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I just love this idea:  Empty storefronts become public art galleries, offering up and coming young artists exposure and revitalizing the urban landscape.  This December, the city of Athens is celebrating the arts in a whole bunch of ways (and further showing how life goes on in Greece in positive and revitalizing ways).

I’m excited about this idea not only because I believe it will bring folks downtown and offer something for those of us who aren’t all that interested in doing a lot of traditional shopping, but also because it reminds me so much of what they have done in Chicago on State Street as well as in many of Chicago’s neighborhoods, and I’ve seen that it does bring people out, create exposure for artists and in general, it just creates a special energy that makes you want to be a part of it all.

And it isn’t just the shopping streets that will be decorated this holiday season.  Syntagma Square, Athens main square and home to it’s central Christmas and holiday celebrations, will be dressed up for the holidays by children from elementary school’s throughout the city.

The fun begins on December 17, 2011, the same day that Holiday Shopping Hours take effect in Greece, and into the New Year, closing on January 7, 2012.  The center for the installations will probably be along Ermou Street, just off of Syntagma Square.  And while you’re strolling and enjoying the art in the window galleries, be sure to stop into “Shop” at 112 Ermou Street, to see if they still have anything on display from their late November/early December indoor art exhibit featuring  signed works by a number of Greek artists including Paulina Athanasopoulos, Antonia Kaplanis, Eleftheria Kotzaki, Erato Meletius, Dimitris Xanthopoulos, D. Panis, Eleftheria Petridou, Christina Spanos, Anthony Stoantzikis and Yota Tzirini.

 

 

By Athensguide

How does a little girl from Skokie, Illinois find herself in historical Athens, leading curious explorers through the winding streets of Plaka, down "pezodromos" to hidden ouzeries for tempting mezedhes and homemade barrel wine? The journey began more than twenty years ago, and regardless of whether the wanderlust comes from the spiritual and culture DNA flowing through my veins, or the alignment of the stars on that cold mid-December day this Sagitterian came into the world, I never seem to tire of exploring my adopted homeland of Greece. Here you'll join me as I explore Athens: be it the back streets of Psirri and Gazi, or through the National Gardens and Zappeio where a family of turtles makes their home, or down wide, treelined Imittou Street in Pagrati, which pulses with Athenian life 24 hours a day. And while Athens has stolen my heart, the rest of Greece vies for my curiousity and wanderlust. My two guys (that'd be the Greek God, Vasilis and our Greek dog, Scruffy) and I can often be found settling in for a long weekend in some charming mountain village, or a quaint fishing port on a nearby island, or learning how Greek vitners are producing wines that rival some of Napa Valley's finests productions, or celebrating a panayeri in Epirus or sharing in the festivities as a family of Cretan sheepherders come together to sheer their 1500 sheep in the spring ... And if you happen to find yourself heading to Athens, consider finding yourself a real home for your stay. Living amongst the locals, be it for 3 nights or 3 weeks, will offer you the chance to experience true Athens, beyond the Acropolis. Choose from one of our 5 beautiful penthouse and historical homes, and who knows, I may be leading you down that winding "pezodromo" to our favorite hidden ouzerie!