Athens Municipality Embraces Street Art

A large colorful mural was recently created on a pedestrian street near the center of Athens by five Greek and Italian street artists who worked together with the aim to breath life into the urban landscape.

Located on Thessalonikis street, the mural is 30 meters long and was jointly created by Greek artists Blaqk, Jamer, Kez, Same84 and Italian 2501. The street art creation was held under the auspices of the Athens Municipality.

The new mural marks the start of a program of street art interventions on large walls of the capital in collaboration with renowned Greek and foreign street artists.

“We have made a great effort to clean large areas of the city by removing smudge but also create spaces for artists to express themselves through color and light. We are adopting good practices that have been tested in major capitals of Europe,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said.

The Italian Cultural Institute of Athens actively supported the street art project on Thessalonikis street with financial resources, while the action was coordinated by UrbanAct, an organization that specializes in mural art programs.

The street artists that participated in the project are showcasing their work in the exhibition titled, “2×2 The GrIt”, that is taking place at TheProjectGallery until November 1.