🏆 EMST Athens wins the European Art Museum Award 2026

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) has been awarded the European Art Museum Award 2026, one of Europe’s significant museum distinctions, presented by the European Museum Academy in recognition of the social role of museums. The award ceremony took place on Saturday, 26 September, in Alicante, Spain.

The award honours museums that place art within innovative contexts and seek to contribute to addressing contemporary social challenges.

Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture, said:

“The international recognition of the National Museum of Contemporary Art marks an important moment for Greek culture and a major achievement for EMST, its people, and everyone who has worked with dedication and passion to shape its contemporary, outward-looking and dynamic course.

As an institution supervised by the Ministry of Culture, EMST is one of the important pillars of our cultural policy for contemporary creativity. Its growing international presence confirms that Greece is not only a country with an invaluable cultural heritage, but also a country that produces, supports and promotes contemporary artistic practice and creativity.

The “Georgios N. Papanikolaou” Museum was officially inaugurated in Kymi, Evia, on Friday, September 11, by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Constantine An. Tassoulas, honoring the life, work, and enduring scientific legacy of the distinguished Greek physician and researcher Georgios N. Papanikolaou (1883–1962).

🌊🎨 NO BLUE NO FUTURE

A Group Exhibition of Contemporary Art & Marine Ecology

📍 Athens Municipal Art Gallery
📅18 September – 18 October 2026

No Blue No Future brings together contemporary art and marine science in a dialogue that invites us to reconsider our relationship with the ocean — not as a distant horizon, but as a living ecosystem and an essential condition of life.

Curated by Nina Fragkopoulou, PhD in Marine Biology and independent curator, the exhibition brings together nineteen distinguished contemporary artists alongside Yiannis Issaris, PhD in Oceanography and Marine Biology, researcher, underwater photographer and filmmaker.

Through painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video and underwater imagery, the participating artists explore the sea as both landscape and living organism, while reflecting on the profound impact of human activity: pollution, overfishing, the climate crisis and the movement of populations.

Participating artists:
Angelos Antonopoulos · Elena Antonopoulou · Thalassini Douma · Eleni Zouni · Marion Igglesi · Aris Katsilakis · Maro Kerasioti · Angeliki Loi · Michalis Manousakis · Christina Mitrentsche · Nikos Moschos · Pandora Mouriki · Antonia Papatzanaki · Vasilis Pafilis · Dimitra Skandali · Giorgos Stamatakis · Panagiotis Tanimanidis · Vicky Tsalamata · Platon Alexis Chatzimichalis · Yiannis Issaris