Phāea Blue and the Benaki Museum Celebrate the Soul of Greek Craft and Contemporary Culture

 

A pioneering collaboration between Phāea Blue and the Benaki Museum sets a new benchmark for experiential hospitality rooted in heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural dialogue. For the Benaki Museum, this is the first-ever collaboration with a hotel, and with this partnership, Phāea affirms its vision: to offer not just accommodation, but a deeply felt sense of place—a stay that is both timeless and distinctly, artfully Greek.

“At Phāea, we are dedicated to celebrating a truer, more timeless Greece,” said Agapi and Costantza Sbokou, co-CEOs of Phāea. “By collaborating with local artisans, designers, and artists, we seek to blend exceptional hospitality with the creative spirit of Greece. In our world, every handcrafted detail bears a story—from a pot spun by a third-generation ceramist to a textile woven with the essence of the Cretan soul. Each object is a tribute to heritage and a vessel of meaning.”

At the heart of this initiative is the transformation of Phāea Blue’s newly renovated spaces—particularly its lobby—curated in close collaboration with Stella Lizardi, Curator of New Collections at the Benaki Museum Shop, one of Greece’s foremost cultural institutions. The Benaki x Phāea Blue curation blends traditional craft with modern design, drawing from the Museum’s extensive applied arts collections—ceramics, textiles, marble, metalwork, and jewelry—to shape a narrative of new classics: objects that honor ancient Greek craftsmanship while speaking the language of the present.

“Craftsmanship and design are part of the Benaki’s genetic code,” says Lizardi. “The curated objects in the public spaces of Phāea Blue act like time travelers, connecting a sublime past with a vibrant future where craft is the new technology.”

The partnership extends into Phāea Blue’s retail space, where guests are invited to explore a selection of pieces from the Benaki Shop’s most treasured collections, alongside books and prints—an onsite cultural introduction to the Museum’s vision and an invitation to deeper exploration.

 

 

A Celebration of Contemporary Greek Craft and Design
In parallel, Phāea Blue showcases the work of a new generation of Greek artists and makers whose practices are steeped in material honesty, cultural memory, and quiet modernism.

• Saridis, the legendary Athenian furniture house founded in the 1950s, contributes pieces to the private villa that embody a language of timeless restraint. Its famed Klismos chairs—based on ancient vase drawings—stand as sculptural tributes to the enduring elegance of Hellenic design.
• Melina Xenaki, whose ceramics echo Minoan ritual pots and Cretan embroidery, infuses her work with the rhythm of mythology and the joyful unpredictability of the natural world.
• Ilias Christopoulos and Haroula Koropouli revive the sgraffito technique through Byzantine-inspired decorative plates, crafted in traditional red clay and rich in historic symbolism.
• Mirka Drapanioti contributes contemporary vessels inspired by the ancient aryballos, reflecting notions of offering, preservation, and the Cretan philosophy of generosity.
• Korina Doerr of Nisaki mu reimagines the Minoan and folkloric narratives of Crete through hand-illustrated ceramics, creating vibrant storytelling pieces rooted in land and sky.
• Kallia Panopoulou creates high-fired sculptural forms inspired by Greece’s coastal textures and the shifting rhythms of the sea, expressed in cobalt glazes and organic shapes.
• on•entropy, the marble atelier by Niki and Zoe Moskofoglou, redefines Greek marble with contemporary softness, creating sensual objects and installations that reinterpret the most iconic Greek material with a fresh lens.
• The Kretsis brothers, self-taught muralists, continue an age-old tradition of decorative wall painting with trompe l’oeil and fresco techniques, weaving Cretan architecture into layered visual storytelling.
• Philippos Theodorides, a painter and illustrator, contributes site-specific works defined by mid-century color and abstraction, reflecting the open skies and endless horizons of the Aegean.
• Andria Mitsakos, founder and creative director of Anthologist, curates a luminous corner at Anthós Restaurant. Her installation channels the light of Greece literally and figuratively into brass, glass, and ceramic forms designed by Mitsakos, as well as antique pieces—objects rooted in memory yet playful in spirit.
• Joanna Burtenshaw, with an architectural and botanical hand, creates textural, organic wall pieces that bridge art and place, making the natural world tangible within interior space.
• Joy Stathopoulou, under her studio Reywal, crafts monumental thread-wrapped light sculptures—totemic columns of light and story, rooted in Cretan materiality and the metaphysical essence of illumination.

For more information, please visit: https://phaeablue.com/art-craftsmanship/

About Phāea: 
Phāea is a private Greek family company passionately committed to reshaping the landscape of Greek hospitality. Inspired by the integrity of the Cretan soul, Phāea stands as a visionary in Greek Hospitality, dedicated to curating meaningful travel experiences for like-minded individuals. Marrying integrity with care, and expertise with passion, Phāea embraces innovation, sustainability, and family values to create concepts that honor people, guests, and associates alike. The company operates four hotel properties under the Phāea brand, each reflecting a deep respect for the culture, heritage, and environment of Greece. As a female-led company, managed by second-generation hoteliers Agapi and Costantza Sbokou, Phāea is more than a hospitality brand; it is a collection of Cretan escapes that evolve with the destination. Evident in every interaction, Phāea is dedicated to creating a truer, more timeless Greece that is worth celebrating. For more information, please visit Phāea website.

About the Benaki Museum: 
The Benaki Museum, founded in 1931 by Antonis Benakis, is one of Europe’s most expansive cultural institutions. Spanning art, craft, history, and design across multiple venues in Athens, it serves as a vital link between Greece’s past and its living culture. The Benaki Shop fosters a community of craftspeople and contemporary designers whose work reimagines traditional Greek arts for the present day.

Andria Mitsakos Public Relations, branding, destination marketing, integrated marketing communications, luxury marketing, public relations, tourism