DESTE Foundation Unveils 2026 Season Across Hydra and Athens
The DESTE Foundation's 2026 summer program spans two Greek locations with three major exhibitions. On Hydra, the Slaughterhouse project space hosts Nari Ward's "Until That Day" (June 23–October 31, 2026), a site-specific installation exploring the African diaspora in Greece through sculpture and sound, featuring Afro-Greek musicians performing a response to Haile Selassie's 1963 UN address. In Athens, the DESTE Foundation presents "Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation" (June 18–November 26, 2026), curated by Massimiliano Gioni with Calvin Wang and Taeyi Kim, drawing from the Dakis Joannou Collection to examine artists born 1960–1980, including Maurizio Cattelan, Wolfgang Tillmans, Kara Walker, Chris Ofili, Elizabeth Peyton, Olafur Eliasson, Matthew Barney, Gabriel Orozco, and Urs Fischer. Simultaneously, the Benaki Museum hosts "Aleksandra Waliszewska: Irruption of Antiquity" (June 3–September 27, 2026), curated by Alison M. Gingeras, pairing sixteen paintings by Waliszewska with objects from Neolithic to modern Greece, inspired by Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne Atlas. The season connects through shared artists and themes of identity, memory, and nationalism.
Key facts
- DESTE Foundation's 2026 season includes three exhibitions across Hydra and Athens.
- Nari Ward's 'Until That Day' runs June 23–October 31, 2026 at the Slaughterhouse on Hydra.
- Ward's installation addresses the African population in Greece, featuring Afro-Greek musicians.
- Aggelos Aggelou and other Afro-Greek musicians perform a response to Haile Selassie's 1963 UN address.
- 'Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation' is curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Calvin Wang, and Taeyi Kim.
- The Gen X exhibition draws entirely from the Dakis Joannou Collection.
- Aleksandra Waliszewska's 'Irruption of Antiquity' is curated by Alison M. Gingeras at the Benaki Museum.
- The Benaki exhibition runs June 3–September 27, 2026, with paintings set against objects from Neolithic to modern Greece.
Entities
Artists
- Nari Ward
- Jeff Koons
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Kiki Smith
- Paul Chan
- Roberto Cuoghi
- Kara Walker
- Urs Fischer
- George Condo
- Andra Ursuța
- Aggelos Aggelou
- Haile Selassie
- Bob Marley
- Massimiliano Gioni
- Calvin Wang
- Taeyi Kim
- Douglas Coupland
- Wolfgang Tillmans
- Chris Ofili
- Elizabeth Peyton
- Olafur Eliasson
- Matthew Barney
- Gabriel Orozco
- Aleksandra Waliszewska
- Alison M. Gingeras
- Aby Warburg
Institutions
- DESTE Foundation
- Benaki Museum
- United Nations
- Hellenic Seaways
- Alpha Lines
Locations
- Hydra
- Athens
- Piraeus
- Greece
- Nea Ionia
- Harlem
- Jamaica
- Warsaw
- Aegean