Athens Unpacked Episode 8 - From Benefactors To Buskers

Athenians have always poured their pain into poetry, painting, and music. Thus, Greece’s well-documented economic woes fuelled a fertile decade of unprecedented cultural growth in its capital city.

 

Art moved out of buildings and into public spaces: from the grandest galleries and boxed-in museums; to pop-up exhibitions in disused shops, alternative culture hubs, and politically charged spray paint on neighborhood walls. In this bumper final episode, Sofka Zinovieff sets her sights on unpacking Athens’ wildly varied arts scene—and on untangling the fascinating marriage of big money and the arts. We’ll go in search of the boldest buskers and street murals, and hear how the great rivalry between two famous shipping tycoons transformed the city’s cultural landscape. (Clue: it involves an opera legend and former first lady).