Greek billionaire Dimitris Daskalopoulos to convert Athens Tobacco Factory into a Cultural Centre
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Dimitris Daskalopoulos, the founder Neon. Credit: @diaronique photo by Trevor Leighton
World-renowned Greek art foundation Neon, established by billionaire financier and art collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, will convert Athens’ historic Lenorman Street Tobacco Factory into a venue for a contemporary art exhibition called ‘Portals’ next year.
Built between 1927 and 1930, and designed by civic architects Pavlos Athanasakis and Antonis Ligdopoulos, the Lenorman Street Tobacco Factory was declared a historic monument by the Greek Ministry of Culture in 1989.
Renovations on the property began in 2000, but efforts were slowed by the Greek financial crisis of 2009.
What’s Happening: To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greece’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire, the arts organization Neon will renovate the historic Lenorman Street Tobacco Factory in Athens into a giant cultural center.
The Download: Built in 1930 and designed by architects Pavlos Athanasakis and Antonis Ligdopoulos, the Lenorman Street Tobacco Factory was declared a historic monument by the Greek Ministry of Culture in 1989. Renovations on the property began in 2000, but the 2009 Greek financial crisis hamstrung those efforts. Half of the building currently lies unused while the other half houses the library of the Hellenic Parliament.
Neon founder Dimitris Daskalopoulos is currently leading a top-down renovation of the nearly 70,000-square-foot building, which will present the inaugural exhibition “Portals” from June to December 2021. Co-organized by Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Elina Kountouri, director of Neon, “