Art News | October's must-see exhibitions

From Athens and Thessaloniki to Milan: five reasons to fill your agenda with art

• By Chrysa Kakiori

all aboard — Athens International Airport

The all aboard exhibition “takes off” art at Athens Airport. Curated by Kostas Prapoglou, 40 artists set up installations, videos, sculptures and actions inside the Express Facility, next to the western corridor, transforming waiting into an experience and the airport into an “archive of suspended intentions”. It is one of the few large-scale projects internationally that dare to combine space-flow-spectator, with the sound of departures becoming a poetic substrate. A must for those who want to see how the in-between time of travel acquires aesthetics and meaning. From October 9 to November 9.

Protolea — Benaki Museum / Piraeus 138

The Benaki Museum “reads” the early writings of eleven leading Greek artists (Vassiliou, Ghika, Tsarouchis, Moralis, Tassos, Katraki, Spyropoulos, Kontopoulos, Mytaras, Gaitis, Chrysa Romanou). The exhibition maps ideas and motifs that were born in the first works and took root in their mature, recognizable language. It is an essential lesson in the “anatomy” of artistic development: how a gestural trace, a color economy or a thematic obsession are transformed into a signature. A framework exhibition for art lovers and professionals, with solid documentation and a clear curatorial goal. From October 2 to January 11, 2026.

Ancient Greece — Theme Park, Thessaloniki (THEXI HELEXPO)

The blockbuster production by Sotiris Tsafoulias, with historical curation by Thanos Veremis, travels to Thessaloniki after successful stops in Budapest and Athens. The first theme park with faithful replicas from the Archaeological Museum, is an impressive, interactive, immersive experience dedicated to Ancient Greek Civilization. In 3,000 sq.m. Sparta, Athens, Macedonia, Troy and Thermopylae come to life. Technology, science and inventions, in a combination of faithful replicas of statues and immersive storytelling for young and old.

It is not a classic exhibition, but a thematic environment with an educational character, useful for schools, but also for adults who want an “accessible” introductory panorama of the ancient world.

Giorgio Armani: Milano, per amore — Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Giorgio Armani is the thread that runs through this exhibition: present until the last weeks of his life, he worked on the selection and arrangement of the garments himself, tried on compositions, edited details. After his death, on September 4, 2025, the project was transformed into a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the house, with an elegant farewell show in the Brera atrium with friends and collaborators, which seemed like a bow to “Re Giorgio”.

At the Pinacoteca di Brera, more than 120 of his creations are placed among Caravaggio, Raphael, Bellini, revealing how Armani's refined neutrality and light tailoring can be read as a cultural language in the museum space. Fashion does not "invade" the paintings, but converses with them, as if they share the same palette of light and shadow. Until January 11, 2026, a good reason to travel to Milan.

UNESCO Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects - Online

UNESCO presented on September 29 in Barcelona, ​​a digital museum of stolen cultural goods, aiming to raise awareness and repatriate them. Designed by award-winning architect Francis Coré and funded by Saudi Arabia, the project is organized into “rooms” (Auditorium, Stolen Objects Gallery, Return & Restitution Room) and collaborates with Interpol and international databases.

An educational tool for the general public — and a valuable resource for journalists, researchers, museologists. The innovative digital initiative allows the public to browse 3D representations of works that have been lost to looting and illegal trade. A unique initiative, it is exactly the kind of innovation we want from international organizations, at a time when organized crime networks dominate.