatures on the urban landscape.

• In 2020, the mural The Kiss, based on a painting by acclaimed Greek artist Ilias Papailiakis, was realised in Avdi Square, Athens. Curated by art historian Christoforos Marinos and executed by UrbanAct, the project was a collaboration between the Onassis Foundation and the Organisation of Culture, Sports and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA). The mural was created opposite the New Municipal Gallery of Athens, coinciding with Papailiakis’s solo exhibition, bringing contemporary art into the public sphere and enriching the cityscape with themes of intimacy and human connection.