23/05/2026
Angela Dikeoulia, formerly Angela Kilian — architect, curator and founder of Gallery Art Cargo in Athens.
For many years, my work has moved at the intersection of contemporary art, architecture, spatial experience and cultural encounter. Long before my gallery projects, I had already developed a deep and personal engagement with art and artists. This early connection to art became the foundation of my path, in which architecture, space, exhibition practice and curatorial thinking have always been closely intertwined.
My professional career began in Germany, where I worked as an architect and ran my own architectural office — first in Frankfurt am Main, later in Eisenach and Konstanz. Already in Frankfurt, I connected my architectural work with art and organized exhibitions in the Alte Fabrik in Sachsenhausen.
In Eisenach, I was able to further develop my vision of art, architecture and cultural encounter in a particularly meaningful way. Alongside my architectural office, I rented Villa Felseneck — an extraordinary historic villa of approximately 1,500 square meters, known for its remarkable Stalactite Room. With Villa Felseneck, I pursued the vision of an open cultural place where artists could live, work, exhibit and meet one another. It was conceived as a space in which art, architecture, hospitality and human exchange could come together.
I also founded the Galerie im Jugendstilsaal – Angela Kilian (Dikeoulia) and, with the permission and support of the City of Eisenach, restored the historic Jugendstilsaal — the former Art Nouveau dining hall of the historic sanatorium in Eisenach. I added a kitchen and toilet facilities in order to make the space suitable for art exhibitions, cultural events and encounters. My intention was not only to preserve a historic place, but to reactivate it as a living cultural space.
Later, I continued my work in Konstanz, where I also collaborated with the Galerie Neue Kunst by Michael Oess. This stage formed part of my continuous path between architecture, contemporary art and curatorial practice.
When I permanently returned to Greece in 2004, I faced a new personal and artistic challenge: I wanted to bring together architecture and art — two worlds deeply familiar to me — within a new concept. From this idea, I opened Gallery Neue Kunst – Angela Dikeoulia in Kifissia, Athens in 2004.
This later developed into Gallery Art Cargo — a mobile and site-responsive exhibition concept that presents art deliberately beyond the conventional gallery space. With Gallery Art Cargo, I wanted to move beyond rigid repetitions of the exhibition room and bring art into places that possess their own history, function and atmosphere.
The first exhibition of this kind took place on the yacht “Juanita Elsa” in Mikrolimano / Piraeus, Athens. Further exhibitions followed in extraordinary locations: industrial halls, former workspaces, media offices, hotels, breweries, museums and cultural centers. These places were not meant to be neutralized, but to remain part of the visual experience through their own identity. Each exhibition thus became a dialogue between artwork, space and audience — more complex, more vivid and more expressive, while the artwork itself always remained at the center.
Selected exhibition venues and projects include:
* Alte Fabrik, Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen
* Villa Felseneck, Eisenach
* Galerie im Jugendstilsaal – Angela Kilian (Dikeoulia), Eisenach
* Galerie Neue Kunst by Michael Oess, Konstanz
* Gallery Neue Kunst – Angela Dikeoulia, Kifissia / Athens
* Yacht “Juanita Elsa”, Mikrolimano / Piraeus, Athens
* ELGEKA, Acharnes / Athens
* VETO, Kifissia / Athens
* Zougla newspaper offices, Kifissia / Athens
* COCO-MAT Hotel Athens, Kolonaki / Athens
* FIX Hellas Brewery, Ritsona / Evia
* Metallourgeio, Piraeus / Athens
* Herakleidon Museum, Athens – solo exhibition with the artist Thitz
* Cultural Center, Akadimias 50, Athens – solo exhibition with Thitz
* Lofos Strefi, Athens – positive graffiti project with the artist Thomas Baumgärtel
An important part of my work is the support of young, still unknown artists. In my group exhibitions, I consciously included emerging artistic positions — approximately ten percent of the participating artists — in order to offer them visibility, exhibition experience and access to a wider audience. In this sense, I also understand my gallery work as a supportive gallery platform and as a space for new artistic voices.
I am especially interested in the interaction between art, space and audience — how places change the perception of art, and how art, in turn, allows spaces to be experienced anew. For me, an exhibition is not merely the presentation of artworks, but a living encounter between artists, works, places and people.
The search for places that can be transformed through art, and at the same time represent art in a special way, continues to accompany my work today. I am drawn to spaces with their own history, atmosphere and architectural presence — places that challenge art and, through art, gain a new vitality. In this interaction, a field of tension emerges between space, work and audience, making each exhibition a distinct experience.
My work remains open to new places, collaborations and cultural encounters in which art, architecture and human experience can enter into new relationships with one another.
Angela Dikeoulia
Dipl.-Ing. Architect
Curator and Founder of Gallery
View exhibition video below :
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