AKTO’s Dynamic Presence at the gr design Event at the Benaki Museum
The magazine gr design, also known as “Magazine on Paper,” presented its new issue on the theme of REBETIKO on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at the Benaki Museum, during an evening of high emotional intensity and significant cultural value. An event that highlighted rebetiko not as a museum exhibit of the past, but as a living, timeless, and absolutely contemporary form of expression.
The presentation combined testimonies, music, and deep homage to folk song, with the participation of emblematic personalities such as George Dalaras and Haris Alexiou, who shared with the audience their historic encounter and their long-standing, substantial relationship with rebetiko. The evening was graced by exceptional artists, including Christina Maxouri, creating an atmosphere of authentic emotion and collective memory.
A special moment of the event was the presentation of 100 posters for 100 years of rebetiko. Creations by illustrators, graphic designers, and artists from Greece and abroad, which highlighted the timeless power of rebetiko through contemporary visual approaches, proving that folk song continues to inspire, engage with the present, and transform.
For AKTO, participation in the thematic REBETIKO issue of gr design once again constitutes recognition and significant distinction. Among the 100 creators who designed posters are members of AKTO’s Academic Team, AKTO Alumni members, and members of the student community, confirming AKTO’s vibrant, active, and multifaceted relationship with contemporary culture and visual storytelling.
Additionally, the issue features George Tsagkozis’s Diploma Project titled “Markos: The Autobiography of Markos Vamvakaris,” a work of deep research and visual sensitivity that substantially engages with the history, voice, and soul of rebetiko.
As part of the event, sketchbooks created by members of AKTO’s student community were also presented, with REBETIKO as their starting point and destination; personal and collective records of research, imagery, and narrative, which will form part of the upcoming exhibition.
In total, the members of the AKTO community participating are:
Athanasiadis Argyris / Alexiou Christina / Antonopoulos Nikos / Dimitriadis Takis / VATOMOURO (Elpida Zacharaki) / Efthimiou Giannis / Krasanaki Aphrodite / Kordis Giorgos / Kourtoglou Christos / Konstantopoulos Epameinondas / Manou Daniela / Mexis Vasilis / Mexis Paris / Miaris Konstantinos / Bitha Thalia / Panagiotopoulos Konstantinos / Panou Maria / Stavgianoudakis Ioannis / Papadakis Giorgos / Fetanis Ioannis / BEETROOT (Giannis Charalampopoulos) / FAYE NALA (Fay Lignou) / HØLY (Odysseas Galinos Paparounis) / ODD BLEAT (Spyros Loran)
Among the invited speakers, Popi Anastouli, AKTO’s Marketing and Communications Director, greeted the audience, notably stating:
“Today’s event is a gathering of living culture; a meeting place for the arts, the people who serve them, and voices that deserve to be heard… unfiltered, just like REBETIKO.”
A phrase that accurately captures the philosophy of the large team from the AKTO community selected to participate in REBETIKO: with authenticity, boldness, and deep respect for cultural memory.
On Tuesday, 12/23 at 8:00 PM, the exhibition will open, where the REBETIKO issue will come to life through narratives, works, encounters, and creative coexistence.
PLEX | Kerameikou 28 | Athens
Because rebetiko does not belong to the past; it continues to speak, to inspire, and to bring us together.