Block Art grew organically from a small yet influential group of Athenian street artists and interested local residents. Artists such as Cacao Rocks, Sonke, WD, Polekulture and many others began using the block (and other areas of the inner city area of Athens) as a place to express their art on the walls and doors of the streets’ buildings. The work of these artists often highlights their dislike
of the far right political movement in Europe, which has imposed the policy of “austerity” as a way of punishing the people of Greece for their financial immaturity. These artists have also interacted with this local community in a positive way. The area has many communities of people within a community. Traditionally an exclusively Greek area of musicians, shoe makers, ecclesiastical candle makers and leather workers, the area has since 2000, undergone a diversification with many new cultures adding colour and further interest. Bangladeshi, Chinese, Iraqi and Syrian people have brought with them new food markets, restaurants and festivals that have made the area all the more interesting. This blend of traditional Greek musicians and artisans with the new cultures all mixed in a beautiful inner city area very close to the Acropolis, has the potential to very quickly be the victim of gentrification. The artists and the residents involved in Block Art, value this diversity and hope that the people who have brought this wonderful diversity are not pushed out by the inevitable gentrification of such a beautiful area. Schools for local students
Over the past years the artists of the area have arranged and run free schools for the area’s children. Bangladeshi, Chinese and Greek children have been the beneficiaries of free art, dance and drama schools. These schools have been run and staffed by local artists and funded by local community people. (as well as international benefactors who have become aware of these efforts). The local community has been pleased how families of different ethnicities have been able to meet and understand each other through the studies of their children. Block Art will look for further opportunities to make the fabric of the local area stronger through schools for children and possibly adults. As diversification of nationalities is still relatively new in Greece, Block Art hopes to break down barriers and ensure that all peoples feel welcomed in our community.
