Collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos’s NEON to Conclude After ‘Having Fulfilled Its Mission’
NEON, the Athens-based contemporary art initiative founded by collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, will conclude later this year after 14 years, saying it has fulfilled its cultural and social mission. Its final program is a trilogy of exhibitions by Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz titled “Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures,” begun in May 2025 at the Acropolis Museum, with a second installment opening last October. The final chapter will be a new Rakowitz commission installed at the Old Acropolis Museum when it reopens in the second half of 2026 after a 19-year renovation, marking the first contemporary artwork installed at the ancient site. Under director Elina Kountouri, NEON presented 44 exhibitions, commissioned more than 100 new works (nearly three-quarters by Greek artists), and funded infrastructure projects including a €1.4 million renovation of the former Public Tobacco Factory, transferred to the Hellenic Parliament in 2023.
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This story was covered in Biennales Under Fire, A.I. Rewrites the Canon