Erasing slogans from Academy a routine affair
[Nikos Kokkalias]
Cleaning the aluminum barrier enclosing the iconic Athens Academy building from spray-painted slogans has turned into a fortnightly routine.
The effort and the cost of cleaning the barrier is negligible compared to the strong political message sent against the degradation of downtown Athens, given how often the buildings of the Academy, the Propylaea of the University of Athens and the National Library are targeted.
Academics and locals are urging police and municipal authorities to do more to protect the landmark buildings. The aluminum “canvas” was placed around the Athens Academy in the mid-2010s, so that protesters can write their slogans on it and not on the marble, which can only be cleaned by sandblasting and damages the material.
