It’s been a very busy opening for the summer season in Athens, with local galleries running at full throttle trying to keep up with the influx of visitors arriving in the city for documenta14 last month, as well as Art Athina now coming up at the end of May. While many visitors easily find their way to the big museums and well-known galleries, few are aware of the booming independent local art scene, comprised of around 40 alternative and non-profit spaces. Enter Und. Athens, a new art guide that seeks to promote and document the city’s alternative art scene, and help visitors discover emerging talent and new art spaces all around the city centre. Und. Athens was designed as an indispensable tool for art professionals and art lovers visiting Athens this season, with a particular focus on the alternative, the unusual and the emerging. 

Designed by Greek designer Natassa Pappa and published by art writer and editor Kiriakos Spirou, the publication comes as a printed, foldable map that includes a directory with all the contemporary art venues in Athens together with suggestions about where to eat, what to see and which areas are worth exploring. An online journal also complements the printed edition with stories from the Athenian underground scene, including interviews, exhibition reviews and more. For the map’s design, Natassa Pappa divided the city into nine areas, each corresponding to a major Athenian neighbourhood: Kolonaki-Exarcheia, Ampelokipi-Neapoli, Kaisariani, Kipseli, Syntagma-Pagrati, Acropolis-Koukaki, Petralona, Metaxourgeio and the City Centre. Recommended art walks that run through these areas are highlighted on the map and accompanied by insider’s tips for each neighbourhood. The design is minimal and clear, with the intention of creating more of a diagram than a map whilst also conveying as much information as possible. Meanwhile, the font used is Averta, a bilingual Greek-English font designed by London-based designer Kostas Bartokas.