Romain Bitton came to Athens and stayed. The city offered what Paris and London no longer could: space, light, and a cost of living that lets artists actually make work. He co-founded Ninetto Gallery on Leoforos Alexandras with Fred de Schonen.

“It's the best light in the world here. It's a very inspiring city — you live by the sea, the food is good, the people are great.”

The programme mixes Athenian and international artists without making a point of either. Four shows a year. An international contact list assembled from wherever Bitton came from and wherever Athens is heading. House Party, the 2025 spring show, brought together Faye Wei Wei, Hugo Avigo, Kostis Velonis and others — a mix of nationalities and registers that reflects how the Athens art scene has been assembling itself, informally, for years.

"It's the best light in the world here," he says — not as a compliment but as a fact. "It's a very inspiring city. You live by the sea, the food is good, the people are great. I think there's a hype around it at the moment. It's hot."

Bitton is 29. He sounds like someone who arrived at the right time and knows it.