How angry street art is making Athens hip

GREECE is enjoying a record year for tourism, and not just on whitewashed Cycladic islands. A seven-year recession has been horrible for Greeks: in Athens, shabby residents rummaging through rubbish bins are an everyday sight. But the crisis has made Greece cheaper for holidaymakers, whose spending supports plenty of local jobs. Overnight stays by foreign visitors in the capital have increased by almost 40% over the past three years, say local hoteliers’ associations. “Athens used to be just about museums and ancient ruins. But not any more,” says an American banker. Dozens of new bars and cafés are popping up, and a flowering of street art and graffiti has given the city an edgier look.

Much of the graffiti scrawled or stencilled on empty buildings and shuttered shop fronts has a resentful tone. “Vasanizomai” (“I’m being tortured”) is one popular slogan. “Kleista gia panta” (“Closed forever”) is another: one in four retailers in the city’s centre has gone out of business since the crisis started in 2009.