NEON, the Athens-based contemporary art initiative founded by collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, will conclude its activities later this year after 14 years. Its final project is a trilogy of exhibitions by artist Michael Rakowitz at the Acropolis Museum, with the last installment set for 2026. The organization also announced it has fulfilled its cultural and social mission.
NEON's closure marks the end of a significant force in Greece's contemporary art scene, which presented 44 exhibitions and commissioned over 100 new works, often in non-traditional public spaces. Its model of using the city as an exhibition space and its major philanthropic contributions, including a €1.4 million renovation of a tobacco factory into a culture center, had a transformative impact on the local arts infrastructure and increased international visibility for Greek artists.