Art-Athina, Greece’s most prominent annual artistic event —the unique International Contemporary Art Fair— opened its gates few days ago. Twenty one years after the first Greek art fair was organized by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association in 1993, Art-Athina evolves while remaining true to its original concept of promoting the contemporary Greek art scene and establishing a constructive dialogue with international art. The Hellenic Art Galleries Association put together a varied programme which sent out a message of optimism.

Since its inception, Art-Athina has had moral and material support from the Ministry of Culture, and forms part of the NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework) for the years 2013, 2014. Art-Athina operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the City of Athens. Several outstanding Greek and foreign art galleries presented their associate artists, while cultural institutions, art publishers and media are also present to complete a comprehensive picture of the contemporary art scene.

A number of noteworthy parallel activities reinforced the international character of the event with the participation of a large number of artists with a marked predominance of the younger generation. Among the parallel programs in this year’s edition,  is the exhibition “A Thousand Doors” by NEON non-profit organization founded by world-known collector D.Daskalopoulos in collaboration with the Whitechapel gallery. D.Daskalopoulos participates for the first time in the parallel programme of the fair.