Michael Pappas
Michael Pappas is a Greek photographer whose work explores the connections between cultural heritage and contemporary identity. His projects ETHOS and MITOS have been presented at major institutions, including the Benaki Museum in Athens and the Musée Fragonard in France. His imagery seamlessly blends tradition with modern narratives, particularly in his exploration of femininity in contemporary Greece.
Pappas’s work has been published internationally in The New York Times, The Guardian, and National Geographic. In Greece, he is a frequent contributor to Kathimerini and Gastronomos.
Pappas’ acclaimed project ETHOS, first shown at the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture, examined Greek identity through traditional attire and modern narratives. MITOS, a thematic continuation, premiered at the Musée Fragonard in France and focused on traditional female costumes across Greece, reinterpreted through contemporary visual dialogue. His work has since travelled widely, with exhibitions in Belgrade, Brussels, Ankara, and Ioannina, as well as in major Greek venues such as the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation and the National Garden in Athens.
He regularly presents at international festivals, including Photometria and Melitzazz, and his work has been acquired for permanent collections, including the Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens and in Boston. Beyond exhibitions, he leads workshops exploring themes of tradition, portraiture, and memory.
As both photographer and author, Pappas extends his practice through publications that explore heritage, authorship, and identity. His books include Another Greece, The Faithful Servant Becomes King, The Green Notebook, The Photographer Estate Owner, and The Books I Read. These works reflect on cultural memory and creative process, situating photography as both documentation and storytelling.
Pappas has received recognition from international competitions such as the Istanbul Photo Awards, VOGUE, Life Framer, and The Independent Photographer, reinforcing his position as a distinctive voice in contemporary cultural photography. His photography continues to balance tradition and modernity, weaving history into evolving notions of national character and femininity.
Michael Pappas lives and works in Athens, Greece. His projects span exhibitions, workshops, and published works that bridge cultural legacy with modern identity, offering both local and international audiences a dialogue between heritage and the present.
Books
• Another Greece (2024)
• The Faithful Servant Becomes King (2025)
• The Green Notebook (2025)
• The Photographer Estate Owner (2025)
• The Books I Read (2025)
Recent Exhibitions
• House of European History Museum, Brussels, Belgium (Mar 2025–Jan 2026)
• Vovousa Festival, Epirus, Greece: The Lands of the Vlachs (Jul–Aug 2025)
• Melitzazz Festival, Leonidio, Greece: Portraits of Tsakonia (Jul 2025)
• Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Ankara, Turkey (Jun–Jul 2025)
• National Garden, Athens, Greece (Nov 2024)
• Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Athens, Greece (Oct 2024)
• Galeria e Arteve, Albania (2024)
• THREADS, Modular Installation, Kithira, Greece (2023)