Η Αθήνα που σβήνει
The small streets, corners and shops of Athens, photographed before they go. Hand-painted signs, rolled-down shutters, barbershops and kiosks that kept the same lettering for decades. A photo project by Steven A.J. Beijer.
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On sale in Kypseli at The Bleed and Meteoritis
Where to buy
The Bleed
Gallery · Kypseli, Athens Κυψέλη
Trias 13 · Τρίας 13
113 62 Athens
Meteoritis
Bookshop · Kypseli, Athens Μετεωρίτης
Fokionos Negri 68 · Φωκίωνος Νέγρη 68
113 61 Athens
Old signs from around the city, drawn by hand and gathered onto two cards: one for the cinemas, one for the shops, bars and hotels. Each carries the Fading Athens mark on the back.
The illustrations and postcards are a collaboration between Steven A.J. Beijer and filmmaker Xany Mendez.
Δημοτική Αγορά Αθηνών
Half a minute outside the market as the light goes: the arcades lit from inside, buses, taxis and scooters passing on the street.
Where the walks usually go
Κυψέλη
Dense apartment blocks, modernist entrances and the small shops at street level that served them.
Πατησίων
The long avenue running north, and the side streets off it where older storefronts hold on.
Εξάρχεια
Workshops, cinemas and corners layered with decades of paint and posters.
Fading Athens is a photo project by Steven A.J. Beijer, a Dutch-American photographer and urban archaeologist.
It looks at the parts of the city that rarely make it onto a postcard: the neighbourhood barber, the kiosk selling batteries and watches, the shop whose name is painted by hand above a shutter that may not open again. The project records them as they are, while they are still there.
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Walk the streets behind the photographs with Steven: the old shopfronts, signs and corners of Athens, seen on foot before they disappear.
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«Μία Αθήνα που χάνεται και ξεθωριάζει, αλλά υπάρχουν άνθρωποι σαν τον Beijer που απαθανατίζουν αυτά τα μοναδικά ντοκουμέντα.»
An Athens that is disappearing and fading, but there are people like Beijer who capture these unique documents.
«Ένα ερωτικό γράμμα για την Αθήνα σε φωτογραφίες»
A love letter to Athens in photographs.
“Disappearing vernacular facades of family-owned businesses.”
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Archaeological Service
Chipped paint and fading facades. Elaborate doorways and darkened arcades. A salute to an Athens fondly remembered yet rapidly fading. 📷 @stevenbeijer
