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 [...]
If you've spent any time in Athens in the past year chances are you've stumbled upon a curious tag stating simply 1€ (or sometimes One Yuro), written compulsively all over the city. It can be found on obsolete urban objects and surfaces, parking barriers, electricity boxes, and vacant shop windows. At times the tag is accompanied [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
This interview with Tvboy, an Italian street artist and designer working both Milan and Barcelona, is the first one at Aesthetics of Crisis to look beyond the specific context of Athens. Even though he does not consider his work to be distinctly political, the context of the crisis has emerged for as a somewhat inevitable topic. [...]
If you stroll through any major European city, you will most likely find a paste-up, sticker, or tile by Hamburg-based artist Tona. So of course I was not surprised to find some of his signature artworks in Athens. However, the sheer amount of them seemed extraordinary. I got in touch with Tona and found out [...]
My first encounter with the short Spanish girl that goes by Galldindie was quite lucky: I found her spraying a wall in Exarcheia while I was just showing my new roommate the neighborhood. Naturally, I had to chat her up about the huge lion she was just painting. I found out she was an art [...]
