9th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art | “everything must change. Radical Intelligence. Saloniki 9”

If you are exploring Thessaloniki right now, you have the unique opportunity to witness one of the city’s most significant cultural milestones. Running from May 23 to July 5, 2026, the 9th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art takes over the city with a bold, provocative concept that challenges our understanding of reality, technology, and society.

Organized by MOMus and curated by the independent curator Nadja Argyropoulou, this year’s edition carries the ambiguous yet urgent title: “everything must change. RIS9”.

The Concept: Radical Intelligence & Collective Magic

The title itself sounds like a revolutionary cry, yet it highlights a paradox: it is a phrase used today by social revolutionaries and tech-moguls alike, by activists and institutional propaganda.

Conceived as a “para-biennale,” RIS9 flips traditional questions and experiments with an anarchy of answers. Instead of focusing on mainstream AI, the Biennale sides with a “non-fascist AI”—a radical intelligence (hence the shorthand “RI”) that supports autonomy, freedom, and suppressed collective knowledge. The shorthand “S9” also evokes an older, eastern name of the city (Saloniki), creating a movement toward and away from the city’s obscured spaces and historical ghosts.

Highlight: The Powerful Art of Stelios Faitakis

Among the many thought-provoking installations, one particular masterpiece demands your full attention at the MOMus exhibition. Captured in the photo ⁠above, this stunning work by the late, internationally acclaimed Greek artist Stelios Faitakis is a masterful blend of the ancient and the contemporary.

Faitakis was world-renowned for using the strict, golden-hued visual language of Byzantine iconography to portray intense, earthly, and deeply socio-political themes. In ⁠this piece of art, you can see this incredible juxtaposition: heavy, manual labor, miners, and scientific geometry operating under a majestic gold-leaf backdrop.

Look closely at the top left and right corners of the piece, you will spot the letters RIS and S9, beautifully hand-lettered in Byzantine script. It is a work painted with immense patience and slowness, created specifically to embody the spirit of this year’s Biennale.

The Venues: A Space of Contrast and Exploration

The main exhibition maps out a crucial dialogue between different urban and natural landscapes of Thessaloniki:

 TIF-Helexpo (Pavilions 2 & 3) & MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art: Located right in the heart of the city center. These spaces highlight Greece’s foundational socio-economic narratives since the 1960s. MOMus also hosts the historic Alexander Iolas collection.

 Kalochori Lagoon: Situated on the western outskirts of Thessaloniki, this unique wetland (now part of the Axios Delta National Park) serves as a powerful symbol of “symbiotic living” as the city expands.

Useful Information for Visitors

 Exhibition Dates: May 23 – July 5, 2026

 Main City Venues: Pavilions 2 & 3 at TIF-Helexpo & MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art (154 Egnatia Av.)

 Outdoor Venue: Kalochori Lagoon, Axios Delta National Park

 Full Program & Events: You can check the official opening and parallel events schedule on the MOMus Official Website.

Take your time wandering through the pavilions, let the visual frequencies sink in, and check out the rest of my photographic material from yesterday’s walk below! Only for 2 more weeks!