Visitors watch visual artist Thodoris Trambas perform ‘Pangaea’ in the courtyard of the Benaki Museum, as part of a collaboration by NEON and the Marina Abramovic Institute titled ‘As One.’ [Natalia Tsoukala]
Forty-four exhibitions and 584,690 visitors between 2013 and 2025. Twenty-five curators, of whom 17 were Greek and eight from other parts of the world. A total of 274 artists featured in solo and group exhibitions, with 73 new commissions awarded to both Greek and international creators. A grants program that gave support to some 2,500 artists and led to 259 projects. Two cultural venues that were renovated and donated to the Greek public: the Ω2 underground space of the Athens Conservatoire and the iconic former Public Tobacco Factory. And, last but not least, a donation to the island of Delos of the piece “Rule II” (2019) by acclaimed British artist Antony Gormley.
Any performance review tends to be about numbers, and the NEON cultural organization has even more to show than the above in terms of its achievements in contemporary art over its 14 years of operation. It has been a success story – albeit a success story no one expected to end so soon.
‘I believed that coming into contact with art, which also made me more open-minded, would help people, would inspire society’
But on Monday, ΝΕΟΝ’s founder, businessman and collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, and artistic director Elina Kountouri called a press conference to announce that the organization is bringing its cultural and social mission to a close in 2027 with the final installment of Michael Rakowitz’s exhibition at the Old Acropolis Museum.
“It is important to go out while we are still in our heyday, leaving behind a fertile legacy,” Daskalopoulos told the roomful of shocked reporters, adding that the intention when he started the organization in 2012 was to offer the Greek public a form of “solace” during the difficult years of the economic crisis.
“I believed that coming into contact with art, which also made me more open-minded, would help people, would inspire society, rouse it, and expose it to challenges and emotions. I was not proven wrong. As NEON, we can even take some credit for the way we have contributed to making the country’s cultural ecosystem more fertile, as it is today,” he added.
This belief resonated with Kountouri, who, as art director, was instrumental in shaping NEON’s distinct identity. She recalled meeting with Daskalopoulos for the first time 13 years ago and agreeing that the organization’s mission was to open up art to a segment of the public that was less familiar with it, and by doing so, use art as a tool of social cohesion and dialogue. The decision to use public spaces as its stage was pivotal in accomplishing this.
NEON did not confine itself to museums; It activated the entire city, transforming squares, parks, historic buildings and archaeological sites into places where the public would encounter contemporary art. Access was always open and free of charge, a deliberate choice aimed at broadening audiences and extending the experience beyond traditional boundaries.
Under Kountouri, it developed partnerships with public institutions, most notably with the Ministry of Culture and the archaeological services, and, through these collaborations, historic sites were opened up to new experiences, creating a fertile coexistence between cultural heritage and contemporary expression. Athens developed a new relationship with contemporary art, which became integrated into everyday life and part of the urban experience.
Now, 14 years later, the landscape is completely different. Greece has a vibrant cultural scene with a pronounced interest in contemporary art, new initiatives and active charitable foundations, and an Athens that is gradually establishing itself as an international destination for artists and art lovers. The operation of the National Museum of Contemporary Art and new museums further reinforces this momentum.
So it is within this context that NEON is bringing its own trajectory to a close with the trilogy of exhibitions by Michael Rakowitz, which engages with issues of cultural heritage, loss, restoration, and continuity – themes that encapsulate the essence of the organization’s mission.
