By Valia Nikolaidou,
September is usually a month dreaded by the majority of people because of our imminent need to fall out of our carefree summer days into our busy schedules and routines. However, many cultural events that are organized throughout Greece and the world in general, can inspire us and instigate our interests in the magnificent world of arts. More specifically, an annual event that has been going on for a few years now is the talk of the town in the multicultural capital of our country; the event is of course the Athens Art Book Fair.
The AABF is an international art book fair that takes place every September in various venues all around Athens. The Athens Art Book Fair aims at showcasing mainly local artists and art publishers whose medium is their printed works and promoting their portfolios to the – until now – limited market in Greece. Additionally, they hope to bring artistic items and publications (either in the physical or online form) from international publishing houses to the Greek audience.
The entrance to the events is always free and easily accessible to people with disabilities; this way the general public can be introduced to a flourishing artistic market and support local and international artists. Besides the significant impact that this event has on the cultural life of Athens, it also encourages the concept of multiculturalism and getting to shine a light on the works of talented modern foreign artists who not only showcase their art at the fair but also, visit it themselves, are in charge of their exhibitions and can converse with the attendees and answer any questions they might have.
The first book fair was organized in 2019 in Monastiraki, by two modern visual artists, Margarita Athanasiou and Michalis Pichler. Their love and devotion to the world of printed art and their avid occupation with social media, led to the creation of this excellent venture, which in its first year was mainly advertised by word of mouth among art buffs, thus giving it a more personal tone. Despite limited advertisement in the Greek media, it managed to gather a significant amount of visitors that not only were fascinated by the artworks but also supported the artists displayed there.
Moreover, the exhibitors already at the very first fair were truly from all around the world; local artists from every corner of Greece, as well as artists coming from various European countries and even, Iran and Japan. This definitely raised the stakes concerning the fair’s success and really put it on the map of new and interesting cultural events people should look for in Athens.
Sadly, because of COVID-19, the second organizing of the Athens Art Book Fair in September 2020 was postponed for the next year due to the extremely strict public health measures of the time. However, that bump in the road did not tarnish the fair’s success and impact. It came back stronger than ever in a local market in the neighborhood of Kypseli during the second weekend of September 2021.
Last year’s event focused mainly on local artists and art projects, as a way for the audiences to grasp the dangers that international traveling had at the time and instead give the chance to Greek artists to show their works and be in the spotlight this year’s event. The projects featured in the fair were distributed from established, independent, and experimental publishing houses in various forms such as books, art prints, poetry magazines, fanzines (a kind of magazine, usually produced by an amateur artist that focuses on a person or a form of entertainment), photo books and many other artistic endeavors.
This year’s Athens Art Book Fair takes place from September 23-25 in the Athens Conservatory. If you are in Athens during this time, definitely pay a visit to this excellent cultural event and you will certainly not be disappointed!
References
- Current Athens, currentathens.gr, Available here
- Athens Art Book Fair, athensartbookfair.gr, Available here
- Μαργαρίτα, τι θα βρούμε στους πάγκους του φετινού Athens Art Book Fair;, athinorama.gr, Available here
