Award-winning Russian dancer Denis Rodkin and another 12 stars of the famed Bolshoi, Mariinsky, and La Scala ballet ensembles will be on stage at Athens’ open-air Herodes Atticus Theater for one night only, on September 5. The stellar ensemble will perform excerpts from the most popular ballets of the classical repertory such as "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty", "Giselle", "Don Quixote", "Romeo & Juliet", and more. 

Dennis Rodkin is the most important Bolshoi Ballet dancer today. Born in Moscow, in 2009 he graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography "Gzel" and was admitted to the Bolshoi Theater. In 2013, he graduated from the educational department of the Moscow Choreography Academy. He rehearsed under Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

He quickly developed into an incredibly expressive dancer, which enabled him to embody great leading roles of the classical repertoire, including Spartakos, Prince Zigkfrint ( Swan Lake ), Prince Nutcracker (Nutcracker), Jean County of Brienne ( Raimi ), Onegin ( Eugene Onegin ) Toreantor ( Quixote ), etc. 

Rodkin's emblematic stage presence is a strong proof of his qualities: his overflowing energy, his unparalleled technique, and his expressiveness have justifiably made him one of the new myths in the field of classical ballet.

The other dancers we will see in Athens are some of the best soloists of the famous Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballets, as well as other great ballets of the world. 

From the Bolshoi Theater, in addition to Dennis Rodkin will appear:

• Anna Nikulina - First Bolshoi Ballet Dancer
• Eleonora Sevenard - Bolshoi Ballet Soloist
• Mikhail Lobukhin - First Bolshoi Ballet Dancer

From the famous Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg will perform:

• Sakirova Renata - First Dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet

• Alexei Timofegief - Soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet

From the famous La Scala Theater in Milan will appear:

Athens Photo Festival and the Benaki Museum on 25 May agreed on new dates for the Festival, in 2020. Athens Photo Festival will be held from 16 September to 15 November 2020. Additionally, as a result of difficulties experienced by applicants due to the coronavirus outbreak, the deadline for submissions has been extended to 30 June 2020.

The Festival is accepting submissions from artists and photographers for its exhibition program. The selected works will be exhibited at the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138, one of the most prestigious museums in Greece.

The Festival will feature the work of emerging and established artists from all over the world, with the aim to reflect the diversity of photography and visual culture today. Exploring diverse cultural, artistic, social, and political perspectives, Athens Photo Festival is committed to offering a dynamic platform for the exchange of ideas, artistic expression, and engagement with photography in all its forms.

The call is open to all the image-based genres, ranging from fine art and conceptual to documentary and photojournalism, installations, interactive and multimedia works. This year's exhibition program will be composed of a diverse selection of over 80 image-based projects, selected through this international call for proposals.

Athens Photo Festival will continue to follow the updates on COVID-19 closely, while adhering to the guidelines put forward by our governments, to ensure the measures we take will help protect our artists, teams, and audience.

The festival was founded in 1987 on the initiative of Stavros Moresopoulos, under the name International Month of Photography in Athens, as a biennial event. It is the longest-running festival of photography in Greece, and one of the five oldest of its kind in the world. In 1997, the festival turned into an annual event. In 2008, it was officially renamed to Athens Photo Festival in order to reflect upon the festival’s expanding program which now embraced a wide range of events that are completely in tune with today’s social and aesthetics needs.

Throughout the years, the festival has remained faithful to its founding purpose, raising audiences awareness of photography and acting as a catalyst for lens-based practice within Greece and a showcase for contemporary trends, a new talent from all over the world, and the very best of Greek photography. The extensive documentation from its over 30-year history of festival activities, including photos, texts, and information about the artists will be soon available online on this website.

One of the most active and acclaimed Greek artists, Ilias Papailiakis, is engaged in an ongoing conversation with the history of Greek art. The solo exhibition Theoretical Objects: Works 2017–2020 comprises paintings, drawings, and sculptures produced in the last three years. In Papailiakis’ work, the ‘theoretical object’ is the object of study and research: It is the human body, violence, and history, art and archaeology, landscape and nature, the genealogy of desire, the history of civilization, the cultural traces of the past.

The exhibition consists of the sections: "Studies for a Thinker" (2008-2018), eighteen oils that reveal the transitional stage and the research that preceded until the artist was led to schematic painting. "The Archaic Members" (2018-2019), seven works in oil on canvas, mostly portraits, "The Warrior and the Sleep" (2019-2020), consisting of nine paintings, with the most recognizable The sculptor and the sleeping (2019), as well as six new works. The above sections are completed by 250 drawings with ink or pencil on paper

The exhibition is presented by the City of Athens Cultural, Sports & Youth Organisation (OPANDA) and is curated by Christoforos Marinos, art historian and OPANDA curator.

Athens Photo Festival 2020 is on view at the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138 through 15 November, featuring the work of 108 artists and photographers from 26 countries. 

Exploring diverse cultural, artistic, social, and political positions, the Festival brings together a wide variety of works from all the image-based genres, ranging from fine art and conceptual to documentary and photojournalism, photo-based installations, interactive content, and multimedia works. The exhibitions spread over two floors of the museum, covering an area of 2.200 square meters.

At the core of the Athens Photo Festival, in addition to exhibitions, is an engaging and multi-layered program of onsite and online events and the year-round activities, including education and public programs, talent development initiatives, social practice, and community outreach.

Opening hours

Thursday & Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00

Friday & Saturday: 10:00 – 22:00

The Keramikos Cemetery in Athens was home to the city's famous workshops, where all sorts of craftsmen exhibited and sold their work. That was 2,500 years ago. Fast forward to today, Mon Coin Studio, just a few steps away from the ancient cemetery, takes on the task of introducing contemporary Greek ceramics to the Greek audience and visitors. For its debut event, Ancient Vibes in Contemporary Ceramics, owner and ceramic artist Eleonore Trenado – Finetis has invited 35 artists and makers to participate with works that tap into ancient ceramics traditions and mythical narratives for inspiration, exploring how the “echo” of ancient Greek art resonates in contemporary creations. The works reflect on classical antiquity, the Minoan civilization, Cycladic art, and the works of primitive communities. The exhibition will also feature works by designers, jewelry designers, photographers, and visual artists. If ceramics ever knocked on your door, asking for a bit of your creativity and spare time, this sounds like the perfect time to answer.

After a short summer break, YES Forum is back and invites you on Thursday, September 17, at 19:00 to watch the live presentation of the book "Winning Shipping Strategies". In their book, Paul Emmanuelides and George Tsavliris develop a comprehensive framework of winning shipping strategies, through the application of established Strategic Management theory in the Shipping Industry, drawing empirical evidence from case studies of leading firms from the thriving Greek shipping community. 

The presentation will stream live on YES FORUM's Facebook page. During the discussion that will take place, the authors will also answer questions posed by audience members. 

The discussion will be moderated by Antonis Papagiannidis, CEO of Economia Group, and Danae Bezentakou, Concept Founder of YES FORUM & CEO of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS LTD.

It was 1983 when the world got to know Wim Mertens thanks to his contemporary classic, Struggle for Pleasure. The Belgian composer has since explored the minimal genre with over 65 album releases, having boldly ventured into experimental and avant-garde territory. His ideas on various forms of composing have been executed on ensembles, voice compositions, piano, and keyboard arrangements, often accompanied by his remarkable high-pitched tenor voice. Mertens is coming to Athens as part of his Inescapable Tour in celebration of a 40-year-long career. In this single show, Mertens will also perform his latest LP, The Gaze of the West.

Note: The audience will be limited to a specific number of seated spots. The use of a face mask is obligatory while entering and remaining in Technopolis and is strongly advised during the concert.

He’s won the British Comedy Award for “Best Live Stand-Up Tour”, been nominated for the Perrier Award and in 2016 became the first UK comedian to record a special for US streaming on Netflix.

His television credits include 20 series as host of panel show “8 Out Of 10 Cats”, 16 series of spin-off “8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown” and 10 years presenting Channel 4’s “Big Fat Quiz Of The Year”. He has also hosted three series of “Roast Battle” on Comedy Central UK.

A household name in the UK, Jimmy is also a rising star in the US, where his profile continues to grow. Jimmy has performed two Comedy Central Specials, has performed stand-up on “The Tonight Show” five times (with both Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno), and has also appeared on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” five times. He recently recorded his own Netflix panel show, entitled “The Fix”.

Rising art star Joy Labinjo has made a name for herself by painting it black. This young London-based artist produces many of her large-scale figurative works from photographs of her Nigerian family and the everyday people around her.

In an art form historically overrun by white males, Labinjo is among a new wave of women of color figurative artists helping to redress the imbalance. It figures that this in-demand artist would be snapped up by The Breeder for her first solo exhibition in Athens.

Labinjo created this new body of work while under lockdown in the UK in the crucible of mass protests around Black Lives Matter. Fresh and arresting, her creations echo her dual identity: growing up Black, British, Nigerian in the 90s and early Noughties. You’ll see these intimate paintings, alongside works Labinjo made on paper in Athens while participating in The Breeder’s Open Studio program - where visitors were able to meet the artist and observe her in action.

Dates & Hours

Tuesday – Friday 12.00-20.00; Saturday 12.00-18.00 

On Thursday 24th of September 2020, at 19:00 YES FORUM celebrates this year’s World Maritime Day and invites H.E. the Ambassador and General Consul of Panama in Greece Mrs. Julie Lymberopulos, and the General Director of Merchant Marine of Panama Maritime Authority Eng. Rafael N. Cigarruista G. in an open e-dialogue with the young generation in shipping.

Participation is free of charge. Registrations will be open until September 22 at 22:00. The dialogue will be held online via Zoom. The number of participants is limited, so early registration is important. After the registration's closing date you will receive a confirmation email with further instructions for your smooth participation.

Discussion Moderator: Mrs. Danae Bezantakou, Concept Founder YES FORUM & CEO of NAVIGATOR SHIPPING CONSULTANTS LTD.