Description

The Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos is a non-profit cultural institution. It operates as a legal entity governed by private law according to a 1983 presidential decree, with a seven-member Board of Trustees.

The Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos opened in May 1976, one year after the untimely death of the sculptor Kostas Polychronopoulos. It is located 50 kilometers from Athens on the Old National Road to Corinth, in an area known since antiquity as the Skironian Rocks, after the mythical bandit who sabotaged travelers there.

Kostas Polychronopoulos built his studio cum refuge during the dark years of the military dictatorship in Greece (1967-1974) on a 7,000 sq. m. plot of land that extends to the sea. Designed by Kostas himself, the architectural sculpture blends perfectly with this rocky region of "Kakia Skala".
Kostas studio, the "Skironio", as he used to call it, became the core of his museum, a meeting place for artists from all over the world.

Following the acceptance of the estate of Kostas and his wife Mari Polychronopoulos by the Ministry of Finance with the concurring opinion of the Ministry of Culture, the establishment of the legal entity of the institution was complete at the beginning of 1983.

The founder of the museum, painter Mari Polychronopoulos, with considerable personal effort and the support of prominent Greek and foreign figures in the arts and letters, including established and emerging art historians and critics, artists' groups, and other organizations, organizes international sculpture exhibitions, sculpture symposia, and conferences on art history and criticism.

The unique beauty of the Attic seaside landscape and a natural gully on the property provide the perfect setting for the Skironio's open-air "amphitheatre", built along the lines of the ancient Greek theaters. Here, poetry readings, lectures, film showings, and musical, dance and theatrical performances take place in conjunction with the museum's exhibitions.

1985 marked the opening of the Skironio Centrum Kifissia, an annex to the Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos. Located in a 9,500 sq.m. olive grove with perennial trees, pomegranate trees, lindens and giant cypresses, Skironio Centrum-Park of Contemporary Sculpture is unique in the greater Athens region. It contains the foundation's permanent collection with monumental works by Greek and foreign artists, sculptural installations, and spatial interventions, and extends the Museum's development and activities. The old Kifissia farmhouse and outbuildings serve as the institution's exhibition spaces and offices. Thus, many of the institution's events can take place in tandem at both the Skironio Museum Polychronopoulos and the Skironio Centrum Kifissia, thereby enriching the Museum's permanent collection.

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday 09:00 - 15:00

Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Public Holidays
Visits out of schedule may be done after a telephone arrangement.