Athens has a bustling gallery scene, bursting with creativity. There’s always something to see. Here’s a round of exhibitions taking place this month.

Athens Municipal Gallery (51 Panagioti Tsaldari St. Omonia, tel 210 323 1841)

The exhibition titled “Athens, 180 Years the Capital of Greece” is dedicated to the city of Athens. More than a hundred paintings, etchings and sculptures from the collection of the Municipal Gallery are open to the public showing changes to Athens from the past to the present. During the exhibition there will be several educational programs, tours, and various events for the public to get acquainted with the collections and engage into dialogue on issues of the city’s cultural identity.
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hellenic American Union (22 Massalias St. Tel 210 368 0900)

The HAU presents archival material curated by journalist Nikos Vatopoulos. The subject matter of the exhibit, “Athens. The Spirit of the ’60s: A Changing Capital”. It presents photographs originating mostly from private archives, as well as postcards, magazines, etc., which transpose us to the atmosphere and urban setting of the ’60s. Particular emphasis is placed on the social change which transpired between the late ’50s and the imposition of the dictatorship in 1967. The new buildings—many of which became landmarks, such as the Athens Hilton—, the new mores, consumerism, connection with the international tourist networks, are some of the themes showcased by Nikos Vatopoulos, who curated the exhibit’s material with a view to bringing to life the mark and aura of that age. There will be a talk by Nikos Vatopoulos, titled “Athens during the 1960s” at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 21, at the HAU as part of the display. A guided tour of the exhibition will take place at 7.30 p.m. on Friday, December 5.
The display runs from noon to 9 p.m. from monday to Friday and from 10.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. on Saturday.

Eugenides Foundation (387 Syngrou Avenue, Paleo Faliro. Tel 210 946 9600)
The exhibition “100 years General State Archives, 500 years of history” is based on nine sections and includes archival material covering five centuries, from the 17th century until the beginning of the 21st. The sections follow the basic chronological periods of Greek history. A special tenth section is devoted to the presentation of the collection of John Vlachogiannis, the founder of General State Archives.
Open from Wednesday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on the weekend from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Open C.A.S.E. 303 (303 Kifissias Avenue, Kifissia, tel 21 406 4986)

Kostis Triantafyllou’s “Hot Line” focuses on the energy of lightning.
Runs through to November 29. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wedesday to Saturda.

Melina Mercouri Cultural Center (66 Herakleidon St. Thisseion, tel 210 345 2150)

Devrim Erbil presents his individual painting exhibition, titled “From Turkey With Love…” The 3D works use a number of techniques and a series of lyric represntations of Constantinople.
Runs through to November 11 with free admission. open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Michael Cacoyannis Foundation (206 Pireos St, Tavros, tel 210 341 8550)

Photographer Stelios Baklavas’ “Swirling Dance Energy” captures moments from dance. The artist says: “I’ve been photographing the dancing movement for 16 years now, and the time has come for this joy to be converted to an aura of energy of the body. The body dances, and at the same time what is there, before us, it simultaneously gets transformed into a non physical entity. A trip to the magical world of the moment, and at the same time on losing that moment, a pass through a dimension of non-existence. At this interval we have the “Swirling”, which shows us what exists, or what we think that exists, and leads through secret passages of the image and the thought. The body, a tree trunk with several thousand years registered on it, leads us to enjoy it’s uniqueness and the landscape of mystical energy that offers, and stretch our senses upon the waves of it’s oceanic beauty, and dive inside the uniqueness of our own existence…”
Runs through to November 26. Open daily from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with free admission.

Ktirio tis Odou Kykladon 8 (8 Kykladon St. Kypseli)

Panos Charalambous’ “Aquis Submersus” is a project showing the allegory of “life and death” using a great variety of materials (such as residues of natural disasters and hundreds of vinyl records) in order to create a bizarre record library before it all falls into silence.
Runs through to January 31, 2015 with free admission. Open on Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

Benaki Museum (138 Pireos St, Tavros, tel 210 345 3111)
* Venia Dimitrakopoulou’s “Bastions” is a sculptural installation of monumental scale made of iron. The work refers to a hypothetical conflict situation, to the state of being on guard, on the ramparts, in the resistance. Equally powerful with the heavy material of the project is the presence of both the shadow in the surroundings -whether created by natural or artificial means- and the sound, intangible elements which introduce the dimension of time and movement at the installation, commenting on the nature and the limits of sculptural form itself and its materiality.
Runs through to February 8 with free admission. Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
* “Depression Era” depicts the urban and social landscape of the economic crisis with a mosaic of different narratives and ideas. For the past three years, 36 artists, writers, architects, journalists, and researchers have been collaborating, actively engaging in political, social and aesthetic dialogue. The result is this work.
Runs through to January 11, 2015 with free admission. Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Argo Gallery (5 Neofytou Douka St. 210 724 9333)

George Megoulas’ individual exhibition, titled “Balanced Values”, presents a series of sculptures crafted in bronze and porcelain.
Runs through to December 4, 2014, with free admission. Opening times are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6-10 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Gallery 7 (cnr of 20 Solonos and Voukourestiou sts, tel 210 361 2050)
Anastasia Karvela’s exhibition, titled “Present Absences”, features two-dimensional banners and small mixed media constructions that combine acrylic, charcoal, collage, metal, wood and plexiglass. She focuses on the concept of physical absence and highlight’s how deslolate spaces indicate our passive acceptance of society’s ills.
Admission is free. Open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Cervantes Institute (23 Mitropoleos St, tel 210 363 4117)

Dimitris Perdikidis’ works (1922-1989) are of particular interest as part of Greek and Spanish art of the 20th century. Perdikidis graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts and in 1953 he went to Spain on a scholarship till1985, when he returned to Athens and died in 1989. In 1958 he won the First Prize of Engraving School of Graphic Arts of Madrid and in 1961 the Critics Prize together with Juan Bartolo and the silver medal of the International Prize of Abstract Art of the Kaspe gallery in Lausanne.The exhibition comprises 30 projects in four sections and different base materials, which belong to the Foundation Catherine Laskarides and in a private collection.

From September 23 through to December 20. Open from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum (cnr of Karyatidon and 12 Kallisperi sts, Plaka, tel 210-9221044)

Collector and geologist Costas Manakou’s display includes a unique exhibition with minerals and fossils from all over the world: from Brazil and Peru to Canada, from Madagascar and Congo to Morocco, from India and China to Australia, from Mount Vesuvius to Etna till the North Pole! The display includes many different artifacts from all over the world that allow visitors to learn about igneous, volcanic, and plutonic rocks as created by the solidification of magma inside the Earth’s crust, as well as samples of sedimentary rocks formed at the bottom of seas, lakes, and rivers. Learn the basics of geology, how our planet was developed, and what may happen in the future.

Runs through to December 31. Admission at 5 euros and 4 euros for students, pensioners and groups. Open on Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 11a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Eleftherios Venizelos Athens International Airport (Attiki Highway, Spata, tel 210 353 7227)

* The airport’s new exhibition, “Close to the grove, orchard of the Goddess Athena” is a major collaboration of Athens International Airport and the Hellenic Folklore Research Centre of the Academy of Athens: Through Andreas Smaragdis’ unique photographs, travelers and guests will have the opportunity to tour the place which the gods chosen as their garden and temple, a place that underwent a complete transformation during the 20th century! Through the exhibition “Close to the grove, orchard of the Goddess Athena”, the photographic lens discovers the landscape of the sacred grove, trying to objectively capture some nuggets of the myth, as well as man’s timeless interventions. Thus, these photographs that portray different angles function like mirrors depicting the social and cultural groups that marked this great site.

Runs through to December 31. The exhibition is open found the clock at the Arrivals Level, Entrance 1, and is accessible at 24×7 round the clock. Admission is free, everyone is welcome.

* “Feel Free to Feel Green” brings a sense of a natural landscape to the airport as Greek and foreign artists use video art, animation, installations and digital image projects to reflect on people’s relationship with the natural environment.

Runs through to December 31. Admission is free.

* Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” and the Voluntary Organisation for Children “The Smile of the Child” present the creative arts exhibition “Traveling the world with a kid’s suitcase” which includes artworks of the young friends of “Playground”, the playground established by “The Smile of the Child” for ​​the children/passengers’ creative engagement at the airport.

At the children’s Playground. Runs through to December 31.

Frysira Museum (3 Monis Asteriou St. Plaka, tel 210 3234678)

Painting III (2000-2015) is the third and final part of a trilogy of exhibitions presented at the museum examining the evolution of figurative painting in Greece and Europe during the past two decades of the 20th century. The participating artists are Asgar/ Gabriel, Bisky Norbert, Bitsikas Xenophon, Boviatsou Labrini, Brann Renaud, Djurdjevic Biljana, Giannaroudis Kostas, Hahn Adam Raphael, Katsipanos Theofilos, Komu Riyas, Kontellis Andreas, Kourkouvelos Giorgos, Krystalla Aspasia, Ksiazek Bogumil, Lalas Thanassis, Lambrinidis Panayiotis, Leglise Frederic, Lellouche Brice, Levente Hermann, Loutz Frederique, Luan Xiao Jie, Maciejowski Marcin, Michalakopoulou Eleni, Melanitis Yiannis, Mertilis Aris, Pahlavi Axel, Papakostas Achilleas, Plessas Kostas, Ploiaridis Vaggelis, Pantazis Dimitris, Pouyandeh Nazanin, Rabus Leopold, Sarassitis Dimitris, Shi Xiang, Siebert Uta, Spyropoulos Giorgos, Stamatiadi Daniella, Tift Andrew, Tinei Alexander, Todorovic Milos, Tzamouranis Dimitris, Varelas Yiannis, Vasmoulakis Alexandros, Vaviloussakis Konstantinos, Veroucas Alexis, Wnek Grzegorz, Xafopoulou Alexia, Ziogas Yiannis.

Runs through to March 1, 2015. General admission at 6 euros and 3 euros for seniors and students. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Wednesday-Friday) and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.