On March 22, Greece’s conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the implementation of an extensive ban on "unnecessary transport and movement of people throughout the country."(("Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ Address to the Greek People," March 22, 2020.)) Cited as the "last step" that "an organized, democratic state" may take in the effort to contain the [...]
The rapidly escalating Coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally altering public life in cities and communities around the world, with the paradigm of social distancing emptying public spaces, suspending modes of sociability based on physical proximity, and fortifying border regimes.((For an excellent analysis of the problematic entanglements between entanglements between quarantine, ethno-nationalism, and health care privatization see [...]
Title image courtesy of Dimitris Plantzos The first instance of anti-Airbnb graffiti I encountered in Athens in the summer of 2018 was a stencil, spray-painted in signal red, proclaiming Airbnb tourists fuck off — Refugees welcome all over the neighborhood of Koukaki.((Full disclosure: I was myself staying in an Airbnb in Koukaki at the time, [...]
Since the inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States of America one year ago, his enactment of a hyperconservative domestic agenda, his ineptitude in matters of foreign policy, and a slew of disconcerting statements made to the public have initiated a broad political mobilization. Articulations of dissent have mostly assumed the [...]
Stencil at Omonoia square in Athens, photograph taken by the author in June 2016. In the summer of 2016 a stenciled slogan began appearing sporadically in public squares of Athens: "Dear Documenta, I refuse to exoticize myself to increase your cultural capital," signed "Sincerely, the Indigenous." Though small in scale and modest in [...]
EU immigration and border politics have been subject to criticism for years¹ - particularly regarding the increasingly militarized securitization of its external frontier. In recent weeks the rapid influx of refugees - mainly from war-torn Syria, Irak, and Afghanistan - and the EU's failure to provide an adequate and humane response have dramatically highlighted the consequences [...]
In the summer of 2015, I arrived in Athens one day prior to the announcement of the "Bailout Referendum" and left three days before its execution. During the week I spent in Athens I was able to witness some of the immediate reactions uttered in the streets of the city via graffiti slogans, posters, stencils [...]
It has been a while since I have taken to this blog, but I have a special project to announce: the ABC project. Initiated by French street artist Oré last year, the ABC project aims to foster a transeuropean exchange about crisis and austerity through street art and graffiti. I am happy to have been responsible for facilitating [...]
Ever since its founding the European Union has been a controversial political project. The economic, political, and social crises that have erupted across the continent in the past five years have only intensified the existing conflicts. Consequently the upcoming elections for the european parliament on may 25 will manifest a significant moment for the future of [...]
A science slam, in essence, is a format where young scientists and researchers are challenged to present their academic projects in an understandable and entertaining way. The problem: you only have exactly 10 minutes to do so. A few weeks back I was kindly invited by the organizers of Policult to take part in one [...]
There have been a number of documentaries dealing with the social and political impact of the greek crisis and particularly the violent rise of the neo-fascist party χρυσή αυγή - better known as golden dawn. Marsia Tzivara, a Greek filmmaker and video activist that has been living in Berlin for the past 2 years, takes a [...]
As the first year of Aesthetics of Crisis is swiftly coming to an end, I thought a thematic end of year review might be an interesting experiment. So here it is, a year in crisis street art, emerging from urban activism and social movements, featuring old and new icons, following no particular logic and informed [...]
After an eventful summer and a quiet autumn, I am happy to announce, that one of the projects I have been working on in the past months is finally out. The amazing people at sub\urban Zeitschrift für kritische Stadtforschung have included a photoessay of mine in their latest issue which explores the topic The Postpolitical City? If you read [...]
Since its founding in 2009 Stroke Art Fair has established itself as an international institution for urban contemporary art. Alternating between Berlin and Munich, it showcases a growing number of galleries and artists from the fields of illustration, design, street art, and everything in between. Traditionally, galleries have formed the focal point of action, yet this [...]
Even before the disastrous night of September 17 the month had witnessed some meaningful events. First, the squatted Athenian theatre project εμπρος was evicted and with it a space of autonomous and often transnational creative interventions. Furthermore the teachers of Greece took to the streets to protest extensive layoff plans. And then that Tuesday night the unthinkable happened: the [...]
