Recently, the Government of Greece has made a push to remove the graffiti that litters the streets of their cities, in particular Athens. Notorious for its abundant amounts of graffiti, Stadiou Street, located near Syntagma Square in Athen’s city center, had slogans, portraits, and gang affiliated graffiti work covering buildings, store fronts, and on archeological sites. A campaign by the government of the city of Athens recently completed a 20 day clean up process where Stadiou Street has been restored. It is an important step to clean up Stadiou Street, as it is located near many high end retail stores and receives lots of foot traffic from tourists. Yet, Athens and its suburbs, still have a lingering issue with the obsessive amounts of graffiti littering their public transportation, infrastructure, and historical sites, amongst other areas. Examples of the graffiti found in Athens can be viewed below.
As someone who prefers an urban setting over a rural location, graffiti gives the city of Athens even more life. Despite Athens being the largest city in Greece, with over 3 million people in the city and urban area, the artwork on every corner makes the city appear to be more chaotic and loud than truly is. Greeks are very gentle, quiet, and slower paced (in terms of lifestyle) than countries like the USA, China, UK, etc… The graffiti projects the thoughts trapped in their heads as a form of expression, which is displayed in what they decide to create. Many portraits, abstract thoughts, and beautiful colors are part of what I classify as “Greek Graffiti”, or graffiti that serves an artistic purpose. The difference between “Greek Graffiti” and other countries graffiti is that Greek graffiti could be found in a modern art museum such as the MOMA (USA) and The New Museum (USA), where as the “mindless” graffiti found elsewhere cannot be artistically appreciated.
Another wonderful aspect the graffiti adds to Greece is how it recreates foreign urban settings, like New York, placed in a sunny, warm, and nautical environment. Although New York is located near the water, it does not have the same warmth to it as does Athens or the rest of Greece. That being established, I really appreciate how the gritty, grey, and cold hearted spirit of New York meets the warm, sunny, and light hearted environment of Greece through the addition of graffiti. There is no other setting in the world where one can have access to the most wonderful beaches, weather, and people accompanied by the darkness graffiti attempts to portray the city with. It is truly a one of a kind situation that one must go see for themselves, and of course, check out the rest of Greece too.
The graffiti should not continued to be removed throughout Athens and its surrounding area. I understand the motives are to improve the appearance of high end retail and restore our cultures history (both of which I agree too). Excluding those two areas, schools, infrastructure, transportation, a long with other non financial and historical purposes should be left. It creates a sense of freedom, as people have the opportunity to show their thoughts on political and social issues, as well as display attractive art. The balance of a serious city and first world country, accompanied by the street art is what makes Athens my favorite city in Greece. Without the artwork, Athens would not be able to display its true colors of an artistic, thoughtful, and vibrant city. As a young adult, this is crucial. One must feel positive about their environment in order to contribute to it in a positive way. Due to the graffiti shedding a positive light on myself and other friends I have spoken with on such matter, it should be kept.
Of course there will be others who do not agree with my thoughts on this matter, yet there is a solution or happy medium the city of Athens and its citizens can come to. Obviously art and graffiti art a big part of Greeks, especially my age range (18-30’s), and cleaning walls will just make them “polluted” with graffiti again. That being said, the government should perhaps create a few city blocks or areas decorated with graffiti art, amongst other immediate solutions. Instead of creating many theories, I suggest one to visit Athens (if possible) in person, or google search the topic of graffiti in Athens, Greece. Gaining perspective of the situation will give one a better understanding of what the art represents along with appreciation of the artwork itself.
Below I have attached a few other images of popular graffiti murals and pieces from the city of Athens. All exemplify the creative nature and expression of freedoms by Greek individuals.
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