Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, is famous for its distinctive gastronomy with the likes of trigona, bougatsa, and koulouri, to name a few 'highlights' if you're unfamiliar. However, it's also equally renowned for its vibrant artistic and cultural scene.
Set on Olympou Street (officially named by Time Out as one of the world’s 31 coolest streets) To Pikap stands out as a cultural hub. Spread across 250 square meters over three levels, it offers an experience that made me realise in my first visit, why this space has become a cornerstone of Thessaloniki’s artistic scene, since 2015.
Located close to the Roman Forum and Bit Bazaar, To Pikap stands as a dynamic intersection of music, art, ideas, and community. The moment you step inside, you feel its aesthetics: vinyl spinning, conversations around the café-bar, exhibitions unfolding in quiet corners and so much more.
To Pikap illustrates a multi-action as:
- Independent record label & radio station
- Two art spaces (“Kato” & “The Room”)
- Record and book shop
- Café-bar with daily vinyl DJ sets
- DIY fanzine and creative platform
It pushes boundaries through vinyl and cassette releases, web radio broadcasts, exhibitions, live performances, film screenings, and original video projects like 'Take Five'. Regarding the latter one, it is a series of videos hosting guest friends and artists presenting their top 5 records from the Pikap store. They've already had names such as Derrick May, Andy Smith and DJ Food among the others.
To Pikap grows online through two dedicated platforms:
To Pikap Community – spotlighting the city’s visual artists
To Pikap The Scene – exploring its underground music culture
Run by six co-founders and shaped by countless contributors, the venue thrives day by day with passion. More recently they caught the attention of the well known Time Out. In their fresh feature on the world’s coolest streets, they highlighted Olympou Street’s blend of historic elegance and student-driven energy, mentioning To Pikap as one of the defining places shaping the street’s identity.
“By day, its stately buildings house quirky vintage shops and art spaces, like To Pikap… attracting creative locals and curious visitors.” [SOURCE]
Also, for music lovers, To Pikap Records is a universe worth diving into. Their releases span electro, industrial breakbeats, lo-fi hip-hop, and ’90s influenced retrofuturistic electronic sounds. Their series of the catchy mantra 'Remember The Future' is just scintillating and struck me instantly. This is the sound of Thessaloniki and beyond.
All in all, I can say that Thessaloniki has always had a reputation for being laid-back yet culturally electric. To Pikap simply resonates that. So in many ways this hub is the right 'third place' as Oldenburg coined the term. It feels like the right gathering spot where community, creativity, and conversation thrive and come together.
If you’re ever in the city (must-to-do it), take a stroll down Olympou Street no.57 and you'll get straight to one of Thessaloniki’s most vital creative spaces surrounded by lovely and heartwarming people.
Follow/Support:
website - facebook - bandcamp - online book shop -discogs
youtube - soundcloud - instagram
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