Lazy Saturday 2024 featuring Greek artist Iannis Ganas

What do hot dogs, mulled wine, and Scandinavian design have in common? At Myran’s Lazy Saturday, they come together in a delightful mix of festive cheer and creative conviviality. Now celebrating our 20th year, we gave this much-loved tradition an artistic twist with Greek painter Iannis Ganas crafting the invitation—because who better to capture the cosy chaos than a longtime friend and hot dog enthusiast?

Every December, as the holiday frenzy kicks into high gear, there’s one tradition that makes the Athenian design crowd drop their to-do lists faster than you can say glögg. Myran’s Lazy Saturday is less of an event and more of a festive institution—an open-house celebration of Scandinavian design, complete with hot dogs, mulled wine, and enough hygge to melt the iciest winter blues. This year, marking Myran’s 20th anniversary, we tapped Greek artist and loyal Lazy Saturday veteran Iannis Ganas to craft the event’s invitation. Who better to capture its quirky, cosy spirit than someone who’s been here from the beginning (hot dog in hand, of course)?

Iannis Ganas

“I met M&M’s (Martin and Myran) in Athens through a couple of close friends in late 2003,” says Iannis, remembering the early days of Myran in Exarcheia. “We eventually formed a tight group of friends that partied a lot during what was a special moment in Athens for us. We had ice cream for lunch and drinks for dinner; it was quite intense, so once a year we got all lazy at Myran and ate a bunch of hot dogs while sipping warm wine—you know, to recuperate.”

Twenty years later, Saturdays are still lazy and hot dogs are still red at Myran. In the meantime, Iannis has filled his home with a wonderful collection of Scandinavian design, which he loves. Three objects he discovered at Myran became his entry point to contemporary Scandinavian design: Källemo’s NON chair, David Design’s Globlow inflatable lamp collection, and the Camilla three-legged chair, also by Källemo.

Iannis’ love for Scandinavian design has found a way into his paintings as well: “I sometimes look for inspiration in the use of color and textures in Scandinavian design and architecture,” he observes. “But it’s the combination of minimalism, function, and longevity crafted right at the intersection of the handmade and the industrial that really strikes a chord with me and my practice as an artist.”

Luckily, Iannis’ latest solo show is currently on view just a stone’s throw from Myran, at Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery. Exploring different methods and even unorthodox tools, Iannis’ paintings are full of urban fragments, focusing on the details of manufactured, artificial objects. This year at Lazy Saturday, take a stroll to the gallery to see Iannis’ work up close, then come back of course for more festive cheer and warm snacks.