“On the streets of diversity”. Urban space as a birthplace of free expression and artistic creation: the case of Nikolas Asimos in the Exarchia area of Athens

Abstract

Artistic creation depends to a great extent on man-made environment and relationships that connect the artist with it, as well as on his/her experiences and perceptions. The singer and actor Nikolas Asimos still remains, 35 years after his death, an emblematic figure of Exarchia, a central area of Athens, frequently associated with intense anti-authoritarian activity. In this research, we focus on the social-cultural conditions that prevailed in the area, between 1976-1988, a period when Nikolas Asimos lived there and created the majority of his work. Through content analysis of the opinions of people who knew him or dealt with him on a professional basis, we argue that the urban space of Exarchia greatly contributed to the creative mood of the specific artist, providing him with the appropriate conditions for free expression of his work and ideas.