Though Athens is full of ancient sites, it’s also in the midst of a cultural renaissance. Institutions like the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) have bolstered the city’s reputation as a creative powerhouse, and relatively cheap rents have lured artists and gallerists. My traveling companion likened the Greek capital to a sort of “sunny Berlin,” the kind of place where affordability begets experimentation and innovation.

Interested to learn more about what’s happening now in Athens, I asked the Travel Office to help. My advisor arranged an exclusive tour with Theodora Koumoundourou, a local art consultant and guide. Together, we visited a sculptor’s studio, an artist residency and library and two galleries.

The Studio of Petros Moris

We walked with Koumoundourou from our hotel to the studio of Petros Moris. In short, he’s a sculptor, but his creations run the gamut from stone carvings to metal masks and plaster casts. His work is a reflection of Athens itself, with pieces that reimagine classic forms and materials in thoroughly modern ways. He’s a fascinating person to talk to, and our conversation veered into philosophy and politics as he showed us some of his works in progress. I was particularly taken with his rendition of a Greek subway chair, cast in layers of cement and inspired by the archaeological excavations in the Athens metro. We left the studio with a deeper understanding of what it means to work as an artist in today’s Greece.

Arch

From there, we wove our way through the Plaka neighborhood to find Arch, located on a quiet and sunny street just steps from the tourist hordes. The nonprofit organization encompasses an artist residency, a gallery space and a public library of art books and exhibition catalogs. First, we inspected works by German sculptor Lena Henke, a former Arch resident. Her show, Exploding Plastic Inevitable, included a series of multimedia sculptures of hooflike feet. The pieces evoked ancient artifacts but carried a slightly sinister quality hinting at a dark mythology. Upstairs, we browsed the sunlit library, where, coincidentally, writing and photos by Petros Moris were on display.

Martinos

At our next stop, we spent a few minutes wandering among the incredible selection of antiques at the ground-floor Martinos before heading up to the gallery. There, Ode to a Grecian Formula, an exhibition by American sculptor and musician Ron Nagle, featured small works composed of ceramic elements, epoxy resin and other synthetic materials. Most of the cartoonish shapes were no larger than a few inches tall, but they were impactful, with bright colors, delicate textures and subtle shading creating a two-dimensional appearance.

Can Gallery

We ended our tour at Can Gallery, where we walked through Clocks of the Tides, a solo exhibition by Valinia Svoronou. Without explanation — we had a private tour from gallery director Christina Androulidaki — it might have registered as just another obscure, esoteric art installation. But her insights into the minimalist display — which included candlesticks hung from the wall and a cagelike metal structure covered in wax — lent the pieces depth. Svoronou’s works reflect her experiences as a Turkish immigrant in Athens, and they explore themes of homeland, conflict and orientalism.

EMST

In the afternoon, we visited EMST on our own, since private guides are not allowed to provide tours inside. The museum is located some distance from the city’s historic core, but the trek was more than worth it. A compelling group show, Why Look at Animals?, explored our evolving relationships with nonhumans. Highlights ranged from the cute and quirky to the downright disturbing. I was delighted by the colorful textiles of Jakup Ferri but deeply unsettled by “We Betrayed the Horses,” Janis Rafa’s installation, which reexamined the complex and often fraught connection between humans and horses (it felt more like a horror film set than a display of traditional tack). Another highly memorable work used empty birdcages rigged with speakers to haunt the room with the noises of notably absent avians.

Athens may be defined by its past, but the city’s present tells an equally engaging story. To focus only on the ruins is to miss out on what makes Athens one of Europe’s most captivating capitals.