Centring on the city and seeking to bring art to the broadest possible audience, NEON has pioneered an innovative way of working and championed public-private partnership. Over the last ten years, and in line with the philosophy of its founder Dimitris Daskalopoulos, NEON has developed a model for citizen engagement and artist involvement, collaborating with public-sector bodies and other cultural stakeholders to showcase contemporary art in public space as a means of enhancing both the urban environment and the daily lives of citizens.

Dimitris Daskalopoulos, philanthropist and founder of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection and NEON is awarded an OBE in 2023 UK Honours List in recognition of his services to the arts and philanthropy Dimitris Daskalopoulos’s belief in the power of art to bring people together, enrich lives, act as a catalyst for change and expand cultural understanding, has underpinned his dedication and involvement in the British art scene for over 25 years.

First international presentation of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bleat at the 61st New York Film Festival draws massive applause. The second commission of the Artist on the Composer programme –run by the Greek National Opera and NEON– was given its international premiere in New York to great success. Accompanied by live music ensembles, Bleat was presented on Wednesday, 4 October 2023 inside a packed Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center as part of the 61st New York Film Festival.

One of the oldest and most important film festivals in the USA, the New York Film Festival, will be hosting the US premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bleat, accompanied by live music ensembles and starring Emma Stone and Damien Bonnard. Commissioned for the program The Artist on the Composer, Bleat is a co-production between the Greek National Opera  and NEON and is curated by GNO Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis and NEON Director Elina Kountouri.

After three years of residence at the former Public Tobacco Factory on Lenorman Street, and the successful organisation of two internationally-acclaimed contemporary art exhibitions, NEON delivers to the Hellenic Parliament a new, renovated, nationally and internationally recognised building to serve as a new centre of contemporary culture.

NEON presents a talk by Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn followed by a conversation with art historian Dimitris Paleocrassas on Thursday 3 November at 7pm at the former Public Tobacco Factory, admission free. The artist will talk about his work, and more specifically about the installation Cavemanman currently on view at the at the former Public Tobacco Factory as part of the group exhibition Dream On.

Chloe Carroll is the winner of the 2020 NEON Curatorial Award for her proposal, Illuminations.  The award was established in 2012 to champion curatorial excellence, and was part of an ongoing partnership between the Whitechapel Gallery and NEON.

NEON, in collaboration with the Embassy of Greece in London, presents the exhibition Doomed companions, unsubstantial shades at the Hellenic Residence in London. The exhibition brings together the legacy of Nobel laureate Greek poet and diplomat Giorgos Seferis with the work of twelve Greek-speaking contemporary artists reflecting on the themes of identity, nostalgia and trauma in the current socio-political condition.

Due to the forecast for adverse weather conditions and heavy rain which usually results in particularly difficult access to Lenorman Street, we inform you that the exhibition Dream On will remain closed on August 24^th and 25^th. Should you wish to visit on another date and time, please select a new slot via neon.artsvp.co. Thank you and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

NEON joins the newly founded ground-breaking alliance of art institutions from 28 countries across the world to form the World Weather Network, creating an international digital platform of artistic creation in response to global climate crisis and presents 112, Climate Tone, a contemporary art project with a focus on climate change and the environmental crisis as an urgent and ongoing condition. In this context, three weather stations will be created – sonic, visual and dialogue-based – that will supply material to the World Weather Network online platform with the intention to broadcast an alert for the climate.

For a second consecutive year, NEON activates the emblematic building of the former Public Tobacco Factory as part of its collaboration with the Hellenic Parliament to present Dream On, a contemporary art exhibition that celebrates art in the public space. Curated by Dimitris Paleocrassas, Art historian and consultant of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection, Dream On brings together 18 large-scale installations from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection by Greek and international artists, as well as a newly commissioned work, and 20 drawings.

A major body of important contemporary artworks from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection will be donated to 4 museums, in 3 countries over 2 continents to create a pioneering network of collaborations and synergies. A private collection will become a resource for the public benefit through leading institutions in Athens, Chicago, New York and the United Kingdom. Over 350 works by 142 artists from the Collection are to be giſted, including 140 to EMST, around 100 jointly to the Guggenheim and MCA Chicago, and 110 to Tate.

The publication of the exhibition Portals is now available only in NEON Shop, operating at the former Public Tobacco Factory until December 31st, 2021. Available in Greek and English, the publication includes introductory texts, analyses by the two curators while all artists are presented with explanatory texts and photographs. The NEON Shop operates at the former Public Tobacco Factory during exhibition opening hours.

Due to the upcoming inclement weather conditions, the exhibition Portals will open tomorrow Saturday 4/12 from 16:00 to 20:00. If you wish, you can reschedule your visit by making a new booking via neon.artsvp.co. Thank you and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Due to the adverse weather conditions and the heavy rain, the access to Lenorman Street is particularly difficult. For this reason the exhibition Portals will remain closed today Friday 26/11.  If you wish, you can reschedule your visit by making a new booking via neon.artsvp.co. Thank you and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

We would like to inform you that the exhibition Portals will remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday 27 October, due to a National Day of Mourning for the loss of Fofi Gennimata. If you wish, you can reschedule your visit by making a new booking via neon.artsvp.co. Thank you and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Due to the adverse weather conditions and the heavy rain, the access to Lenorman Street is particularly difficult. For this reason the exhibition Portals will remain closed today Thursday 14/10 and tomorrow Friday 15/10.  If you wish, you can reschedule your visit by making a new booking via neon.artsvp.co. Thank you and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

As you plan upcoming visits to Portals please review our most up-to-date visitor policies in accordance with the health authorities’ requirements, in effect from Monday 13 September onward.

Due to the continuing current harmful air quality in the centre of Athens and in accordance with the instructions of the National Observatory of Athens to remain indoors, we inform you that the exhibition Portals will remain closed until Sunday 8 August. A new announcement will follow soon about the opening hours of the next week. Our thoughts go out to those most affected at this difficult time.

Due to the heat wave and in order to provide the best experience during your visit, the exhibition Portals at the former Public Tobacco Factory changes opening hours for the next couple of days! Join us on Thursday July 1^st and Friday July 2^nd from 5 to 10pm. Entrance is free, by timed ticket booked in advance only neon.artsvp.co Those who have a reservation for those days can attend during those hours 5-10pm with the existing reservation and do not need to rebook.

The emblematic building of the former Public Tobacco Factory opens its doors for the first time, introducing a new contemporary cultural centre in Athens, open to all. A collaboration between the Hellenic Parliament and NEON to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence. The new 6,500m² cultural space, renovated with funding from NEON, will be inaugurated by an international group exhibition, Portals, featuring 59 artists from 27 countries including 15 new site-specific installations commissioned by NEON.

The contemporary art exhibition Portals featuring 59 artists from 27 countries including 15 new site-specific works commissioned by NEON will open on 11 June in the renovated spaces of the former Public Tobacco Factory – Hellenic Parliament Library & Printing House, as part of the collaboration between the Hellenic Parliament and NEON. The exhibition is curated by Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON, and Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

The renovation of the former Public Tobacco Factory - Parliament Library and Printing House is complete. This ambitious restoration project, financed by NEON and gifted back to the Greek state, will host the Cultural Programme of Contemporary Art 2021 from June 12 through the end of December 2021. The Program aims to make the former Tobacco Factory stand out as a contemporary cultural and social space – open to all – that functions as a dynamic hub for meeting and exchanging ideas.  The new cultural hub will also host the exhibition Portals as part of the Cultural Programme, a collaboration between the Hellenic Parliament and NEON.

The Hellenic Parliament and NEON are delighted to announce the Cultural Program of Contemporary Art 2021 to be held at the former Public Tobacco Factory – Hellenic Parliament Library & Printing House, 218 Lenorman Street. As part of the collaboration NEON is funding the remodelling of the Tobacco Factory. From June to December 2021 the former Tobacco Factory will host the exhibition Portals organized by NEON and curated by Elina Kountouri, Director, NEON, and Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

NEON’s educational programme Is this Art?, an innovative approach to the art education of young people, is the first programme of its kind to be held in Greece. The programme was co-designed and implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Children’s Museum, and over the past six years has addressed more than 16,200 middle school students.

Honouring its collaboration with the Ministry of Culture & Sports, ΝΕΟΝ continues to activate archaeological sites through contemporary art with the proud presentation of Richard Long’s Athens Slate Line,positioned leading up to the shrine of Dionysos Eleuthereus on the South Slope of the Acropolis of Athens. The project is part of the initiative All of Greece, One Culture. 21 July - 30 September 2020  

NEON and the Athens & Epidaurus Festival are pleased to announce a newly commissioned site-specific installation by Greek artist Dionisis Kavallieratos at the Odeon of Herod Atticus, Athens. The exhibition Disoriented dance / Misled planet is part of NEON City Project 2020 and will be the first ever contemporary art exhibition to be staged in this ancient venue situated below the Acropolis.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2020 Curator, Art Historian and Museologist Katerina Gregos will discuss with Director of Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Orestis Andreadakis. An online discussion around contemporary culture and the current challenges in the era of social distancing enforced by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Moderated by journalist Maria Katsounaki. The conversation will be will be live-streamed on NEON’s YouTube channel and questions may be submitted in advance, by Monday 25 May 2020, via e-mail at talks@neon.org.gr.

NEON, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture & Sports, is launching the independent microsite contemporaryheritage.neon.org.gr to highlight the interaction between the past and contemporary culture.The microsite will use NEON material from its contemporary art exhibitions in archaeological and historical sites from 2014 to the present and will be enriched with material from future exhibitions and collaborations between NEON and the Ministry of Culture. Visit contemporaryheritage.neon.org.gr for more

A Conversation with Dr. Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic & Dimitris Daskalopoulos Founder, NEON on the occasion of the launch of contemporaryheritage.neon.org.gr . Watch Live on NEON YouTube channel. The Conversation will be moderated by Syrago Tsiara, Deputy Director MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art.

After Nikos Navridis’ first and very successful installation, the programme The Artist on the Composer, a three-year collaboration between the Greek National Opera and the Organization for Culture and Development NEON brings to Greece the great Greek internationally acclaimed director Yorgos Lanthimos with Emma Stone and Damien Bonnard.

NEON invites participants to submit their application for the Grants & Scholarships Program 2020.

Annika Thiems is the winner of the 2019 NEON Curatorial Award for her proposal, On Air On Water.

NEON is pleased to present Lynda Benglis: In the Realm of the Senses at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens. The guest curator is the distinguished writer, critic and art historian, Dr. David Anfam. Devoted to Lynda Benglis’s highly original and prolific output in diverse media, this is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in a country that has played a major role in her life and vision: Greece. Spanning half a century from 1969 onwards, the select survey of thirty-six sculptures – amounting to a concise retrospective – will occupy the intimate spaces of the Stathatos Mansion, displaying a wide spectrum of Benglis’s materials, imagery and ideas.

NEON CITY PROJECT 2019 reopens a former office space in the center of Athens to present Stock Images, a photography exhibition of Panos Kokkinias, commissioned by NEON. | Sofokleous 4, Athens | Mon - Tue Closed | Wed - Fri 12.00 - 20.00 | Sat 11.00 - 20.00 | Sun 10.00 - 18.00

NEON in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades present the exhibition The Palace at 4 a.m. at the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos. 18.05 – 31.10.2019

NEON is proud to present SIGHT an unprecedented site-specific exhibition by Antony Gormley, in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, on the archaeological site and the Museum of Delos Island. 2 May - 31 October 2019

NEON and the Greek National Opera present the project THE ARTIST ON THE COMPOSER with first commission to Greek artist Nikos Navridis. 5 January, 3 & 10 February 2019, 18:30 & 20:30 | Greek National Opera - Stavros Niarchos Hall

NEON invites participants to submit their application for the Grants & Scholarships Program 2019.

NEON & Whitechapel Gallery is pleased to announce Olivia Aherne as the winner of the 2018 NEON Curatorial Award.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum celebrated the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and philanthropists Dimitris Daskalopoulos and Alice Walton on November 15 at the 2018 Guggenheim International Gala Benefit Dinner in the museum’s landmark Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building.

NEON CITY PROJECT 2018 presents the exhibition PROSAIC ORIGINS by Andreas Lolis in the British School at Athens garden. OPENING HOURS | WED-SUN: 10.00-18.00

NEON is pleased to present an exhibition of New York-based artist Paul Chan at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, guest-curated by Sam Thorne, Director of Nottingham Contemporary.

ΝΕΟΝ in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades presents the group exhibition of contemporary art Constellations in the dirt, on the site of the presently formed Kouphonisi Archaeological Collection (former elementary school of Kouphonisi).

The Whitechapel Gallery and NEON invite emerging young curators to apply for the 7th annual NEON Curatorial Exchange 2018.

NEON invites participants to submit their application for the GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS program 2018.

NEON and Whitechapel Gallery is pleased to announce Caterina Avataneo as the winner of the 2017 NEON Curatorial Award.

NEON presents the first monographic exhibition of Mike Kelley in Athens, Fortress of Solitude. Opening | 16 November, 7pm | Museum of Cycladic Art, Stathatos Mansion

NEON CITY PROJECT 2017 presents the Greek artist Kostis Velonis and his new installation A Puppet Sun, for the historical residency at Kaplanon 11, Kolonaki. Wednesday - Friday | 12.00 - 20.00

EXHIBITION CLOSED | Thank you for sharing with us The Theater of Disappearance

NEON, in collaboration with artist Michael Landy, invites you to participate in his first exhibition in Greece with the title BREAKING NEWS – ATHENS. Upload here images that capture contemporary Athens and its social and political landscape, news headlines, events of everyday life, texts, symbols and logos, aphorisms and slogans on the streets.

The Whitechapel Gallery and NEON invite emerging young curators to apply for the 6th annual NEON Curatorial Exchange.

NEON invites participants to submit their application for the SCHOLARSHIPS program 2017/2018 which includes Postgraduate Studies Abroad (Masters) and Completion of Doctoral Studies (Ph.D).

NEON invites you to participate to the GRANTS program 2017/2018 for Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Performance and Dance Productions. More info

Warm Wishes for a Happy New Year!

NEON and Whitechapel Gallery are pleased to announce Emily Riddle as the winner of the 2016 NEON Curatorial Award.

NEON presents the installation 'The Performance' by Zafos Xagoraris, as part of the CITY PROJECT, curated by Katerina Gregos. View photos from the Opening of the CITY PROJECT.

NEON presents the exhibition Flying over the Αbyss – Η Υπέρβαση της Άβυσσος at the new cultural space in Athens Conservatoire. Exhibition's Opening | Photos | Friday 18 November 2016

Ideas City Athens Residency Program ended with an all-day Public Conference open to the public, which filled the building of the Athens Conservatoire with new ideas & concerns for our City. Speakers and Fellows of IdeasCity turned Athens into a multifunctional hub of cultural activity.

Forty International Fellows, selected from over 1.400 Applicants, will participate in a Five-day residency program in Athens leading up to the Public Conference on Saturday 24 September at 11am – 7pm

NEON has collaborated with the historic Athens Conservatoire to complete renovations a 1,800 sq.m space, which remained closed for four decades in the first basement of the historic Conservatoire building. ΝΕΟΝ and its founder Dimitris Daskalopoulos funded a 180,000 Euro refurbishment creating a new cultural venue for Athens.

Read the online version of the book NEON Community Project | Aigaleo City, curated by locus athens (in Greek).

NEON Community Project Kypseli - The Ring | 30 May - 5 June | Municipal cinema STELLA | UPDATED Program & Participants

New Museum & NEON | Residency program for IdeasCity Athens | September 19–24, 2016 | Application deadline: June 15, 2016 | For submission guidelines or to apply, please visit ideas-city.org

Special edition for the project AS ONE | Issue Two

Special Edition for the project AS ONE | Issue One

Detailed Program (5-24 April) with the activities of the project AS ONE presented by NEON + MAI (Marina Abramović Institute)

Frequently Asked Questions about the AS ONE project by NEON + MAI

Detailed Program (10 March - 3 April) with the activities of the project AS ONE presented by NEON + MAI (Marina Abramović Institute)

NEON and MAI (Marina Abramović Institute) are pleased to announce a major collaboration taking place in Athens this March at the Benaki Museum | 10 March - 24 April 2016

NEON is pleased to announce an extensive program of exhibitions, educational initiatives and institutional collaborations for 2016.

NEON and Whitechapel Gallery are pleased to announce Joseph Constable and Rebecca Edwards as the winners of the 2015 NEON Curatorial Award. This is the first year in which two winning curators have been selected.

NEON and Marina Abramović Institute are seeking facilitators for the Abramović Method, which will take place in Athens as part of a large show from March 10th to April 24th, 2016.

NEON and Marina Abramovic Institute are seeking established and practicing Greek artists working in all forms of performance to create new long-durational performances for an exhibition in March and April 2016.

NEON’s exhibition ‘Flying over the Abyss’, previously presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete, now tours at the Contemporary Art Centre of Thessaloniki.

NEON, in collaboration with Fondazione Merz, presents the exhibition of Mario Merz, one of the most significant artists of the Arte Povera movement, at the Museum of Cycladic Art.

From 9 September until 31 October, NEON presents the exhibition A Transfer, by Maria Loizidou at the archaeological site of Kerameikos, as part of the CITY PROJECT program for 2o15

NEON and the Whitechapel Gallery present the exhibition Terrapolis at the Garden of French School at Athens. 27 May - 26 July 2015

NEON is pleased to announce an extensive program of exhibitions, educational initiatives and institutional collaborations for 2015.

NEON will present an exhibition of works by Tino Sehgal in and around the Roman Agora in Athens from 25 September to 28 October 2014.

NEON and the Whitechapel Gallery are proud to present A THOUSAND DOORS, the first major collaboration in Athens between the two organizations at the Gennadius Library. 4 May – 30 June 2014

NEON presents in Athens at the Museum of Cycladic Art, the work of the prolific German artist Martin Kippenberger, with works from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection and the Estate Martin Kippenberger, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne.

First UK Performance| Primal Matter - Dimitris Papaioannou, Edinburgh 2013