Opening: Thursday, 27 August 2026, 20:00

From the markings left by anonymous people on caves, trees, walls, and pillars, the reaction of young people living in ghettos and the emergence of an underground culture the 1960s in Philadelphia and in New York, to the established festivals in Thessaloniki and Athens in the mid-1990s, graffiti can be considered the most enduring and influential form of street art. Can it be exhibited in museums though and how? What remains from it when its existence is erased, demolished, or covered up? 

The exhibition under the title "Orestis Pangalos. Works, graffiti, archive" which is being presented at MOMUS-Experimental Center for the Arts, at Thessaloniki Port area, from 27 August until 4 October, 2026, is not neither a historical or retrospective narrative of all the above, nor a without terms affirmation of the aforementioned questions. Orestis Pagkalos constructs a non-linear reading of Thessaloniki’s subculture, which thrives in every aspect of the city and its surroundings, and where works, artifacts, photographs, publications, collections, and fragments of its urban and natural landscape function as equal versions of memory—as monuments.

In the exhibition, one can see original and unpublished photographic documents from his earliest graffiti works in 1993 to his installations and exhibition interventions. With more than 500 photographs of murals and graffiti, dozens of photographs of Pangalos’s installations in exhibitions and public spaces, objects collected from the street, dozens of projections and videos, and historical archival material, spanning four decades, 14 countries, 17 European cities, and 30 Greek cities and regions, the exhibition treats the subcultures as a palimpsest and reconstructs a new human geography of the city. 

Pangalos’s work has existed, been captured, and also—literally—detached from sidewalks, benches, walls, and steps—from this public space that belongs and will always belong to those who dare to live it.

Curated by: Areti Leopoulou, Deputy Artistic Director of MOMUS-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography / Theodore Markoglou, Art Historian, MOMUS Curator

CV note 

Orestis Pangalos is an architect and visual artist. His work spans the fields of contemporary art, theory, architecture, and public space, combining artistic practice with research, writing, publishing, and university teaching. At the same time, he is active in designing and coordinating research programmes, workshops, and conferences, creating exhibition installations and music videos, and participating in documentaries.

Since 1993, he has been actively involved in street art, having created hundreds of murals and dozens of public installations. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Greek graffiti, having made a decisive contribution both to shaping the scene and to its historical documentation. Throughout his career, he has participated in artistic and research groups, street art collectives, and musical groups.

Since 2017, he has been teaching theoretical and laboratory courses in Postgraduate programmes at the University of Ioannina, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Open University, the National Technical University of Athens and the University of the Aegean University of Thessaly. Since 2022, he has been teaching in the Department of Culture, Creative Media, and Industries at the University of Thessaly.

His writings and works have been published in Greek and international publications—both academic and independent—contributing to the expansion of the dialogue surrounding contemporary art, graffiti, public space, and visual culture.

Meet the Αrtist 

On Thursday, 17 September, at 18:00, we are being guided by Orestis Pangalos and the curators Areti Leopoulou and Theodore Markoglou in the exhibitions’ thematics, the Thessaloniki’s subcultures and their local expressions.

The tour will be in Greek language. Ticket can be issued from here or at the Museum’s Reception. Conscessions are applied.