'Athens under Pressure' at FokiaNou

'Progress in Progress', by Stella Sevastopoulos. Acrylics and printing techniques on paper. 80x45cm (h/w), 2025. Represented by Tsantilis Art Gallery.

I am exhibiting the work 'Progress in Progress' at the group exhibition 'Athens under Pressure' which opens to the public on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 6pm. Runs till December 20, at FokiaNou Artspace.

The work 'Progress in Progress' is inspired by the Riviera Tower which is being built at The Ellinikon. This is the first artwork to be inspired by the tower, and the first to be exhibited in an exhibition. I live in the south of Athens, and this building has dominated the cityscape there. It is like no other building in Athens, and we await to see its completion, and the completion of the whole Ellinikon site.'Progress in Progress' is also about the notion of progress, what is considered progress, and the pressure of progress.

Thirty-one artists are participating in the much-loved Athens-themed exhibition at FokiaNou Art Space, which is realised roughly every year or so (this time a bit earlier than usual). This space has focused on Athens for quite a few years now through these annual exhibitions, which each year bring to light different facets of this everchanging city, with interesting themes, such as: 'Athens Old and New' (2025), 'Destination Athens' (2024), 'Escapism in Athens' (2023), 'Night in Athens' (2022), 'Love and Disaster in Athens' (2020). This time, the title is 'Athens under Pressure', and boy do we feel it!

The group exhibition 'Athens under Pressure' emerged from an open to artists of all media, inviting them to respond creatively to this theme. The invitation served as a stimulus for a collective artistic dialogue around the city and its shifts, environmental, social, spatial, psychological. The exhibition invites the public to ask themselves: How do the climate crisis, overtourism and the building boom affect our lives, everyday life, psychology and our shared experience of Athens? Can art speak to what we live? With works that record, comment, resist or envision, 'Athens Under Pressure' brings together multiple perspectives on a city at a critical crossroads, a city that is changing faster than we can comprehend.

Curated by: Mary Cox and Panagiotis Voulgaris

Participating artists: John Bicknell, Lorenz Bögle, Fenia Chatzimichail, Mary Cox, Panagiotis Ferentinos, Katerina Genidogan, Mark Hadjipateras, Marietta Kallona, Vassilis Kantas, Vani Koronaki, Maria Claudia Litsas, Xenia Marlitsi, Camille Marquand, Christos Movidis, Maria Oikonomopoulou, Despoina Pantazi, Gabriela Papaefthimiou, Basilios Papaioannou, Lena Papapanagiotou, Eleni Papanikolaou, Jyri Pitkänen, Geeta Roopnarine, Efi Seitanidou, Stella Sevastopoulos, Vasiliki Stasinaki, Paraskevi Stathaki, Georgia Touliatou, Lisa Waldner, Piyi Wong, Constantina Xalkia, Kiveli Zachariou.

'Athens under Pressure', FokiaNou Art Space

Duration: 3 - 20 December 2025

Opening: 3 December 2025, 18:00-21.30

Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 17:00 – 20:00

FokiaNou Art Space, Fokianou 24, Pagrati, 7th floor