sep _23
▲ highlights: urbex, cyprus and life after xpub :)
hello hello!
i hope your summer in the northern hemisphere was good. Right now i am writing to you from cyprus where i have been staying in august and september and for now this place feels like an endless summer vacation. So much for my productivity.
However, i will have to leave heaven for a little while for good reasons: firstly, i will be in berlin 26 september - 2 october and if you’re around there, come see us at urbex conference [it’s free entry]. Afterwards, i am heading to rotterdam, where i will work on three exciting projects - will tell you more next month! <3
Meanwhile, there are some things to share with you - so, scroll down and discover more about the final urbex event, what are my highlights about cyprus, and how’s life after xpub. :P
Btw, i started expanding my mediawiki workspace and i’m super excited about it xaxaax! Made an index page with all the pages made [by me] so far, and started to write a bit about the topics and mediums i am currently mainly working with, such as [mental health] and [violence against women]. Many more new pages to come this autumn, yuuuuhu! If you check them out, please, let me know of what you think about this documentation practice. Grazie!
Hugs,
ål // ≧◉◡◉≦
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_things to share »
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[urbex conference - and end & a start] together with Ilaria (and Nomadways) i’ve been working on this project and it’s time to wrap it up. To celebrate what we managed to explore, create, and share, we would like to invite anyone around Berlin for a special event: our UrbEXplorers conference. You can have a look at the programme and keep an eye out for the announcements of the speakers and sessions.
We will also introduce the opportunity to join the network: basically, if you’re passionate about urban exploration, fun activities to discover neighbourhoods and create opportunities for young people to learn about urban design - you can join the community. At UrbEX we will provide a platform, but what will happen with this network depends on the people and associations that will join and take it further. Hop on here to learn more.
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[cyprus at first glance] i’ve been there before, but only for a few days. Now, i am spending almost 2 months here and it is about time to start building my sense of this very new & odd place to me. Here are a few highlights:
▲ the island is divided into several territories, administered by different entities. Where i am at this moment, is the republic of cyprus which is mainly populated by Greek Cypriots who speak mainly greek and english. But there is also a part that is still British, there is a buffer zone full of UN officials, and there is Northern Cyprus (which is de facto state recognised only by Turkey - when i go there, i connect to a turkish mobile operator, so the roaming thinks i am in Turkey).
_in blue - where i’ve been so far; in green - up next ;-)
▲ feels like a limbo place - there had been changes of who comes and goes on this island for centuries. It is somewhere in-between Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa.
▲ it’s super calm. It’s also super easy to go to the beach whenever you want - even from Nicosia - the nearest beach is only 40-60 min away.
▲ you cannot do anything without a car here. Pffff… there is no proper public transport, there are no trains, and it’s extremely hot (at least, it has been since i’m here). Oh, btw, here you drive on the left side.
p.s. my documentation of this experience is here & there is a thread on mastodon as well.
makronissos beach, cyprus
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[new project: visuals for Ideas Factory & their Baba* Residencies] i’ve also spent august in working closely with the Ideas Factory team and support their design & visual needs during the residencies in several villages in Bulgaria. i am in love with their work for already a decade at least and it has been a pleasure to keep a remote track on how this year’s residencies are blooming. Have a look on their facebook page & keep an eye for their upcoming awesome work.
the Baba Residencies are great opportunities to keep the link between the different generations alive, with the support of artists who become part of the village life for a while
*baba (баба, in Bulgarian) means grandmother
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[life after xpub? we call it xpub3 :] last time i wrote to you, i mentioned that Erica and i were working on this “xpub3” idea with our group - how to support each other right after we’ve graduated in the Netherlands, especially when all of us are foreign artists.
We have some plans about what to do. Our next sessions will start again in October, but we’re happy to open them to anyone who is struggling with the same things, so let me know if you want to join and maybe wonder:
↳ how to establish a sustainable art/design practice?
↳ how to find artistic research & practice work opportunities and funds?
↳ how can you find support while diving into this limbo?
↳ etc.
i am super happy that in october and november i’ll be part of the Hmm’s FYI Talent Programme and will explore these and my more topics with a group of other practitioners in Amsterdam.
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